The Parable of the Good Samarian

On Tuesday we were given a handout of a very familiar story. This was a story that was read to me often when I was in my Catholic elementary school. This parable shows that there is always hope at the end of the dark tunnel (or that's what I thought). Beforehand, we had watched a clip from Seinfeld where a very healthy man had gotten mugged and the characters did nothing but watch and get entertained. The cop or other figure of authority came up to them and said that the city had a "Good Samaritan Law" which stated that if anyone was in danger, you would have to help him or her if needed be. We then had to find a theme which then led to writing an essay about this topic: Do you agree or disagree that most people risk their lives to help someone in need. I had to disagree. I mean, why would someone want to risk their own civilian life when they can get some other high authoritative figure to straighten things out? There was another important thought that came to mind while we had the discussion in class: Do people consider themselves caught in the crossfire of trouble, or do they not care at all when someone is in dire need as if it were invisible until they are involved? That, my pupils, is a question I will leave for you to figure out.