I read the headline in shocked disbelief. Several news sources reported an attack on an elderly woman on a New York subway in the wee hours of a recent morning. Passengers videoed the attacker kicking the woman in the face, but did nothing to help her.
Think about that for a moment.
The humans in that subway car thought the best thing to do when one of their own turned on another was to pick up their cell phones and press record.
What in the world would cause someone to attack an elderly woman? What in the world would cause anyone to sit by and do nothing to help her? When did we become so calloused as a society that we think of another human’s moment of distress as a photo opportunity?
The world is a very scary place indeed when one is confronted with the lack of respect for life and so much focus on me and mine. Our social media pages are rife with stories that play out like a news reel; distressing reports of crime, violence, and urgent need. We have become a society of spectators and reporters. I understand completely the need to be cautious. I’m not advocating that a single person could have taken on the attacker; I wasn’t there so I cannot say that anyone in that subway car would have had that capacity. But how different might this story have been had passengers joined in putting those phones aside to do something to come to that woman’s aid.
In a moment of crisis, we draw from our cumulative experience, built from the decisions and choices we make in the course of daily life. I believe our Creator designed us to grow and learn in this manner, to reach a level of discernment that compels us to treat others as we wish to be treated, to consider the welfare of others ahead of our own. None of us is perfect; each of us makes errors in judgment from time to time. This is part of being human.
I want to think that, had I been on that subway car, I would have tried to make a difference. I hope and believe I would have. But the head on my shoulders that shook in disbelief at that headline, and still does, is human. I’ve struggled for two weeks to finish this post, and I finally realized the reason why… a subconscious question that finally worked to the surface, much like a splinter one thinks has long since been removed.
What if I try and fail? Or, worse, fail to try?
Thankfully, in a moment of crisis, most of us do make wise choices. The passengers of Flight 93 come immediately to mind, men and women who selflessly took on their hijackers to prevent a fourth plane from attacking fellow Americans. Every day, wise choices we will never see in a news report enrich the lives of those who are touched by their impact. As calloused as we can become from the daily grind of life, most of us are genuinely not insensitive to the need of those around us.
That gives me hope that the worst that happens to us can still bring out the best from within us.
Copyright 2019 lifeatroomtemperature.com Sherry A Hathaway. All rights reserved.