The Young Man in the Fast Car vs.The Old Lady Crossing the Road

Ethics in the 21st C. Have we lost our humanity?

Photo by Andrew Grove on Unsplash

A young man stopped his car inches from this old lady and honking like his life depended on it, berated her for taking too long to cross the road, scaring the poor woman to death.

She just shook her head and hurried.

Another man stopped his car cold and stayed with her until she made it through safely. She smiled at him and patted him on the chest.

Why is there such a difference between these two people?

How could the first man be so impatient and rude while the other so helpful and kind?

What makes us behave so differently that one could argue goes beyond good and evil? One could blame the lack of proper education, another could blame a bad day; yet another could support the fact that we live in a chaotic neurotic state.

Who's right and who's wrong? Is there such a thing?

That young man was in such a hurry, did he consider how he made the woman feel? Or how his actions were so loud that scared her almost into a panic state?

But why?

What was so important that he didn't take any of her feelings into account? It was all about him.

The "me, myself, and I" state of consciousness is prevalent these days.

I say these days because I don't believe it was that obvious back in the recent past.

Something happened that we have become more selfish, more disrespectful, and much more insensitive towards everything, including nature.

That speaks volumes. Have we ceased to care to such an extent?

Also, we are desensitized to an extreme. Whether the pain or misfortune is big or small, as long as it doesn't happen to us, all is well.

I'm persuaded it wasn't always like this. We have lost the wisdom we used to have. We have been poisoned by our own ego and overgrown selfishness and reject any thought of looking inward.

When we see acts of kindness, fake or real, we immediately run to post them on our social media outlets. As if they were miracles.

And these days, they are.

We do enjoy, however, seeing wonderful human beings engaged in great altruist acts that should be the norm, not the exception.

Photo by Tom Parsons on Unsplash

I recall an instance where some wildlife researchers were on a beach chasing a flock of seals that didn’t want to get caught, three of them with fishing nets tangled around their bodies. It was a live-or-die situation for these animals, since they could hardly swim, much less hunt or escape their predators in such a state.

Incredibly, it took them hours to finally round up those three rebels and cut the nets that were imprisoning them, releasing them into the ocean when their task was done.

Exhausted for the chase and a job well done, you could watch the satisfaction in their smiling faces when the last of the seals was liberated.

Photo by Pascal Mauerhofer on Unsplash

To see actions like that gives one a new hope for mankind.

And yet…here we are.

So, what is the solution?

There must be one, but help is needed.

Maybe the following would help:

1. Better education from a school system that cares about children and their future.

2. Better parenting and focus on developing strong bonds reinforcing old values and ethics.

3. Emphasis on introspection and self-examination. Taking care of ourselves and respecting the boundaries of others.

4. Exercise kindness and compassion to the degree we would appreciate the same for every one of us.

If we could just start thinking and behaving in those terms, perhaps we stand a chance.

Perhaps.

Photo by Marlis Trio Akbar on Unsplash