Why the World Should Start Caring

Throughout time, people have always shared a bond, a bond of humanity, a bond of similarity, a bond of trust.

As ages have passed, and the need for banding together to survive has lessened, so too has the general morality of the people. We no longer wave to folks on the streets, instead we walk, heads down, intent upon our lives.

We have separated, spread from sea to shining sea, and yet, we cannot offer a simple nod to one in passing. Too often we plague ourselves with tomorrow. Tomorrow I’ll say hello, tomorrow I’ll make a difference, tomorrow I’ll be better.

For some, there is no tomorrow.

Imagine this. You are the proud mother of a beautiful baby boy. You coddle him and fuss over him as any mother would. He is the image of perfection. One night, you put him to bed, and go to rest. Morning comes, and you awake, puzzled but slightly glad that the baby did not wake in the night.

As you reach his crib, a feeling of dread overtakes you. You cannot hear his breathing, and the baby monitor is all too quiet. You stand, and look over, to see your baby, your reason for existence, lying facedown in the blankets. You choke back a sob as you pick him up, to feel only his lax body hanging in your arms. So full of life the night before, and now, gone. A bright star of potential has now winked out. The doctors tell you it was SIDS.

You cannot describe your pain. As you walk miserably up the street, wondering why life is so cruel, you are isolated. There are none to relieve you, none to distract you with small talk and good tidings. So it is, and so it shall be.

For some there is no tomorrow.

One cannot not comfort a grieving mother, but one can tell her hello. A simple wave, to a simple person, can change oh so much.

No one knows the cause of SIDS, or, sudden infant death syndrome. It can happen to anyone, anywhere, anytime. It does not strike with purpose, to those who seemingly deserve it. It is the nightmare of any new mother. It could happen to you.

Not too long ago, there were the hurricanes Katrina and Rita that devastated hundreds of thousands.

Today, we are still trying to repair that damage. But some, is irreversible. Families, torn apart. Children, killed, lost, gone. So much time, and so much effort has gone into helping these people, but no one can revive the dead. It could happen to you.

And what about the tsunami, unexpected, but no less deadly. It ravaged Indonesia. No one knew of its coming, and no one could prepare. All were caught, unawares, and unable to protect themselves. They were swept away in the flood. They were beaten, they were battered, they were drowned. It could happen to you.

Here in California we fancy ourselves invincible. We are the mighty bikini-wearing, sun-bathing, blonde-headed giants that rule the land. No one dare oppose us, for we are in control.

California is one of the most intense earthquake zones in the world. From immense quaking that tears down entire cities, to minor tremors, we are subject to it all.

We are not as invincible as you think. Posh you, say, and scoff at the San Francisco Quake of 1906. It cannot happen to me. It can. California is long overdue for a major earthquake, one bound to destroy. It can happen to you.

Every day, the media is fraught with tales of raping, murdering, and robbery. Some clerk in a convenience shop was held at gun-point. A kid playing on the street in the ghetto was caught in a drive-by. A ten-year-old girl reveals how her neighbor raped her.

Perhaps because we hear it so often, we become immune to it. Oh, it was just some guy, it doesn’t affect me. Why should I care?

Because it can happen to you.

Let us place ourselves at the scene of a crime. Let’s say, a convenience store.

The clerk was shot in the head. Food is knocked off the racks, and the store’s entire alcohol section is missing. The cash register is open, and empty. Someone killed a man for alcohol and pocket change. The man is dead, never to return to his wife, never to play ball with his children, never to breathe again. Also included in the fatalities is a shopper, a person probably out for a late night snack, and instead, they were shot. An innocent bystander. Not the worker, not the robber, not the getaway man, you. An innocent bystander.

It could happen to you.

Fire is so terribly underrated. Every day, thousands of homes burn down due to carelessness, idiocy, and just plain arson.

A few years ago now, there were the Old Fires that swept through San Bernardino County. Billions in damages accumulated. People’s homes and lives were decimated to naught more than ashes blowing in the wind.

It could happen to you.

It is said that a man started it. An arsonist. One who sets fires to burn everything. Perhaps that man had snapped. Perhaps he had lost his son to a drive-by. Perhaps his wife died of cancer. We may never know. But he was just one, and he did so much. If he had accomplices, where then would the fire have spread? To Nevada? To Mexico? To you?

It could happen to you.

When you awake in the morning, you depend upon the day. You trust that the sun will rise, and that the world will keep spinning. You depend upon your plans, to secure the future. You faithfully believe that tomorrow is a brand new day.

Who knows what tomorrow will bring. You may be hurt, you may be injured, you may die. You may flip on the news to find that your best friend was a victim in a terrorist attack. You may pick up the newspaper to read that your parents died of carbon monoxide poisoning. You may turn on the radio to hear that your child was in a high school shooting. Your life can turn to shambles before your eyes.

And when you’re grieving, or when you’re dead, you may turn your thoughts back, and wonder, how did that clerk’s family feel? Whose homes were lost in fires? What mother lost a child to SIDS? Did I grieve for them? Did I understand? Did I care?

It could happen to you.

Before you go to sleep tonight, I want you to lie in bed and think. Did I wave to that woman on the street, did I help another person, did I live my day as if it were my last?

It could happen to you.