Has it become too dangerous to help out someone in need? We have all been in that situation where we ummmm and ahhhhh about it as we look and watch a broken down car sitting on the side of the road. The days of leaving your doors unlocked are long gone, but yet, there are a few people still holding onto the “honest” society. With the recent shootings in Melbourne, it is hard to determine if his efforts helping that person in need were a heroic act or a sad tragedy…
Being raised by parents affected by war and communism, my view on the world can be somewhat “pessimistic”. I grew up in a suburb that was slowly being taken over by drugs and I experienced a society that was corrupt and dishonest. Should all this affect my view on society? Or does it make me “street smart”? Numerous times I have driven past a broken down car and wondered should I stop and help or should I keep going?
We all want to be good samaritans and be heroic. As children we are inspired by heroic acts in books, cartoons, stories, TV and movies. Super heroes, magic powers and the perfect world all become a child’s reality. However, the perfect world does not exist and we don’t have super powers to save us when we get in trouble. In my view, being a good samaritan is something that people did in a society where doors were not locked, guns were for hunting and everyone knew everyone else in their town. Society has changed and we need to change with it.
It is a sad tragedy that a young family lost their husband/father this week and what he did was heroic. But what has our society turned into where trying to be a good samaritan turns into a tragedy? It is just too dangerous in our far-from-perfect world now to be a good samaritan.
Entries (RSS)