Never be a bystander. Do your duty.
These two lessons ring through my head daily, the product of four years spent within the walls of Catholic High. Never be a bystander: Reject apathy and act against injustice. Do your duty: Selflessly devote yourself to that which you are called upon to do.
I was a newly minted Catholic High freshman, nervously enduring my first day when I heard our principal espouse the importance of intervening on the behalf of others--the importance of never being a bystander--for the first time. He reiterated that message countless times over four years, never allowing an opportunity to pass by to tell students, or better yet, show us the ramifications of inaction.
The same was true of our Latin teacher, "Magist," as we called him. In his classroom, scattered between verb conjugations and ancient Roman legends, he preached the gospel of officium--the significance of duty--often. We have a duty to God, a duty to our family, and a duty to our work. We must remain steadfast to each.
I bought into these lessons quickly. How could I not? I was an impressionable Catholic boy coming of age during the tenure of the nation's first black president, the successful fight for marriage equality, and heroic stories of people like Malala Yousafzai in the news. People were fighting intolerance every day and coming out on top.
I didn't think about it in such terms then, but looking back, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s words seemed true: The moral arc of the universe was bending more toward justice each day. People across the country and around the world were living out Catholic High's two most valuable lessons daily.
While I left behind any knowledge of physics and most of Shakespeare's subtle wit when I departed Catholic High, I took both of my teachers' lessons with me to Charlottesville when I started my first year at the University of Virginia. Never be a bystander. Do your duty. Reflecting on each from time to time made me feel at home and gave me a hopeful outlook on the future--an outlook I maintained until one year ago.
One year ago, on Aug. 12, 2017, the Unite the Right rally took place in Charlottesville. One year ago, self-proclaimed neo-Nazis and white supremacists bore torches and marched across UVA's grounds chanting, "White lives matter," "blood and soil," and "Jews will not replace us." One year ago, a member of the alt-right drove a car into a crowd of counter protesters and took the life of Heather Heyer, a 32-year-old woman standing up for what is right. And one year ago, my faith in the bend of the moral arc wavered, because one year ago, hatred and injustice came into my home.
Torches and chants desecrated the school that had become my home. Bigots overran the town that housed some of my favorite memories. Neo-Nazis attacked the community that I had come to love. Whatever notion I held of an arc oriented towards justice shattered. If justice prevails, how can so many people possess such vehement hate? If justice prevails, how could this happen in Charlottesville? If justice prevails, how come we seem to be regressing?
A few weeks ago, the events of Aug. 11 and 12 were on my mind one evening while I was on the phone with a friend from UVA. After catching up for a while, I asked him about the Dr. King quote, "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." With painful images of the events in my mind, I told him I wasn't sure I bought into that idea. Since my friend was especially fond of Dr. King, I asked for his opinion.
He agreed with Dr. King's statement unequivocally and took time to explain why, guiding me through the historical trajectory of racial progress in the United States. He made a compelling case, and I quickly reassessed my view. What my friend said next, though, jolted me back into the halls of Catholic High. He said that although he agreed with Dr. King, the quote does not presume justice to be the inevitable outcome.
Instead, it requires constant work. It requires us to fight for what is right, to raise our voices against what is wrong, and to help one another time and time again. Or, as is taught at Catholic High, it requires all of us to do our duty of rejecting the role of bystander, because looking out for one another is a duty that belongs to us all.
So now, as we remember the events in Charlottesville one year ago, let's remember them not as the weekend that racism and hatred were on display in large numbers. Let's remember them as the weekend that love of neighbor was on display in even larger numbers, through each person who felt it was their duty to stand up for what is right.
Let's remember them this way so that the two lessons echoing through the halls of Catholic High might be our guide in the pursuit of justice. It is everyone's duty never to be a bystander.
Matthew Tully is a 2014 graduate of Little Rock Catholic High School for Boys and a 2018 graduate of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.
Editorial on 08/12/2018