I often ponder why so many of my fellow human beings

Are so insensitive, uncaring, and callous,

Concerning the plight of our nonhuman earthly neighbors.

Then I become thoroughly disgusted thinking about it,

And a grim reality eventually sets in.

That’s when I foolishly watch the evening news,

Or read the daily newspapers,

Or, even worse, listen to modern human commentary.

That’s when my utter sadness sets in,

And my utter shame.

My sadness and shame

Now seem to grow with each and every passing day

That I spend on this planet.

A commuter train in one of America’s expanding suburbs

Recently struck and killed a pedestrian caught in its path.

These are some of the incredible, but true ,
Statements made by some of the passengers
When this tragic accident halted their speedy progress.

These quotes are typical of the overall human reaction that day,

And sadly, there were very few tears shed on this train

For a fallen human comrade.

A male office worker:

“Sh*t!  I’m going to be late for work again.”

A female attorney in reply:

“Yeah.  And it’s probably just some junkie,

Wino, or old cripple.  These morons often

Jump in front of trains to end their miserably pathetic lives.”

Two suburban women on their way downtown to shop:

“Jesus Christ!  Can you believe this?”

“Now we’re going to miss all the best buys.”

Several minutes later, a somber train conductor

Made the following announcement:

“We struck and killed a 13-year old girl cutting across

The tracks because she was late for school.”

One would hope that our fellow human beings

Might be just a tad more sympathetic by this news,

Especially as they watched the somber arrival of the numerous

Firemen, policemen, and paramedics,

Who were utterly helpless to assist the young girl at this point.

And, one would be sadly mistaken.  Especially in today’s morally corrupt world.

A male bank executive on hearing the conductor’s announcement

Laughed out loud:

“HA HA HA!  Anyone want to join me in a nomination

For a Darwin Award for the two imbeciles who

Passed their genes to this dumb kid?”

Incredibly, this man has children of his own.

And I find the following statement from a mother

Traveling on this train, with her own 14-year old son,

To be even more horrifying:

“Johnny!  Quick! Grab the camera; run outside;

And take some pictures of the dead girl.

That will be so cool!”

And, incredibly, young Johnny happily complied.

I’m sure that many giggles now lie ahead

For Johnny’s friends and family,

As they joyfully gather together,

To happily gaze at the graphic, colorful, photos,

Of a mangled, pulverized, dead, 13-year old girl.

And even sadder to me,

Is the knowledge that no other species of animal on this planet

Would have so callously, or so cruelly, or so ludicrously,

Responded to the tragic death of one of their own brethren,

In the manner that these human creatures did on this train.

And, if you believe that the reactions on this train

Are atypical of humanity at large, I must beg to differ.

As an employee advocate in my former job,

I practiced the art of listening for over 30 years.

Today, I wish I was deaf.

I would probably sleep much better.

If you listen, you may be shocked by the routine, everyday conversations

That can be overheard all around the world – 24 hours a day –

In shopping malls, grocery stores, restaurants, planes, and trains,

And even in the pew behind you at your Sunday Worship Service.

The amount of hatred, bigotry, spite, egomania, and callousness

That spews forth from the mouths of millions of human beings

On a daily basis – is frankly, shameful.

And, I now realize that I admire animals

Because they don’t speak at all.

If any of them harbor any spiteful, hateful, or callous thoughts

In their furry, feathered, or scaly heads,

They at least have the decency

Not to verbalize them.

A tiny sparrow routinely greets a new dawn

With a joyous song on his lips,

Extremely thankful to be alive

Yet one more day.

We humans routinely greet a new dawn by

Vehemently shouting obscenities at

Our neighbors, our fellow commuters,

Any hapless disabled or homeless person who gets in our way,

And even at inconsiderate young school girls

Who are foolish enough to get run over by a train

And ruin our very important schedules for the day.

I now sadly believe in my heart and soul,

That mankind is probably beyond redemption.

We must have been created with some terrible, irreversible,

Moral flaw, or we must now have somehow strayed so far

From the path of decency and caring,

That we will never be able to find it again.

I also now find myself even doubting Scripture,

Which tells us that mankind was created in God’s image.

If this is true , would God have reacted in a similar manner,

If He had been a passenger aboard this train?

I shudder to even think about this scenario.

Many today fear the external terror that can erupt at any moment

- Anywhere in the world.

I now fear what mankind has somehow become  - internally

 - In our blackened, uncaring, morally corrupt, hearts and souls.