It’s Your Duty to Help… isn’t it?

The question is ancient as mankind. The puzzlement started with the first two brothers, Cain and Abel, in Biblical history, Genesis 4:9, “Then the Lord said to Cain, ‘Where is Abel your brother?’ He said, ‘I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?’”
Just how responsible are we to be for our collective “brothers?” Recent mindset seems to translate “Everyone is responsible for everyone else.” Is that a good thing? Should adults “know when to say no?” Will we ever hear from a person charged with a crime, “I committed the crime, and I accept responsibility for my actions, harsh as they may be?”
If someone embarks on a journey they know, at the outset, could possibly be perilous, yet they elect to venture forth, is it then someone else’s responsibility to save them when danger is realized?
On Christmas, according to the British Broadcasting Company, the Russian research vessel Academik Shokalskiy, with 52 passengers and 22 crew aboard, became stranded in Antarctic pack ice. Because of that, the vessel’s Capt. Igor Kiselev sent a distress message to rescue those aboard. Although they were in no danger of sinking or immediately starving, a Chinese ice breaker, Xue Long (Snow Dragon) was detailed to the area, expected to arrive some time Dec. 27.
Because it was a scientific mission, part of Australasian Antarctic Expedition 2013, scientists were making the most of a difficult situation, measuring ice thickness, sea water salinity, etc. as they were stuck in the frigid conditions. Not all aboard were scientists, some were paying passengers who went along for a jolly good time, desirous of spending Christmas Day in the Antarctic summer. Admittedly it’s a fascinating place, extreme beyond imagination, but one that someone would have to think long and hard about embarking upon without weighing some measure of danger.
Make no mistake; while the findings of the voyage may aid science, there was no true need for the voyage to be undertaken. In the scheme of things, it would rate one of those “nice to have” things, not something needed to keep mankind going.
The vessel’s condition was no different than those who disregard warning signs that admonish, “Swim only on guarded beaches” or “Do not swim when lifeguards are off-duty.” Every year, there is at least one who decides to take charge of their safety after hours or in the evening. Sadly, some perish when they get a cramp and cannot swim, or panic and become fearful they are being swept to sea by a rip current. They don’t realize all they would have to do is stay calm, float, and the current would land them down beach in a short time.
Similarly, those in the Coast Guard routinely receive distress calls from vessels caught in mountainous seas, and are expected to respond, if life is at risk. In such a case, is one life worth another life?
There are countless situations when a vessel, already underway far from any port, receives information that weather will take a turn for the worse. In such a situation captains have nowhere to go, and must weather the storm as best they can, it’s part of life at sea. On the other hand, those who knowingly venture into the open ocean, aware a storm is near and will make surface conditions life-threatening, should not expect anyone, Coast Guard or otherwise, to endanger their lives, simply because they exercised bad judgment.
In larger measure, it boils down to being able to accept responsibilities for one’s own actions.
In modern society, as in the Antarctic, there are many who decide to take fool-hearty risks, find themselves “out on pack ice” with “winds howling” freezing them into their elected position, who then decide to do what the Russian sea captain did: radio for help.
Government, which envisions itself beneficent, benevolent protector of all, is encouraging such risks at every turn. There are social programs heaped upon social programs that are in place waiting to seemingly bail anyone out of any ill-conceived happenstance.
Parental responsibility seems to have taken a back seat to the notion of supplying food to one’s children. Schools provide breakfast, lunch and, in some cases meals over the weekend. One very important responsibility a parent has is to supply food for their young, even birds and “dumb” animals do that. Because society supplants parental authority in many ways, would less be expected of the government?
Some will point to the governmental bailout of big banks, asking which is more important, a child’s breakfast or saving a financial institution or corporation “too big to fail?” Once again, it rests with responsibility of those in charge.
In this New Year, maybe we will actually hear from an arrested criminal, “Yes, I did it. Yes, I am willing to accept the punishment for the crime.” Why do I think there’s as much chance of that happening as for me to win the next Mega-Millions jackpot?
To be sure, as risky as it might be, daredevils will continue to book passage on vessels heading into harm’s way. For a thrill, they will pay big bucks to look out their portholes and see waves higher than a six-story building heading their way. They will chuck safety off the fantail to see what it’s like to take a 48-degree roll. (For you land lubbers, imagine the room you are in taking a slant that tosses everything across the room and back again.) Yes, they will, and they will still expect a safety net to be there to catch them, to bail them out, to go to their rescue, regardless of the risk of life and limb. Even a new year will not change that element of human nature.