Kindly allow me to recount a couple of stories: Kelly, my wife, had noticed a little girl of about four who was crying and crying at the picnic party last Tuesday for a nephew, León. She'd not been part of the celebration and just wandered in together with the yaya to play with the giant slide that had been set up for the event.
Kelly asked around and was told by León's yaya, Lyn, that she observed that the little girl's own yaya, who was on the cellphone, pushed her aside and kept on pinching her on her side near the armpit.
Kelly noticed that the girl seemed to be with a sister from Kara's school and so asked Kara to get her name.
The following day, Kelly intimated how she'd a hard time going to sleep with the cries of the girl fresh in her mind. Kara, though, initially protested to our bringing word to the parents about what happened concerned that it may not have been true.
I went ahead and gave the "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing" speech and shared with her a story that has helped drive my life so far:
It had been a late evening around 1993 when while driving our trusty Daihatsu van I'd noticed at a dark side of Santolan Road a father and daughter seemingly being accosted by a man who had what appeared to be a knife.
In what still bugs me to this day, I just drove past them - rationalizing , perhaps, that it may have been too dangerous or that it may just have been "nothing."
Whatever it is that I told myself that instant, I just drove off.
It is something that I carry with a little guilt in a tiny corner of my heart and, thus, since have tried to make sure that am not part of the "good men who do nothing" group.
Or, that night, was I just too engrossed with my destination - I don't even remember anymore where I was going then - that I downplayed something that'd have delayed me?
In a 1973 study designed to understand compassion, psychologists found out that 90% of us rush by a person in distress if told that we're late for an appointment. In contrast, it had been found that a group of seminarians enlisted for this research and believed had plenty of time stopped and offered aid
A recent LA Times article shared that the finding in the research was so consistent they'd concluded that "ethics becomes a luxury as the speed of our daily lives increases."
It's a fascinating piece on how - with all the distractions we now have - it's becoming increasing difficult to live in the moment....of being mindful of the now. Of how "compulsive busy-ness, or 'active laziness' has become a curse."
It's something that the Pope touched on recently when he'd admonished those who "limit themselves to bureaucratic work, losing contact with reality and concrete people."
Am not quite sure what happened to that father and daughter I saw on that fateful night, but, I do know we've gone ahead and sent word out to the parents of the little girl through the school. Will keep you posted how that goes.
Written March 1, 2015
