Translating a World on the Edge

A three year old boy playing with matches accidentally lets a match fall near the hem of his mother’s living room drapery. But she’s calling him from the kitchen to come eat his dinner.

On his way out, the boy glances at the drapery and sees a tiny smoldering hole, growing wider. Still, mother is calling him to come, “Right now!”

And he’s thinking, “She told me not to play with matches. She’ll be mad.”

So he walks out of the living room, closing the door behind him as if that will get rid of the problem.  

During supper, the boy’s father lays down his fork. “I smell something burning,” he says. Quickly, the boy’s parents  push away from the table and follow the smell to the living room.

Flames are leaping from the drapery, burning out of control and endangering their home. The mother calls 911, but by the time the Fire Department arrives, half the house has burned up.

The three year old wasn’t thinking of the house, or the safety of his parents.  Three year olds rarely think beyond themselves. He was trying to avoid the thing that would immediately affect him–his own discomfort if his mother became angry.

Lighting the match, leaving the room, and finally, not revealing that the living room is on fire–each of these acts has the consequence of expanding danger.

The little boy’s responsibility is lessened because he isn’t mature enough to understand. But we’re adults. We understand that every act we perform has a consequence.

Or do we?

Do we recognize that some dangerous actions have been ignited by our government and have been  allowed to burst into flames that are affecting our freedoms and our country as a whole? Are we leaving the room and simply closing the door behind us to avoid the discomfort of confrontation? Why haven’t  we called it to the attention others? Why haven’t we spoken out against it?

Are we just too busy with ourselves, and like the little boy who burns up his own house, afraid someone might get mad at us?