How Much Is a Life Worth?

How much do we value human life?  I guess that depends where you live.  Today, if you are a soldier in Israel your life is worth exchanges 1000 other lives of your enemy.  If you are a 2-year old living in China, your life isn't worth very much.  You can get literally run over by a truck, be writhing in pain on the street and yet 18 passers by won't stop.

And, seeing the video this morning made me seethe with anger.  I have a 4 year old and a 15 month old; to think that anyone could pass one of them by if something like this were to happen.  It makes me almost hate humanity. People, WAKE UP! We are all in this together.

We all do this though, from time to time, in one way or another--maybe not so obviously, but we do it.  It's not limited to investment bankers profiting from the misery of the working class father of 4 who can no longer afford the mortgage he was convinced to take out.  When we turn a blind eye in our own communities to the racism, poverty...when we decide that "it's none of our business" that there is an 8-year old wandering the streets at 11PM.  When there is a severe shortage of foster parents and children are shuffled from abusive home to abusive home and we do nothing--are we better than the 18 people who passed by the toddler dying on the street?

Getting hit by a truck is sudden and shocking.  Being born into poverty, abuse and racism is a creeping death--sapping the good-will breath by breath.  If we sit by and do nothing, we are as complacent as if we see the toddler lying on the street.  We all see the truck, we all see the toddler lying on the street we've just convinced ourselves that if they really want to they could get out of the way or get up and get help because, really it is THEIR choice.  Is it?