Humanity

"It is well that war is so terrible, lest we grow too fond of it"

-Robert E. Lee

It always bothers me when the Community Service Officers I work with hope for a medical-aid event. Why would you wish that? To pass the time faster? Out of some perverse desire to see an injury? Either way, they would do well to remember that any med-aid means that someone else is suffering. It isn't something they should hope for. People wish they could have been the ones to discover that burning car. Why? Because it would be exciting and thrilling? A person died. If you want exciting and thrilling, pop in Call of Duty into your X-Box.

People want to stare at the train wreck. It's natural. I would be lying if I said I haven't thought about war and being in it with thoughts that bring to mind the speech about how war is a drug. But we should never lose sight that all these things are affecting other human beings. Lives are destroyed, people suffer, and we should get our jollies elsewhere.

Last week a girl tried to commit suicide. Everyone rushed up so they could see the swarms of sirens, the helicopters flying overhead. Why? We weren't helping. There was no reason for us to be there. Was it just so we could watch at the pretty lights and ooh and ahh? I wonder if anyone even noticed the sound of the girl crying in the background of the radio and thought about her, what she must have felt like, what she must have been going through. It made me feel physically ill. It reminded me of how even war is often a spectator sport or simply a topic to debate over coffee between political pundits.

It's late, I haven't slept in a while, and I'm rambling so I want to keep this short. I vow that no matter what I never forget the human impact of events.

No question for this post. I need to rack out.