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Today, I want to offer you a simple parable. I will not be offering my interpretation just yet. However, I would be very appreciative to hear what yours might be. Keep in mind that a parable is a fictional metaphor. A story written for the purpose of demonstrating a moral or a point.
The Parable of the First Responder
Every time there is an accident, disaster, or medical emergency, somebody is always the first to show up. Whether it’s the fire department, an EMT, or a police officer. This person is known as the first responder. It is their duty to begin providing medical assistance and to call proper emergency units to the scene.
Barry was one such police officer who happened upon the scene of a very fresh, but very serious car accident. He pulled up to the wrecked vehicles, and grabbed his police radio. He reported to the dispatcher that there had been an accident, and that he would report back after he’d surveyed the scene. He replaced the radio and exited his squad car.
Several passer-bys had already gathered. Witnesses approached him and started spelling out everything they had seen, who they believed to be at fault, and the general condition of those involved.
He headed toward the wreckage and stopped as the dispatcher came back on the radio asking if further assistance was needed. He looked at the overturned car closest to him. It certainly wasn’t pretty. He looked at the people standing around him. They were watching his every move, ready for action, ready to offer assistance, some seemingly ready to pounce on him if he made a wrong move.
He went back to his car and radioed, “I’m going to see what everybody else thinks. I’ll get back to you.”
He stood listening to the conversations around him. From one woman he heard, If they don’t get an ambulance here soon, that girl is going to die. From others, why is he just standing there? It was true, he needed to call for assistance. The people involved in the wreck were helpless. They were suffering. The situation was not going to better itself.
But then Barry heard an angry man shout, only an idiot would do anything to help these clowns. Let them get themselves out of this mess, they got themselves into it! Barry stopped, and waited for more chatter from the crowd to tell him that this man was wrong, but nothing happened. Nobody said anything. Those who had desperately been wanting to assist the victims only moments earlier were now silent, stepping back as if they were suddenly scared of something. More people were gathering now. More people were waiting to see how it would all play out.
Barry was desperate to call in for more emergency caregivers, but he was fearful that those standing around would disagree with his choices. He was scared that the masses would get behind the angry man and hate him for doing what he felt was necessary.
Meanwhile, the people in the cars were screaming, bleeding, crying, and desperate.
Hundreds were now gathered. As the crowds grew, the angry man walked up to the smoking jumble of metal and declared it all to be the most ridiculous thing he’d ever seen. What kind of idiot would get themselves into this mess? he demanded of those within earshot.
And, nobody did anything. Nobody said anything.
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I put myself in the place of the people in the car. My fault or not, I’m in real trouble here and I can’t help myself, help me!!! How horrible would it be to hear someone saying at that point, you did this to yourself, you figure a way out. I think I would feel so scared and alone at that point, I don’t know how I would deal with it mentally. Now I apply that to my life and the people in trouble that I have run across and I find that I have been that man, telling myself not to help that person in need (struggling parent, homeless person, drug addict). After all, they got themselves into that mess right?? I have also been part of the larger group, standing there, doing nothing, thinking to myself, I don’t have to help them; there are government programs for that sort of thing. I know they need help, I can see their need, but I just don’t want to disrupt my day to do anything about it, someone will help them eventually or they will figure it out on their own. WOW I don’t like this Parable!
Sadly, it is well documented that actual events occur that are extremely similar to a literal interpretation of this parable; where larger groups of people are less likely to help somebody than smaller groups. That herd mentality, along with the tendency to blame the victim, are parts of our instincts which we all have, and which we all need to work against.
What a great parable! I've been a paramedic and firefighter for 25 years. I also am a pastor - same job, different context.As a paramedic, I was never afraid to make a decision - even if it was wrong. As a pastor, my hands were/are often tied by people afraid of making mistakes. I once went to my overseers with handcuffs on and handed them a toy sheriff's badge. I said, "Here, you take the badge until you're willing to take the handcuffs off." Instead of getting my parable, they fired me instead. So, now I'm back working as a paramedic again.
In this country, plenty seem to think that poor, unemployed, and broken people are responsible for their own circumstances. They refuse to offer any assistance. Every day I put people in my ambulance who, through no fault of their own, have been abused, broken, and disempowered. Their parents beat them, raped them, or abandoned them. Now they are broken, depressed, homeless, or in extreme dire straights. Others are unemployed and uninsured. It isn't their fault the economy crashed - but now they are broke and broken.
But even if they did cause their own circumstances, refusing to help would be like me refusing to help my child who fell and broke his wrist. "I TOLD YOU NOT TO RUN!" I would yell. "IT'S YOUR OWN FAULT!"
Great parable!
