When you see a tragic story on the news, do you wonder why someone didn’t do something to prevent or stop it? Maybe you tell yourself that you would do better in the same situation, but would you? If you want to be sure that you would, you need to think about similar scenarios in advance and decide what action you should and would take, so that you are prepared to do so.
Years ago, one August I saw a baby locked in a Mercedes in a store parking lot (this was back before there were so many incidents in the news about babies dying in hot cars). I didn’t have a cell phone at that time. There were no phone booths in sight, and not another person in the parking lot, so I went inside the store, looking for a phone. I couldn’t see any clerks, other than one cashier, who was surrounded three-deep by crowds of customers. I was too timid to shout for help, and was trying to work my way through the crowd when a young woman said, “I’d better go check on my kid, there’s no sound on the baby monitor. But, hey, we spent all morning at the pool, so he’s probably just sleeping.” Just like that she was gone. I’ve always felt I should have done more, been less timid, maybe written down the license plate number. There was nothing in the news about a child dying, so I guess the baby survived his mom’s shopping trip, but I’ve always wondered if that baby grew up safely. I wouldn’t be so hesitant or timid now.
Suppose you see a baby locked in a parked car on a hot day; what would you do? First choice is to call 911 — do you have a cell phone? The advice might be to immediately break a window (one farthest away from the child). Would you be comfortable doing that? What would you even use to do that–would you have to go dig in your trunk for a tire iron? Suppose you don’t have a cell phone, or have no signal. Do you go into a store and ask to use the phone, or skip straight to breaking a window? You might yell out to passersby to help, maybe ask one of them to make the call. The key point is that you think about the options in advance, think what steps you should take, plan ahead so you don’t delay your response because you are deciding what actions are justified. Would it make a difference if it were a dog or cat instead of a baby?
These are issues of responsibility and ethics. There is no one right answer and each real life situation will be different. Think about what action feels right to you, and whether you would be comfortable taking that action. Be ready to act. Be prepared.