What is our American civilization coming to when citizens stand by or hurry away, declining to “get involved” when human beings are desperately in need of help’? We have read in recent years of cases in big cities wherein crowds stood watching, not lifting a finger to prevent crimes being committed before their eyes, including rape. Now comes a news story from Oklahoma City of hundreds of hundreds of people stepping over a 77-year-old man who had fallen, or of driving away, without stopping to offer help. The man, it was reported, tripped and fell face down on a downtown sidewalk. He was pronounced dead about an hour later. An attorney and his daughter were driving when they saw the man face down on the walk in the heart of the business district. The attorney wheeled his car around and went to the victim’s aid. The man was bleeding from the mouth and his pulse was weak. He was described as “nice-looking – like somebody’s granddad.” The attomey tried to flag down motorists, who kept right on going. “For 20 minutes, people passed by V before even a policeman came.” Eventually an ambulance with a patient stopped to administer oxygen; then another ambulance with more oxygen and a fire department rescue unit arrived with additional help. When the lawyer and his daughter went to the hospital to check on the man’s condition, they were informed he was dead. “We sat down and almost cried,” he said. We can think of innumerable cases here in Utah Valley where citizens responded quickly when someone was injured or otherwise in need of aid. In fact there have been cases reported in the Herald where onthe-spot citizen involvement resulted in apprehension of wouldbe criminals. For example, a high school boy, seeing a burglar emerge from a building, chased and overtook him and held him until police arrived. In a similar case, a suspect emerged from a jewelry store after a holdup. When he started to run, a citizen took after and tackled him on a parking lot, enabling police to make a quick arrest. People who get involved in situations like these must use caution and good judgment, of course. There’s always a chance the suspect is armed. But in the case of someone simply injured, there seems no excuse for people to walk away without at least finding out whether they could be of assistance. Examples of courageous and compassionate citizen involvement are heartwarming and reassuring; but when the reverse response is forthcoming, such as in the Oklahoma case, the reaction can only be one of disappointment. What People Are Saying “The purpose of any armed force is, after all, to kill as many people as possible, despite all the recruiting posters about learning a trade or participating in a sports program.” — West German student Norbert Petruscka explaining his motives behind applying for a conscientious ohjector’s deferment. ”l-listory was always male history, and literature was male literature. It will help women to get a fair share of the pie in society to become professionals by virtue of education.” – Prof. Domna C. Stanton who instructs a course at Barnard college, “Female and Feminism in Literature.”