The news headlines can make you lose hope in humanity. I am losing hope in humanity. The chaos that we have created and are still creating is beyond imaginable. The fact that terrible things are happening and few people seem concerned and a majority think it is not their problem because it does not affect them.
A while back when coming from the salon in town, I was attacked by goons that were coming from a political meeting in town. One of them held me and was threatening to strip me. I have gone through a lot of trauma and that has affected my response mechanism. My reaction in such cases is always freeze and in that moment time stops for me and my body shuts down. I cannot respond and sometimes cannot feel anything. This time, I could see what was happening around me but my system had shut down. People scampered for safety. Shops closed and people almost fell over one another. In other words everyone was thinking of themselves.
I saw that and knew that I was in trouble and it would take a miracle for me to come out unscathed. My miracle came in form of a young Muslim man who rescued me by fighting off the guy. He is my hero. When everybody was thinking about their safety, he thought about me. I did not know him but he was willing to risk his life to make sure I am safe.
His actions are heroic because our society is made of selfish people whose radius of care only includes themselves. We live in a society where individualistic agendas reign supreme. Finding people that care for their neighbor is slowly becoming extinct. What seemed natural a while back like helping people in need is unnatural. Heroes are no longer people that do extraordinary things, our heroes are people who do the ordinary things because we have fallen so low as a society that normal is extraordinary.
Today, a story was in the local media about a father who has been abusing her daughter for three years. For three years, she has been sleeping outside, barely eating yet the father has neighbors that have beds. When the story came out, everyone was talking about the father from hell and I was wondering where the neighbors were for three years? How do you sit and watch someone abuse another person for more than a minute and still be human. Where were the neighbors to offer a bed for those three years? Where were the neighbors to protect this girl from someone who is clearly a sociopath?
How can we call ourselves human if we can let this happen to another person for three years as we watch? As if that is not enough, we have the guts to tell the story and not feel guilty. Empathy is a natural human emotion and this is supposed to kick in as soon as we see someone in pain. However, if it takes three years , you are no difficult from the abuser.
Hungarian police are throwing tear gas cannisters at children because they are following the law and the world is watching. We watch as people die and we have the power to assist but it is easier to remain quiet. It is safer for us because after all it is not affecting us. I mean, what happened to basic human rights? Are we arguing about human rights? Is that where we have reached as a society?
The truth is that we are connected and if we lie to ourselves that keeping ourselves safe does not involve keeping our brothers safe, we are lost. The truth is that the trouble that is killing your neighbor might soon be upon you, who will rescue you then? Self preservation has never worked and will never work.
The people that are going to change this world are not the smartest or strongest people but people with big hearts that will go beyond their comfort and assist another human being.
Foregone Illusions 