Home Training & Compassion

I must say that the story about the family being detained from getting to the bedside of their dying relative by the Dallas Police Officer has truly sadden me. What does this have to say about human compassion. When you boil this down to its lowest layers caring about your fellow man is really what matters. This police officer was so hung up on his power and authority that he could not for one moment understand and sympathize with the family's urgency and situation over a technicality of the law.

Since the police officer has only been with the force for three years, it makes me wonder if his experiences have desensitized him such that it was the only way he could act or did he ever really care about people in the first place. How hard would it have been to think with his heart and say go be with your mother-in-law and we will visit this traffic violation when you return. He had the gentleman's license plate number.

Well, I say it is very hard to do that if you aren't raised to think that way and I am not talking about thinking that way about people you have an emotional attachment to. This means caring about people in general regardless of their race, color, sex, social economic status, etc. That is a trait that becomes a part of you when it is taught at the beginning of childhood. We have so many activist groups shouting out when they feel the environment, an animal or some inanimate object has been wronged. What happened to feeling that way when it comes to dealing with our fellow human beings.

My heart broke and tears streamed down my face as I listened to that young man plead with the police officer to let him go be with his wife and mother-in-law. He was courteous, never once argued about the silliness of it all, and most importantly never once mentioned he was a professional football player. Now that was home-training. Ultimately, what mattered was he was losing a loved one, he needed to be there to support his wife and his priority was his family's well-being. That is something that is ingrained in a person's character and is usually acquired through good home training. The police officer truly does not posses this quality because he forgot the basics of his oath to serve and protect. He neither served nor protected that family. Instead he harassed, aggravated and caused them to miss a significant moment in their lives that will never be returned.

As I focus on raising my three male tadpoles, I am focusing on instilling the qualities of compassion, caring, kindness, understanding, consideration, thoughtfulness and overall concern for their fellow human being. The interview GMA did with Ryan & Tamisha Moats sums it up beautifully on how well both were raised by their parents. I can only hope I do as well.