Am I My Brother's (or sister's) Keeper?

What is our responsibility to the world around us? Are we responsible for the well-being of another person simply because we are in close proximity to them? Do we have a responsibility to interpose when we see others targeted for violence or similar lawlessness? Are we equally responsible for violence and other crimes committed in our presence for which we did nothing to prevent or to stop? Are we equally guilty for crimes of etiquette when we do nothing to call attention to or to stop the rudeness, impropriety, bullying and other social crimes committed against those around us? I believe that it is our personal responsibility to always stand up for those around us that we can see are about to be victimized by violence, lawlessness, and impropriety or that are actively being victimized by such crimes. Furthermore, I believe that when we do not do what we know to be the right thing to do, when it needs to be done, we are every bit as guilty as the perpetrator of whatever behavior or criminality took place as the result of our inaction!

Why is this even an issue? In my humble opinion, it is an unquestionable fact that we are each responsible for those around us. It doesn't matter whether they are friends or family or total strangers. Our responsibility for them and their's for us is ever present. It is not a product of religion nor of some non-existent social contract. It is a product of our humanity. We are each of us bound by our humanity to be the best human beings that we can be, every day of our lives. That is exactly what the bulk of humanity is doing with each and every day of their lives. Using the resources, the skills, experience and wisdom that we have each respectively accumulated, to improve ourselves and our prospects in the world. Such a perspective transcends our spirituality and our cultural values and beliefs and even our sense of nationalism or patriotism.

So why is it that when somebody lives up to this responsibility we are shocked and amazed. At the same time that we celebrate such behavior on social media and the news, we hold it up as the exception, and not the rule! The sense of responsibility we each feel for those around us seems to be dying out. Particularly in larger cities, where people can live next door to somebody for 20 years and never even know the person's name. The lack of connection felt for neighbors becomes a baseline for how connected people feel for everybody in their community, and for the community as a whole.

One of the reasons for the great turning away is that our society itself and even the laws have been turned against those that put themselves at risk to do the right thing. In our supposedly enlightened society, a person can be sued, or even have charges brought against them for doing what is morally right. Even if that doesn't happen, they can find themselves fighting against a gang or individual criminals with the law not only being unsupportive, but actually wanting to label them as criminals for exhibiting what law enforcement agencies call vigilante type behavior. The law in some states has even gone so far as to criminalize feeding the poor and the homeless. Arresting preachers that have organized food lines through their churches and individuals that have cooked food and taken it out to give to those less fortunate than themselves.

Pastor Dwayne Black.
Arrested for Feeding Homeless

The whole concept of vigilantism has been promoted as the worst kind of lawless behavior by state and federal governments to push forward the ludicrous idea that the government holds a monopoly on the use of force in society. We know this is ridiculous because the founding fathers believed in our natural right to self-defense and promoted the maintenance of a well-regulated militia. Such militia were answerable to and comprised of every member from the local community and that is why state and federal governments have abolished and bastardized the concept of militias in favor of paramilitary police agencies and federally controlled military organizations answerable directly to state and federal officials.

Yale's Baby Lab studies babies
for innate sense of right & wrong

We are all born with an innate sense of right and wrong. Even our earliest memories bear witness to the fact that we are born with a natural sense of when we, or others are crossing proprietary boundaries and entering into the realm of wickedness. That natural sense of right and wrong that tells us when circumstances and behaviors are unfair, inappropriate, rude and abusive. However, our sense of justice, and natural rights are challenged and belittled so often throughout our young lives, by our peers and our elders and sometimes even by our parents, that by the time we reach our late teens in this modern society, we have all but given up on the idea of standing on our principles and defending our rights and those rights of the people around us. Why? For fear of being targeted ourselves for such abuses. Too many of us would rather face the guilt and shame of inaction than to do what we know in our hearts and minds is the right thing to do!

There are, unfortunately, no easy solutions to fix this problem. Which is by and large a problem of numerical superiority compounded by misguided legislation. In the past, when the rules and standards of etiquette were well established and sacred, the numbers were clearly on the side of those who would stand up for what was right and against acts or behavior that were clearly wrong. So when anybody spoke up against somebody being rude or violent or just behaving badly, others could be counted on to immediately stand up behind them and support them. Likewise, folks could generally be expected to take people to task for behaving badly or for rudeness, violence, and other social crimes. Today, the opposite seems to be the standard. Whereby people will generally avoid getting involved at all cost for fear of being victimized themselves or for being labeled as criminals by the state. Such fears are compounded by the belief that if they do stand up for somebody else, that they will be alone in doing so, and as such, will jeopardize their own safety and the safety of anybody they have with them.