A few nights ago, my two youngest children and I were watching the ABC television show, "What Would You Do?"  The ethical dilemma show sets up scenarios to determine if unsuspecting strangers would step in when they saw something happen that was wrong.  In this last episode, for example, one actor portrayed a homeless man, and another actor portrayed a well-to-do businessman who steals a dollar from the homeless man's cup in order to buy a cup of coffee.  Would bystanders intervene?

In another scenario, a husky teenager harasses and threatens his mother at the pharmacy counter. The teenager, mother and pharmacist are all actors, but the other customers are not.  Will they step in when they notice the mother's (made up) black eye?

From the comfort of our family room, it is so easy to see the situations clearly.  To declare definitively what the right thing to do is, and that we would indeed do it.  But in reality, it's not always so easy.  We sometimes hesitate, wondering if we should intervene.  We worry that when it's not an actor we're interrupting, chastising or chasing down, we could put ourselves, and the ones around us in true danger.

Which makes it particularly impressive, then, to think of the many people who have stepped forward, not before a camera, but in quiet moments of real life, when they see something that is just wrong.  When they see situation that has gone on long enough.

February is Black History Month, and I've been thinking about the courage that it took for people, of all races, to recognize injustice, step forward and say, "enough." 

Rosa Parks is a great example.  We've all heard about how she refused to give up her seat on the bus, but what is particularly interesting is that on that December 1, she hadn't planned on participating in a protest.  While she had been involved in civil rights activities, on that day, Girlfriend was just trying to get home after work.  But when she was commanded to give up her seat, she spontaneously refused, because the law just wasn't fair.  She had no way of knowing that her action would further a movement, or that her name would become part of history.  She just made the choice to do what she thought was right.

The onlookers in "What Would You Do" had the same choice.   Some of them confronted the agitator head on.  Some provided quiet support to the "victim."  Some backed away, ignoring the situation.  I wonder what would have happened if Rosa Parks had just quietly given up her seat?

We all face decision points daily, some small, some large.  The danger is overlooking the seemingly small ones, which ultimately are sometimes the most pivotal.  I hope that my children and I will not ignore those moments when we need to say "enough" and that we always have the courage to step up and do the right thing.