Tolerance, compassion, where are they?

Tolerance. Patience. Understanding. Compassion. Where did these human traits go for a great deal of citizens?

We try to come to grips with this dilemma, searching for the answer.

On the morning of March 1 I was heading west on Pacific Avenue, I noticed an obvious homeless older man with a little cart coming toward me on the sidewalk. He bent over to investigate something (a coin, perhaps?). In doing so, a container fell out of his cart. There was no traffic near me so I slowly approached him with my vehicle then honked to get his attention. He acknowledged me with a wave then I yelled that he dropped something. He didn’t hear me over the honking of the now impatient vehicle that was behind me so I had to yell again.

This driver had to see my interaction with this homeless man. I so wish he could have waited a moment and not be so intolerant, impatient or without understanding and find a shred of compassion.

In this container could there be photographs, change, or even food? OK, maybe there was more to this moment: such as the honking driver thought that this older man reminded him of his abusive father, or was a criminal, addict or just the fact he was homeless, or he didn’t deserve my interaction. It was just a moment; how come this driver behind me could not spare the time? Was it really necessary to be in that much of a hurry?

This story was originally published March 14, 2017 at 6:05 PM with the headline "Tolerance, compassion, where are they?."