One in 6,926,524,650*

I heard something on the radio yesterday that irked me. I must be getting older because this is happening more often. Anyway, there was an accident in Hamilton, New Zealand. A woman in a car was t-boned by a motorcyclist. The impact was enough the trap the driver in her car and send the cyclist to the hospital with critical head injuries. The radio reported that during the rescue and crash investigation, a police officer in a florescent vest was almost mowed down by a woman rubbernecking and talking on her cell phone; a man got aggravated with police because they wouldn't let him walk through the accident scene to get coffee; and twenty-seven other people were asked to leave the scene. I'm not making this up. You can read more here.

So upon hearing this I was left asking myself – who do we think we are? I am one person in a world of almost 7 billion people. I need to share this planet with 7 billion other people who have an equal right to the resources that I use, to the air that I breathe, the job that I have, and the respect and dignity as a person that I demand from others. How on earth do I balance what I want right here and now with what the other 6,926,526,602** people who now live on the planet need and want? Can I really get upset with a police officer that asks me to find another way to get my coffee fix? Can I really be so self absorbed that I almost run over a public servant who is trying to help a seriously injured motorcyclist?

We are a part of a global community, one that is shrinking every day thanks to globalisation. We need to figure out pretty soon that we are not here alone. That our rights and opinions on what we deserve may be justified, but no more than they are for the other 7 billion people just like us. If we've learned anything from the global financial crisis it should surely be that the decisions and choices I make for myself and my family actually do have an impact on others. If I make bad choices and decisions, they are just as likely to become someone else's problem, in addition to my own. We would be wise to get our heads around what it means to live in a globally connected community. As I express myself I need to do so in ways that respect others. If only because I'm pretty certain that I'll expect others to respect my self expression. If we are unable to develop this sense of self restraint, then the world is in more trouble then we realise. Mostly because if I'm so self absorbed that I don't consider the impact I have on others, then I'm most likely to live life thinking that the problems facing the world are for someone else to sort out. Just let me get my cup of coffee.

*As of 17 July 2009 @ 12:41 PM (NZT)

** As of 17 July 2009 @ 12:48 PM (NZT)