Rescue the people and rescue the World

In a world full of people there are many times and ways in which some of the people some of the time are in need of rescue.

When disaster strikes civilised people rush to help, and there are many civilised people in the world. When an avalanche injures and kills people in the mountains the rescuers do not stop to ponder whether the people injured deserve to be rescued, because they have ventured out foolishly without too much thought for people that rescue. When terrorist activity leaves people to be rescued governments do not pause to see whether those kidnapped have paid up their taxes before sending in the rescuers.

Rescuers often put themselves in greater danger than those who are in need of rescue, yet they risk their lives to save those who risked their lives for pleasure and self gratification. In almost every case the rescuer is in at least as much danger as the rescued; rescues are full of ironies.

Decent societies rescue first and ask questions afterwards; indecent societies shoot first and then ask questions, but neither usually asks the right questions and when they do they rarely get true answers.

While there are rescuers there will always be hope for those in peril. The rescuers may be far away, ill equipped and inexperienced but the fact that they are rescuers allows the possibility of rescue. Where there is no possibility of rescue there is no hope. A man on a raft in the middle of an ocean has some hope that someone will recue him, because he is alone on the raft and the world is full of people.

When a world full of people is in need of rescue there is no hope of rescue and the people must then save themselves.

Our world is in need of rescue; there are calls of help from the environment that we hear and see when the ice melts, when the heat wave scorches the earth, when drought comes and when the hurricanes blow.  We are at risk because we have gratified ourselves, too much with too many and for too long. There is no hope that a rescuer will come to our aid, thrusting down strong arms to save us. We must save ourselves, if we are to be saved.