Story of James

(http://www.amazingchange.com/_pdf/james.pdf)
Story of James



The article talks about the story of James, an abducted child kept as slave in the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), being tortured and forced to kill his own brother. Though rescued, he has suffered from fragile psyche and is unable to open up and get back onto life. People look into this issue and exclaim, “How can LRA do this? It’s immoral!” Instead, I would like to focus on the individual himself. After all, how can we solve a big picture disregarding all individual parts?



Indeed, such acts are unacceptable but we should not think that our part is to just stop this from happening and forget all about it the next minute. We should always look at the consequences too. The boy suffered physical torture, but that’s not all. So was his mind and soul.



At a tender age, he was exposed to the harshest of brutality of life; being treated worse than a slave, even forced to kill his own brother. His life was toyed around by the LRA, tortured in unthinkable ways. Sometimes in life, we do not have a say in our decisions. What has this world become? People are simply using power to overpower the weaker ones. How could the sufferer have thought? Imagine going through life without any motive, other than the countless commands you have to obey at such a young age. How can we let the purity of the soul be trampled on worthlessly? We should all stop this suicide of the soul.



The boy would be traumatized, even after his rescue, his mentality have been changed, unable to adapt to the society. After all the brutalities, can he still trust human? His mind might be scarred for life. He may be free physically, but spiritually, imprisoned.
He needs the support from everybody, anybody. Yet, it’ll take time, years of them. Stop this massacre of the spirit.



Similarly, in this life, not everything is within our control. Though not as traumatizing, this society is massacring our souls and mind, forcing us to get on with it, leaving us with no escape. Do we have ultimatum control over what we do, considering all the influences brought on us? I doubt so. It leaves me dumbfounded, how human nature crumbles under these impurities of values and life. While we are unable to completely rule our mind, let us pursue what we desire, when we have still have the means and abilities. Take control of your life. You will only live it once.