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In the wake of the terrorist attacks on our great country, I was stuck on the East Coast trying to get home to my family in Seattle. As a seventy-plus grandfather of four, father of three, and husband of 43 years, I decided that instead of waiting for planes to fly again, I would drive across the country. I yearned for time to think about what was happening to our world. I thought and thought about what I could do, what we could do as citizens about this tragedy, beyond praying and sending money. Then, while taking a side trip to Mount Rushmore, I discovered this quotation from Theodore Roosevelt: "The first requisite of a good citizen in this Republic of ours is that he shall be able and willing to pull his weight. That he shall not be a mere passenger." I wondered, Have we become mere passengers? Is this what has made us vulnerable to terrorism? Have we forgotten what truly made this country great? I'm convinced that, throughout our history, civic activists have made America great, starting with our founding fathers rebelling against an oppressive monarchy. In their makeup was what I am trying to express: they were active humanitarians. Most all of us believe we are humanitarians, and I think we are right. A select few of us are to an unbelievable level. I cannot forget that citizen who dove into the icy Potomac River, time and time again, saving people trapped in the crashed airplane until finally he did not resurface. I cannot imagine myself diving into the Potomac or running into a burning building, and I am not at all suggesting such heroism for any of us. But for myself, I'm in the process of changing from a passive pseudo-humanitarian into an active one. As I see it, life has become too easy, and, for most of us, our humanity slumbers, lulled by our daily "necessities." If compassion toward our fellow human beings continues this decay, I fear that our nation's future is in danger. The September 11 terrorist attacks have dramatically reawakened our humanity. Can't you feel the surge of the human spirit, of patriotism, of civility, and of a frustrating urge to be of real help? We want to do something. Rather than allowing ourselves to revert back to passivity in time, let us vow to become active humanitarians every day. Let us take a pledge. I put this pledge on the bathroom mirror so it looks me in the face every morning and every night: With renewed faith in humanity, I pledge to more actively perform humane deeds. I will sacrifice to help others, even if risk is involved. To monitor my performance, I developed a "Levels of Humanitarian Actions" chart (below, with examples). When I rated myself, I was embarrassed to admit that I fell somewhere between Level 1 and Level 2.
1. An Automatic Action: For a moment, help someone who has fallen or needs a steadying hand. 2. An Action of Courtesy: Be courteous to everyone, especially when driving. 3. An Action of Help and Friendship: Really take the time to give a stranger directions as if she or he were your good friend. 4. An Action Requiring Extra Effort and Time: Phone the police to report a problem and stay until help arrives and you are no longer needed. 5. A Planned Action Needing Initiative and Follow-Through: Relentlessly work at turning a neighbor or associate with whom you do not get along into a friend. 6. A Gift of Yourself: Commit to ongoing community service. 7. An Alert Action with Personal Sacrifice: Drop everything to help a friend who is depressed and possibly suicidal. 8. A Low-Risk Action: An out-of-control parent is abusing a child. With compassion toward the parent, step in. 9. An Action of Total Sacrifice: Risk your life to save others. Devote your entire life to others as Mother Teresa did.
In no way is this article advising taking unreasoned risk, or any risk at all. Instead, this chart is a measuring stick to help in raising yourself to a level and to help you stay at a level, hopefully in the midrange, where you can feel good about yourself. I have shared this pledge with family and friends, and some have questioned its risk-taking slant. My strong conviction is that our nation has survived and prospered in large part because of the sacrifices of its people. The only real danger our nation now faces is our individual lethargy. We have drifted into an attitude that the government will take care of us. The government largely has the attitude that we citizens go blissfully about our daily lives while they solve the big problems. Well, it's we citizens who can solve the big problems. Everyone needs to remember that our country's most powerful weapons are not our institutions but our citizens, and we are available every day at no cost, always ready to help. I suggest that the police, FBI, CIA, etc. each create separate departments to exclusively deal with the public. These departments should follow up on our leads and teach us through the media how to use our eyes, ears, and experience to help. We citizens want to play our part. The next time I get on an airplane, I hope not only to hear "In the unlikely event of a water landing..." but also "In the unlikely event of a hijacking..." And I do not want to be instructed only to sit there and do what I am told. We passengers can overpower any hijackers, and hijacks will be a thing of the past when hijackers know we are activated and they can not succeed. Could it be that individually demonstrating more humanitarianism would have a direct bearing on the rest of the world's feeling toward the United States? I would think so. My belief is that those who hate us would hate us less, those who admire us would admire us even more, and those who envy us would instead emulate us. |