I returned to the hospital in Chuuk today to discuss my
continued role as a volunteer midwife and was greeted by many familiar faces, who
kindly welcomed me back. Many
immediately mentioned, “Did you hear about the measles outbreak?” or “So glad
your back to help out with the crisis!”
It reminded me of the Ebola outbreak that is hitting many
locations in Africa unrelentingly and the response it has drawn on a global
level. Whether it be the measles
outbreak on our little island here in the South Pacific that will never reach
global news, or the Ebola outbreak that has everyone talking, epidemics demand
a response. Epidemics scare people
into action, for fear of what could happen if it is not controlled, for fear of
the potential devastation that could come if a combined, strategic response
isn’t implemented.
In the past 2 months I have travelled through 5 countries
including Canada, China, Philippines, Guam and the Federated States of
Micronesia. During these travels I
have observed another sort of epidemic.
One I haven’t heard a whole lot of talk about, I haven’t seen people
teaming up to combat it, and I have seen it affecting each of these 5
countries. It seems to be a silent
epidemic. I wonder how many other
countries are affected by it as well.
What is this epidemic?
It is the loss of respect.
Maybe Aretha Franklin was onto something. Respect is such a broad subject. It can range from self-respect to respecting others, respect
for creation, material items, life and death. But lets not over analyze the word. Basically respect is realizing that
someone or something is important and valuable and treating it/them
appropriately. If you think about
it, the loss of respect is a very dangerous occurrence that will dramatically
affect our entire world.
One of the areas where respect is so obviously lacking is
the respect of elders. I really
want a t-shirt that reads in bold lettering, “RESPECT YOUR ELDERS”. I boarded a metro in Shanghai, standing
room only. Behind me a little old
lady hobbled on. I looked around
watching to see if any of the young, strong, healthy, electronically absorbed twenty
something’s would take note of their elder struggling to stand in the aisle,
jump up and offer their seat.
Sadly, by the time we reached my stop, the little old lady was still
standing in the aisle.
I think about how many small and large scale decisions are
made throughout the world on a daily basis without the input of the
elders. I don’t know how we can be
so arrogant to think that our small bit of experience can somehow trump the
years of life these incredible people have under their belts. We are fooling ourselves. It will catch up with us, and it’s gonna
hurt.
I could go on all day about where respect is lacking in our
world. But truly I don’t need
to. I believe you see this problem
as much as I do. You look around
and see the human trafficking industry bombarding the world. If we respected others, and ourselves
would human trafficking thrive? What
about the way we waste precious resources without thinking twice about long
term affects? Or why nursing homes
are full of precious people who haven’t been visited since who knows when. I don’t even want to get into the
effects of lack of self-respect.
Again, lets not focus on the issue, but the solution. Taking responsibility for
ourselves. Responding accordingly
to a serious epidemic.
Can we all be reminded that it truly is a problem demanding
a response? Look at your life, not
the lives of those around you. Do
a respect self-assessment. Do you
see the importance and value of yourself, the people around you, and
creation? And do you therefore act
out the appropriate treatment?
Respect is seeing value and acting accordingly. Maybe we need to open our eyes first to
allow ourselves to see such value.
Slow down, put down your devices, look life in the eyes, see value, live
respectfully.
