November 2008

Over the past few days when we were all supposed to be counting our blessings, I was sitting here wondering if perhaps the civilized world as we know it isn't on its last legs.

The first warning sign came a couple of weeks ago when a teenage girl here in South Florida shot and killed a classmate, reportedly because her friend rejected her advances for a more romantic relationship. The background to the story is complex and sadly, two young lives are over. One girl is dead, the other lost to the court system.

Last week the news was even more shocking. A troubled 19-year-old young man, again here in South Florida, committed suicide in front of a webcam, while over 100 people watched online and did nothing. More horrifying was that some of them reportedly were egging him on as he took the overdose of pills that killed him. By the time someone came to their senses and actually made a call for help, it was too late. He was dead.

And then, just last Friday, a mob of shoppers trampled a store employee to death...so they could get to the bargains. In another store one shopper shot another, apparently over a toy.

What on earth are we coming to as a society? I suppose, going back to man versus lion in ancient Rome, there's a history of blood lust and mob mentality, but I thought the world had improved a bit since then. Apparently not.

So, what is our duty and obligation in this new world? Surely we're supposed to get involved when someone is clearly troubled, when someone is clearly engaged in an act that can harm themselves or others. Can't we at least make that critical phone call to the police that could save a life? Can't we use some common sense and courtesy when we're at a store sale, for goodness sakes?

On Black Friday, I was chatting with another shopper as we were being waited on in a quiet mall that wasn't mobbed with frantic bargain hunters. She'd been to one store where lines were insanely long, but everyone there had been courteous and pleasant. She'd followed that with a stop at another store where people had been so rude, she'd turned right around and left. Even in these difficult economic times, no sale price is so amazing that it's worth risking a brawl, much less trampling over an innocent person. How have we forgotten that?

And how have we forgotten that human life is something of value, that ending a life is a tragedy, not entertainment?

Sherryl Woods