Sunday, January 02, 2005

Mother chooses which child to save in Tsunami disaster

Many people will claim that we really do not know what we would do in the most extreme of circumstances. A young mother had to make what she felt was a dreadful decision. Which child should she save? Being under extreme emotional pressure, she decided to save the younger one. Her older child begged her not to let him go. I can imagine the child screaming in great fear. It must have been awful for the young mother but not nearly as awful as it was for her son. I will admit that she did call out to a woman, who was struggling to save her own life, to grab her child. In other words, she did not just leave him there to die. However, I shudder to think what would have happened if no one were there to take hold of the child. Would the mother still have left him, and this time to die? When we are under that kind of pressure we are in danger of thinking irrationally. It could happen to anyone of us. That does not mean that we should receive sympathy when we make such decisions. Being in danger of thinking irrationally does not mean that reason would not kick in at the same time. That is when we have to choose which route to take; either the irrational or the rational. This young mother does not deserve any sympathy. Note, I did not say that she deserves condemnation, she deserves no sympathy. That young boy is going to grow up one day. I wonder what decision he will make if and when it comes time to care for only one of his elderly parents. Will he choose his mother or his father? HHHMMM.... I think I know the answer.

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