The world seems bent on destruction. Passenger planes and fighter jets falling from the sky. Parisien concert goers, running for their lives. Refugees, terrorists, and leaders who attempt to bring calm. And through all the mess and madness that humans attempt to bear, I remember the words of a cabbie, which I’d like to share:
People are People
I often think back to a Chicago trip, but it’s not the cross-braced wonder of the John Hancock building, the magnificent mile, or oven the fantastic shopping that I recall, but the wise words of a cab driver. The United States was still in the grip of a difficult recession during this ride, where I shared a polite conversation with a cab driver. Cause, that’s just something I like to do! It’s part of the travel journey to talk to people, to glean context into another person’s journey. As on this day, conversations are sometimes enlightening.
The drive into downtown Chicago takes about twenty minutes. In that time, I learn that the cab driver is a former banker turned cabbie. He relates the six figure salary he has lost with the downturn in the economy. He drives this cab to support his family and soon we’re talking about his life.
He shares that he still has family living in Pakistan and that he emigrated to America to give that family a better life. We talk about tragic events, such as 911. He’s clearly saddened by the thought of anyone causing harm to human life. I distinctly remember him saying: people are people. My goodness, I wish I knew his name. Because what he says next, I could never forget.
People are people. Regardless of where they live, they want the same things: A good life, a job that will earn money, food on the table, happiness, rich laughter, peace, hope for the future, faith, love, so many things, I could whisper them forever. What happens when people have no hope of finding these things?
I fear that those who don’t have hope, the unemployed, the hungry, homeless, sad, abused, hurt, crying, lost, and unloved people; have somehow slipped between the cracks of society, and don’t know, or even remember this simple little fact. That people are people.
How can there ever be peace, if people forget, about people. In the words of John Lennon, “You may say I’m a dreamer, But I’m not the only one, I hope someday you’ll join us, And the world will live as one!”