This past weekend I witnessed a bad car accident as I was driving back from a Pride celebration in New York. I was Eastbound on the highway when I saw two semi-trucks nearly collide with one another on the opposite side of the road. In their effort to avoid a collision, one of the semi’s slammed into a passenger van in front of it. The van flipped on its side and proceeded to skid down the highway.
I pulled over, and with the help of some strangers, pulled a father and his two daughters from the van. The van had begun to leak gasoline and we were lucky to be able to pull them to safety without the wreckage igniting.
This incident had me reflecting back on signs that I saw posted throughout New York: “If you see something, say something.” In today’s society, I think we are apt to villainize anyone who does not vote like us, worship like us, or even root for the same sports team as us. On the internet, we un-friend and block those who have pledged their allegiance to an enemy camp. But by the side of the road, as a group of strangers helped a family from their van, no one compared party affiliation cards, no one questioned who they were helping — We were humans helping other humans.
This had me thinking that the aforementioned saying needs an update: “If you see something, do something.” Be it a serious situation like a car accident, or something smaller like hailing a cab for a drunk friend, I think we all have a greater obligation to one another. And in a social and political climate so divided, we could all use a little more kindness.
It can be easy to pass on the responsibility, to say “someone else will step in.” If you don’t help, maybe no one else will either.
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Thanks to robbiegay for directing this video:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkN41MBjCDZsniB7Qrt4tiQ
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