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Being a former Navy Corpsman and a Licensed Vocational Nurse. I cannot even fathom that you would wait to call for help and/or start life saving efforts. I understand the power of a mass hysteria situation, but I would have been a little to busy to play into it. Not everyone can be in a career field that requires life or death choices daily, but those that are cannot second guess.
"Barry?" I think I get it.
First of all, police officers receive training on how to handle emergencies. In reality, "Officer Barry" would have set procedures to follow, a prepared script of actions to take. According to a typical such script/procedure, he would have checked on the victims first thing, as he was radioing his dispatcher for additional officers as well as paramedics and ambulances. However, since you are deliberately crafting a hypothetical situation, I'm willing to presume that "Officer Barry" is a very junior officer, barely out of training and not being supervised by a more experienced officer (for whatever reason)...
His first mistake was in pausing to poll the crowd for opinions on what to do. His next mistake was to listen to the lone (albeit loud) dissenter who wanted no one to help the victims.
The bystanders also made a huge mistake in letting that lone dissenter silence all of them. Their second mistake was when they stood still; some of them should have stepped forward to help the victims, regardless of whether or not "Officer Barry" did so.
The dispatcher also made a mistake in not taking the initiative to send out reinforcements without "Barry" asking for them.
And finally, that lone loud-mouthed dissenter, the one who neutralized "Officer Barry" and all the bystanders, he made the greatest mistake of all; he forgot, for a crucial moment, his basic humanity.
~Franklin
Doesn't matter what others think in order for you to do the right thing. I've been a volunteer EMT, and in this kind of situation I would have never hesitated to call for help. I could have started triaging the victims, taking basic vital signs, controlling major bleeds, keeping the victims calm. The crowd with the angry man? Screw him. He clearly has no idea what is going on, the people who didn't have the courage to speak up either? Well, that's why I choose to act, because so many don't have the courage to act for fear of being judged. I've been judged, and I don't care. I stand up for what I believe in, for what's right, and I'm not afraid to stand alone. As usual Dan, great post!
My first reaction of this was the media frenzy that exists today. How people jump on every bandwagon on every issue, making it impossible to act or react in our society without judgement. When a situation occurs today, especially a high-profile one, you've got your eighty-thousand "immediate responders" who just jump in with their whatever comes to mind, then the angry mob mentality of those who judge, usually without thinking. Finally, you have a group of people, who seemed like they were "committed" to a cause, who quickly slink into the background, and wait for "someone else" to do the work. Meanwhile, no one knows where to turn, if they are going to get slammed, or who is in charge. Sad.
I think your parable clearly illustrates the power of groupthink - right or wrong, the naysayer had "voice" and others agreed with him out of fear and ignorance. The heart of your police officer clearly wanted to do the right thing, but he was frozen to inaction by the fear of harsh judgment. Obviously, the higher-level, truth-seeking heart knew what to do and had the "angry man" called for help, the crowd would have agreed. The crowd symbolizes the ignorance prevalent in society and the reactionaries who tend to guide these "sheep." WHY the police officer sat there inactively, demonstrates that he knows the difference between right and wrong, but will not answer the higher call because he wants to be liked, he wants to fit in, he is afraid of harsh judgment. Yet, in the end, those who would judge him harshly are not there to live with the consequences he chose for himself. He will be blamed for anything that goes wrong in this scenario - if he is considered at all.
The man in the crowd might be an ignorant fool. The man in the crowd might be Hitler.
I relate this to your post of yesterday. The connections are clear.
What is the saying? "Evil perpetuates when good men do nothing." Or something like that.
We all have the angry, judgmental voice in our heads. We all need to ask for help at some point in our lives. We need the wisdom to know when it is time and the courage to do so before we lose someone we care about. So, application: ask for help before the relationship dies, the job is lost, or the "it's nothing, turns into Stage IV cancer." Thanks for getting me off the couch Dan. Maybe that's why Jesus loved parables so much.....Hmmmm.
My reactions to this are many and varied... The first, of course, was my reaction to a real life scenario as I was a volunteer fire fighter for many years. My first reaction was astonishment, followed by anger. I was absolutely disgusted by this man's decision to base his actions on the opinions of a crowd of gawkers. What was there to think about? Why do those people's opinions matter in this situation? The victims needed help. It was black and white. There was no gray area. My immediate reaction to such a scenario is to help the victims in any way I can as quickly as a can. I don't stand around and wait for someone to validate my actions. I just act.
My second reaction was, of course, based on the hypothetical. If this were not a life and death situation, would it change the way I reacted? Would I be so quick to help someone in need if their life was not at stake? If someone were being bullied by a group of my peers, would I step up as quickly, or at all? Would I listen to the crowd even though I knew that to turn my back on someone who was suffering based on the opinions of others (instead of what I knew was right...) was the wrong and cowardly path? Am I a coward? Why do I care so much what those people think? Why would I wait for someone else to make the first move? Why can't I be the second man who stood up and made a difference? Why is someone else's opinion of me so much more important than doing what I know is right? The answer is that the choice is my own. I can be the first. I can do the right thing.
