‘What would happen if nobody cared…?’

OB Peace Rock

By South OB Girl

After the OB Planning Board monthly land use meeting Wednesday night, I ended up at Culture for a brew.

Per usual, as often happens when I wander out, a number of interesting things happened.

I befriended the cutest little French bull dog, Frida, who settled into my lap despite just meeting her and despite being a total stranger to her.

And then a familiar looking pooch Nacho wandered in. I didn’t recognize him as Nacho at first because he was not with his owner. After learning it was the same sweet-natured pit bull Nacho whom I had met several times before, the couple out with him informed me that they are his neighbors. Nacho clearly enjoyed hanging out with his neighbors and he definitely is a pooch who is well loved — since I know that his owner spoils him pretty well too.

Conversation shifted from discussion about Nacho, to discussion about the planning board.

The sweet girl out with Nacho was eager to learn a bit about community involvement and activism. And she is also a reader of The OB Rag. Her name is Megan and she asked an excellent question: “What would happen if nobody cared?”

What would happen to the parks? If nobody asked for them, would there be parks?

What would they look like? What would happen in a small town if nobody took the lead?

Her heartfelt questions got the wheels spinning in my educated brain.

My first answer to Megan reached into political theory. Thomas Hobbes. “The Leviathan.”

If left ungoverned– society, the people, can become an untamed, unruly beast or monster (the leviathan). In “The Leviathan,” the human state of nature can be out of control without leadership. Hobbes invites us to consider what life would be like in a state of nature, i.e. a condition without government. I’m not going to hash out the arguments for and against this political theory here — it is just food for thought.

And then I thought of the school boys in “Lord of the Flies.” Learning to survive on a deserted island, the boys regress into a primitive state and descend into savagery. And the story is an example of tyranny gone wrong.

And rather than reflecting on more political science, more philosophy, or more literature — I was struck by an appreciation for what Megan had inquired and I was inspired by her. I thought that Megan was just the example of what can make a difference in the world.

She was caring. Concerned. Interested. And wondering the simple question, “What would happen if nobody cared?” And possibly it is people like Megan who can make a difference in the world. Just by caring. Perhaps causing a chain reaction of care and concern into the offices of our elected officials. We can only hope.

So in this time of a shifting political climate, I find a sense of peace in Megan’s simple words, “What would happen if nobody cared?”