Somewhere

By Roy D. Follendore III

October 15, 2002

Somewhere there is a child who will starve to death because it does not have parents. The parents will not have brought their child into this world to have it die for lack of basic nutrition. They wanted this child because they loved each other. They wanted something good to come from that love. The child will not know anything of this. The only thing this child will know is hunger. Every cell it's body will hunt for energy to sustain itself and finding none will take what it can from it's neighbor. Each of the billions of cells communicate their hunger to the child's brain. The will child die because dieing is easier. They child will die because death is better. The child will as itself why.

Somewhere there is a company who will see an opportunity to make a profit in a less developed country. They will believe that what they will produce will benefit mankind. They will believe that the money that they will generate will enrich not only their stockholders but the people they will hire to manufacture their products. The company will introduce clean water and a clinic where there was none. The employees that are attracted to the business will bring with them better education that will benefit the local people. In return the company will have lower taxes and overhead. The company will not have to pay the employees nearly as much as they do in more developed countries. This means much more profits and everyone benefits. The company will manufacture because there is an opportunity to create more product with less overhead. The company will ask itself why.

Somewhere there is a farmer who will no longer farm. The land that the farmer grows his crops on have been in the farmer's family for many generations. The farmer's family plants the crop and helps with the harvest. The farmer will go out of business because he can not grow the food for the price that his customers can buy them for. After so many years of trying, it will have become too difficult to earn a living. The farmer will sell his land because the money from the sale is worth more invested in local businesses than the profits that could be made from the food the farmer grows. The farmer will ask himself why.

Somewhere there is a merchant who will sell more merchandise. The merchant has found a new market that needs what he sells. His products are more durable but they cost more. That is OK because he has what people now want and can afford. Those who can not afford what he sells are being overtaken by those who can. The merchant will sell because he will be providing what his market is demanding and those who do not demand will not be able to afford to stay. The merchant will ask himself why.

Somewhere there is a missionary who will change the faith of the tribe. The missionary will give away things that the people can not afford. The missionary will smile and find new ways to become friends. The missionary will tell stories until they are weaved into the fabric of the ancient stories of the tribe. The missionary will introduce his friends and family and live near the tribe until they are part of the community. He intends to make the difference to those "unfortunates" who were not given his chance to believe in his God. The basics of life that he will provide to his new "friends" are for his purposes. The missionary is not really interested in saving lives because his mission is to save souls. This is the missionary's mission. The missionary will ask himself why.

Somewhere there is an village of people that have been there for a very long time but will soon be gone forever. Soon, no one will remember this village. Generations of families have come together in the village to buy and sell what they have to their neighbors. Many marriages have taken place within this village. Many disputes have been settled by the leaders of the village. Many people have gown old and died happy in this village. The people of the village have been able to count on their neighbors because their neighbors understood that they may need help someday. The village lasted so long because it was stable. It was stable because it was about more than money and wealth. What will change the village are the new outsiders who are not part of the village family. They will change the value system of the village with their ideas about money. They will change the way that things have been done. People will no longer go to the local markets. Life in the village will change. The village will ask itself why.

Somewhere there is a doctor who helps people. The doctor knows that his ability to heal is limited. The medicines that he proscribes makes people feel better and more often than not they get better. But to really understand the procedure that is required costs more money than they have. If his practice is not a business then he will not be able to continue treating people. If his practice does not help the people who need him then he is not providing the care that he worked so hard to be able to provide. Many people are not able to come to him until it is too late because they can not afford his help. They visit him before they visit death because they can not afford healthcare. Most people do not understand what it means. The doctor will ask himself why.

Somewhere there is a lawyer who protects people from what others think is justice. Some are victims and some are criminals. Most of the time he does not know which of his clients are which. He knows that most are probably guilty. Failure is measured when he loses a case though he believes his client. The rest are all winners as far as his business is concerned. The main issue for him in law is to measurement of time. For this public defender it may be that time may be justice, but justice is not time. The system decides what is right and wrong. He simply serves the system. The lawyer will ask himself why.

Somewhere there is a government employee who makes policy by his actions. He knows that his career depends on his ability to please his boss. Though he would very much like to, he rarely does. His boss wants him to make decisions because his boss does not want to accept the responsibility. Perhaps his boss thinks that by having an underling take action, no action must be taken. This government employee does his best to strike the balance between doing the right thing and pleasing the boss but it is impossible. There is no such solution. If he chooses to do the right thing then he will never be promoted. His family will suffer. If he chooses to please his boss then he sides himself with the worst of the worst and the oath that he has pledged becomes a lie. By taking the longer perspective, perhaps he will one day be promoted to a position where he can make a real difference. He is asking himself why.

Somewhere there is a soldier, a nurse, a politician, an elder, a wife, a father, a son, a daughter. Somewhere there is a mechanic, a teacher, a coach, a ditch digger, a bum, a writer, an artist, a philosopher. Somewhere there is a planet that asks itself why.

These things we do, we do together. We do not have to speak about them together. We do not have to reach agreement. What happens to each of us, happens because of the actions of all of us. It is unnecessary to place blame for we are all a part of an intricate web of silent interaction. The choices that we make always have unintended results which are both good and bad. If we concentrate only on the results then we will surely fail to recognize our common humanity.

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