Why is there a difference between the literal and hypothetical situations? The answer is, there is no difference. I can make a difference by standing up and speaking up. I should always strive to do what's right regardless of the consequences.
That said, I do believe that there are times when I should listen to the crowd, but that is only when the difference between right and wrong is not immediately clear to me, and that is only to make an informed decision based on facts, not on petty judgement or prejudice.
I remember this from the first time you posted it and it's just as effective now as then. I don't think I commented then but my theory is that most people are sheep, leaders are few and far between. Because most people lack confidence in themselves and the courage to act on their convictions.
I have always tried to be the first responder to any emergency. Most people follow so it is always my hope that other people will help out as well.
Are we afraid sometimes to be the "first" responder? Do we wait and see what someone else will do? I think so. We there will always be someone to pass judgment.
I think the raging man represented a part of the first responder, Barry. Upon seeing the wreck, he knew had to perform his duty, but like so many of us, inside, he was asking himself, "Why should I? Why should I help this people?" Everyone, at some point, asks themselves that. If they see a beggar on the street, they ask themselves why should they even bother to help someone who can't help themselves.This goes so much deeper than just learning to trust your own instincts. It's more or less about knowing the reasons behind your own motives. Why do you do what you do? Why should you help those who are in need?
You just do and damn the torpedos.
I was a lifeguard in high school and college, best job I probably ever had. My job, albeit not as crazy wild as a police officer, EMT or fire fighter, was still kinda crazy. We were the line between a good day at the pool and a VERY bad one. I have drove more than a few kids needing stitches to the hospital (worked on a base), rescued many a scared little kid and soothed a more frightened mama or daddy, back-boarded a diver who hit the bottom of the pool with his head, and jumped a 10 foot chain link fence to get to a motorcycle crash victim.
In my life, I have reminded myself often, it isn't the language and screaming of others to listen to but the voice in my head. That voice is the one who I have to hear everyday. The one who reminds me to get real, get busy and screams focus and protect. That is the voice that will remind me of how I reacted in the mirror when I wash my face, brush my teeth, etc. It is the voice I know best and knows me best. No one can tell me how best to react, it is my life that has set me for my reactions and my perceptions.
Dan,
I agree with Claire that the lesson here may be about trust. About trusting our hearts. About realizing that our hearts always have the right answer (for us), despite what they world says or does. And that we can never go wrong when we follow our heart. We are always the first responder in every situation in our life. And if we look to our hearts, we will always know what the right thing to do is. No matter what.
Sincerely,
Meghana
Dan,
I agree with Claire that the lesson here may be about trust. About trusting our hearts. About realizing that our hearts always have the right answer (for us), despite what they world says or does. And that we can never go wrong when we follow our heart. We are always the first responder in every situation in our life. And if we look to our hearts, we will always know what the right thing to do is. No matter what.
Sincerely,
Meghana
the truth that always lives in our hearts, and allowing that truth to lead us no matter what else the world is doing or thinking.
It can very simply be attributed to the social/political struggle of any person faced with standing up for what they believe in and taking action to make the change, regardless of how small their contribution to the situation may be. It applies to everything from world issues including politics, economic struggle and disaster (manmade or natural) down to the smallest level of impact such as bullying in schools or a random encounter with a stranger in need stranded on the side of the road. Sometimes we already KNOW the right thing to do, but strong willed/loud voiced opposition poses doubt which causes some to sit back idly waiting for validation, or to simply do nothing at all. Sometimes the validation comes too late and the consequences are destructive to all involved.
hey! didn't you already post this? Created quite a buzz. I remember my answer from last time & I'm sticking to it. It's being one of the crowd that upsets me the most. We can't all be the first responder... but we all have a chance to shout 'do something!' or step in to help.
Don't stand & do nothing. Don't drive by. Help. Make a difference. Do what your heart tells you is right. Don't be the crowd, don't listen to the crowd. Just do what you need to do.
Oh yeah, sorry blog glitch!
I like the glitch! It's bringing up some old ones I haven't gone back to read yet! :)
Ahhh, well, the glitch ran through my feed as a new post. And since I was apparently not a follower for the original post, you now have MY two cents to add. lol
I think this parable is about how we often let the opinions and reactions of everyone around us effect the way we perform our everyday duties. We as people need to learn to trust ourselves. We need to learn to stop letting our fears of being rejected take over what we know is right. That decision of letting others sway our actions can have some very detrimental outcomes.
This is a very powerful story. Thank you for sharing!