On this Veterans Day, Do We Care?

When ideas occur to me I often like to state them as fact and then see if they have wings. Some fall to the ground, keel over, and flop about in the dust. Others dip for a bit, gain leverage on the air and slowly, slowly climb. A few go ballistic.

I have an idea right now. It's about caring. I am going to cut it loose. 

You only care about someone you would literally die for. Period. You don't sort of care about all people, care more about a smaller group, care alot about people in your family and fully care about your spouse, your children, your best friend, lover — whomever. It's all or nothing. So I will state it again, as it hasn't hit ground.

You only care about someone you would literally die for. 

My proposal may seem extreme but I want you to ask yourself, who would you die to save if you could? Really think about it. Then think about it again. I am certain there are people reading this who have actually risked their lives for other specific people — perhaps firefighters, or police, vets, etc. and a handful of others who one moment found themselves in a situation where they either had to step forward and try to save someone or stand back and let them fend for themselves.

We like to think we would jump in or even donate our kidney, dash into the fire, skinny down the embankment to try to get the people out of the turned over car — but would you do this for everyone? 

Most of us would try to save our kids. There was an example not too many years ago of a father in Sheboygan county who died in a pond trying to save his daughter who had gone through the ice. Neither survived. He was willing, and he cared. 

I am thinking about this for many reasons.

One, as I write, it's Veterans Day.

Two, I wonder whom we actually think of as our neighbor, our family, as important, significant, etc.

I think about that a lot because we seem to have a fairly easy time overlooking the plight of a lot of the people on our planet, near and far — as though they didn't matter or were somehow less significant, less right, I guess, than us. 

Another reason I am thinking this frankly is that recently a head coach at a famous football program learned that an associate of his, no doubt a long time friend, was molesting young boys. He did nothing about this. The assailant, to my mind, and anyone who is willing to violate children in this manner, is a sick monster. But the man who saw this, and his boss, to whom he reported this violent crime — regardless of what they had done or been until that time, did not care about the child.

They were focused on other things: relationships with friends, their own careers, the image of the school, who knows?  The boy being raped was left to fend for himself. So were other victims. In fact, those who knew of this and effectively stood by were willing to allow that others would follow the plight of this defenseless child. This is the definition of shameful. 

The head coach regrets what he did. Actually, he says he is sorry he did not do more. What did he do? Nothing. He hid, he hid what he knew — he covered his associate, his job, his reputation — and he sacrificed the child and others that followed. He was not willing to "die" for that child. 

The priorities of those who were outraged that this coach was let go are amazing. Who cares about children — a handful of anonymous boys? The coach was famous, beloved ... a legend! One bystander said the coach is a legend and should be treated like one. 

The boy was not a legend. No one cared. None of the adults that knew cared. The big guy who actually witnessed this didn't jump in and protect the boy nor did the man in charge once he found out. They did not care.

What do you care about strongly enough to die for it or who do you care this much about? 

I hope we value other human beings, more than we value our own reputations, careers and even lives. Ask a firefighter. It isn't just a job for a few pros — they aren't always around. One day you may have to care. Maybe today.