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| Pražský Orloj - Prague Czech Republic |
Part 1
"Are there, infinitely varying with each individual, inbred forces of Good and Evil in all of us, deep down below the reach of mortal encouragement and mortal repression -- hidden Good and hidden Evil, both alike at the mercy of the liberating opportunity and the sufficient temptation?"
~ William Wilkie Collins
I had a very thought provoking holiday weekend. It started Saturday at my building's swimming pool with my nephews noticing something at the bottom of the deep end...
The actual act of swimming down, turning over, noticing the near severed tongue, staring into the wide lifeless eyes of someone still 9 feet below the surface, then cradling his cold discolored body, pushing through to the surface cheek to cheek, feeling no pulse or life... there was something oddly peaceful and reassuring in that moment; a palpable sense of the continuity of both life and spirit. The imagery was uncomfortable at first... because it was unfamiliar. I've had to process it and accept it. However, the accompanying behavior and reaction from the poor man's family continue to trouble me.
As we broke the surface of the pool, I called out for help. They snorted and asked if I was kidding yet still couldn't be bothered to pull themselves up from their lounge chairs. I struggled to push him out onto the deck. They looked on with only mild interest letting two young men rush in to help. As my friend and mother approached to start CPR only then did one of them venture close to curb her morbid curiosity. Realizing it was her brother, she went completely bizerk hysterical. Soon the man's adult daughters and his wife joined in. In all my life, I have never seen such a transformation from complete indifference to human life to an unspeakable level of insanity. Wailing, pounding, screaming, howling, pushing, flailing, tossing things about... it caused indescribable panic and fright among the small children present. So horrifying in ways no dead body ever could be, the young had to be whisked away in states of shock and disbelief.
I watched my mother, whom I adore with all my heart, struggle in her failing elderly body to do what she could to save that man. I imagined in that moment it was her lying there and asked myself if I could ever have reacted like this man's family... to scoff at pleas for help, to decline involvement in a stranger's moment of desperate need, and then have a complete disregard for the safety and wellbeing of the young in a moment of grief. I realize these people were under extreme duress but does that excuse their actions? Like someone who instinctively hides behind a child during a shootout, there's something not quite right... something fundamentally broken.
It seems such behavior is now considered the norm... and excusable. "We all react to emergency situations differently." "They were in shock." "You can't really blame them given the circumstance." And my personal favorite, "How would YOU feel?!!!" Really? Is this really ok? Are we excused to act like this now? What does this say about our evolving human sensibilities? What does this say of us as a civilized people and of our culture?
I am terribly troubled by ordinary acts of compassion and human decency being considered extraordinary while shameful acts of cowardice and selfishness are considered acceptable and even normal. Returning someone's lost valuables isn't noble... it's proper! Pulling someone from a pool isn't courageous... it's decent! Protecting those who can't protect themselves whether they be young, old, infirm or just unaware isn't heroic... it's humane! We shouldn't be astonished by good behavior. We should be horrified by bad.
(To be continued)
