The World of Grandpa Don

We Are Social Animals

It is odd the way different and seemingly unconnected things come together to support a truth. For me, this happened within a few days.

There was an article in the September, 2002 National Geographic which related the social cooperation of meerkats. These are animals which live in an area of Africa which is hot and dry. The meerkats are totally defenseless against the predators that hunt them and survive only by cooperating with each other. This cooperation includes every member of the group, not just the immediate relatives. 

As some of the group forage for food, sentinels watch for danger, emitting a steady soothing sound that lets the others know he is on the job. At the sight of a hawk or other attacker, the sentry lets out o loud alarm and the entire group dives for cover or, if non is available, they band together as a unit to fend off attack. In the mean time, others of the group are at home with the young, forgoing food for the day in order to protect their defenseless charges. At night, they all snuggle together for mutual warmth. The next day, the roles are changed with different task taken by various members of the group. 

They quickly learn to differentiate between friend and foe, recognizing the researchers as no threat, they soon became comfortable with them. At times, they would even climb their backs of these humans using their shoulders and heads as vantage points to scan the area. 

These animals seem to be totally dedicated to the group, putting the overall welfare of the pack, above their personal needs. There is a lesson here.

In one of his Sunday commentaries, regarding the anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy, Fr. Greeley wrote about a little recognized happening. On the day of the attack, commercial and private boats of every size, rushed to the shores of lower Manhattan and evacuated many people trying to escape the area. This was a completely spontaneous reaction by the owners and operators of these boats. No one organized it nor was it pre-planed. A need was there and people reacted. 

The media was quick to show scenes of panic and distress and there was some of that. But, there was also an overall outpouring of cooperation and selfless help among the people of every sort. It is amazing that so many were able to survive. They could not have done so without the selfless cooperation of a great many people. Greeley's point was that we are now putting huge efforts into preparing for similar disasters. Many are demanding the emergency plans be put in place so that help will be there when and if needed. But how do you anticipate every eventuality? 

I don't say that we should not be prepared. Even the meerkats have sentinels and baby sitters. It is though, important to live every day of our lives, caring for each other and being concerned for each other. We need to develop the attitude that what is good for all humanity is good for each individual.

Each day, as part of my morning prayer I include: "Dear God, I pray for the political leaders of the world and community, that they make their decisions based on the overall good of humanity. Make them true leaders who are not driven by the selfish interests of themselves or the people they represent."

Don Plefka
9/8/02