65. Someone is assaulted on our streets, and many hurry off as if they did not notice. People hit someone with their car and then flee the scene. Their only desire is to avoid problems; it does not matter that, through their fault, another person could die.
Prudence might dictate that direct intervention when violence is being perpetrated is something to be avoided. But consider the assault many experience because they are poor, homeless, have skin of a darker color, or who are old or young. It’s a long-lasting pounding of a person, and the bystander may be quite far from danger.
All these are signs of an approach to life that is spreading in various and subtle ways. What is more, caught up as we are with our own needs, the sight of a person who is suffering disturbs us. It makes us uneasy, since we have no time to waste on other people’s problems. These are symptoms of an unhealthy society. A society that seeks prosperity but turns its back on suffering.
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Catholic Sensibility 