“No man is an island”
Many will recognize this quote as part of a sentence in John Donne’s Devotions. (1624) He said, “No man is an island, entire of it self; every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main.” (We can perhaps forgive Mr. Donne for his use of the term man to mean human beings or all men and women. He could also have said “ none of life”.)
I thought of this phase this morning because already this week I have been presented with the following:
We in the United States have often learned to think of ourselves as individualist with many rights. It seems that often we have a difficult time understanding or is it accepting that every action or inaction (itself an action) affects the entire universe. We can easily see the spread of diseases such as covid-19. One person can potentially affect a number of others who potentially infect many others and so on and so forth.
We could also think of more positive examples. If I stop at the convenience store with the intention of smiling at and asking the clerk how they are today while incidentally getting a gallon of milk, the store clerk passes along that smile to 50 people and even a significant percentage pass it along to 10 people each (perhaps just those they pass on the sidewalk) and those potentially 500 people pass it along to 10 people that smile has already traveled to 5000 people and it is not even 10 a.m. The possibilities are endless. The other day a young man in early recovery from drug addiction caught a positive attitude from an 8-year-old boy in the waiting room of Med Express. That young man then passed it along to 8 other people who passed it along to many more.
Some of us are familiar with the assertion based on research that there are only six degrees of separation between every person in the universe meaning there are only six people between every person and every other person in the universe.
If we believe not wearing a mask, deciding not to co-parent, not calling someone before picking up that drug or that rope to kill ourselves, or making decision about reopening businesses or schools in light of covid-19 affects only us or our immediate family we will be hard pressed to find credible scientific evidence to support our beliefs.
I have known individuals who took their family to live in remote areas with the Intention of being self-sufficient. I have yet to meet anyone who was truly self-sufficient by choice. When a family member becomes sick they want transportation to and services at medical facilities. Many still want access to some products such as coffee, nails, flour, sugar or possibly others.
Most religions and moral or ethical philosophies support the belief that all of life forms (plant, animal, and mineral) are interdependent. I have yet to hear a cogent counter argument. I do not believe I have the right to engage in any behavior which affects others – all behavior – without first considering and taking responsibility for the outcome of that behavior. I also believe that I have the right and the responsibility to act in a way which demonstrates love and respect for all of life; to live in a way which affirms what John Donne posited in 1624 – “No man (person) is an island.” Perhaps individual rights are always collective rights and collective rights are always individual rights.
Written July 8, 2020
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
Many will recognize this quote as part of a sentence in John Donne’s Devotions. (1624) He said, “No man is an island, entire of it self; every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main.” (We can perhaps forgive Mr. Donne for his use of the term man to mean human beings or all men and women. He could also have said “ none of life”.)
I thought of this phase this morning because already this week I have been presented with the following:
- A person who committed suicide by hanging.
- Numerous complains about the mandate to wear masks . Some assert that “our rights are being taken from us”
- Families and individuals dealing with the fallout from addiction to alcohol, sex, power, thinks, or work.
- The lack of ability to co-parent.
- Legal marriage in which one person gives and the other takes.
- Debates about reopening of school and other parts of the economy.
We in the United States have often learned to think of ourselves as individualist with many rights. It seems that often we have a difficult time understanding or is it accepting that every action or inaction (itself an action) affects the entire universe. We can easily see the spread of diseases such as covid-19. One person can potentially affect a number of others who potentially infect many others and so on and so forth.
We could also think of more positive examples. If I stop at the convenience store with the intention of smiling at and asking the clerk how they are today while incidentally getting a gallon of milk, the store clerk passes along that smile to 50 people and even a significant percentage pass it along to 10 people each (perhaps just those they pass on the sidewalk) and those potentially 500 people pass it along to 10 people that smile has already traveled to 5000 people and it is not even 10 a.m. The possibilities are endless. The other day a young man in early recovery from drug addiction caught a positive attitude from an 8-year-old boy in the waiting room of Med Express. That young man then passed it along to 8 other people who passed it along to many more.
Some of us are familiar with the assertion based on research that there are only six degrees of separation between every person in the universe meaning there are only six people between every person and every other person in the universe.
If we believe not wearing a mask, deciding not to co-parent, not calling someone before picking up that drug or that rope to kill ourselves, or making decision about reopening businesses or schools in light of covid-19 affects only us or our immediate family we will be hard pressed to find credible scientific evidence to support our beliefs.
I have known individuals who took their family to live in remote areas with the Intention of being self-sufficient. I have yet to meet anyone who was truly self-sufficient by choice. When a family member becomes sick they want transportation to and services at medical facilities. Many still want access to some products such as coffee, nails, flour, sugar or possibly others.
Most religions and moral or ethical philosophies support the belief that all of life forms (plant, animal, and mineral) are interdependent. I have yet to hear a cogent counter argument. I do not believe I have the right to engage in any behavior which affects others – all behavior – without first considering and taking responsibility for the outcome of that behavior. I also believe that I have the right and the responsibility to act in a way which demonstrates love and respect for all of life; to live in a way which affirms what John Donne posited in 1624 – “No man (person) is an island.” Perhaps individual rights are always collective rights and collective rights are always individual rights.
Written July 8, 2020
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
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