Is Love For Damar Enough?

 The Monday Night Football game of January 2nd was a nightmare with a silver lining. The nightmare of course was the injury to Damar Hamlin. After Hamlin tackled Tee Higgins from Cincinnati, he stood up and then collapse because of a cardiac arrest. The trainers and medical staff from both the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals responded to Hamlin both immediately and appropriately. That occurred because the NFL requires that the medical personnel and trainers from each team be trained to handle such an eventuality. It is their quick response to Hamlin's cardiac arrest that helped preserved Hamlin's health. However, during the first at least 48 hours, we didn't  know how much Hamlin would recover if at all.

The silver lining was seen not just in the medical response received, but in the responses of both coaches, the players, the referees, and the NFL itself. Because of the effect of seeing a teammate or fellow player battling for his life, the players could not continue playing the game. And so the game was first temporarily suspended and then canceled because of the concern for Hamlin first, and then concern for the players from both teams. Here, concern for people was more important than playing the game. In other words, humanity trumped sports and entertainment.

One of the things to consider regarding football today is whether we have outgrown the sport. To make this point, all one has to do is to compare the sizes of Jimmy Johnson and Michael Strahan from Fox's NFL pregame show. What we need to realize is that both played on the defensive line during their playing careers. Here we should note that Jimmy Johnson did not play pro football like Strahan did. But the gross disparity in size for these two people who played roughly the same position tells  us something about today's game. We now see more and more serious injuries in both college and pro football because the today's players are so much bigger, stronger, and faster than the players of yesteryear.

The love for Damar was not just shown in the medical care he received, but in the prayers and well wishes of Americans across the nation. It is also being seen in the donations being made to Hamlin's charity, the Chasing M's foundation. That too added to the silver lining of Hamlin's injury. And last, but not least, Hamlin's remarkable recovery is a very large part of that silver lining.

But the question that we Americans need to ask ourselves is this, is the love for Damar enough? Certainly the love shown Damar's way has been more than enough. But what about the love we give to those non-celebrities who are in distress? Are we giving them enough love?

Think about the social programs that the government has been providing for the vulnerable and for those who are old? Are we more concerned about the taxes we pay than the help that those programs give to people who are vulnerable? Do we want people in all levels of full-time employment to be paid a living wage so that fewer people need the services of private charities more than we want to spend less or make more money ourselves? Think about the fact that we live in a shareholder economy where the wants and whims of shareholders are most often considered at the expense of the welfare of the other stakeholders in our publicly owned businesses. Vlad Lenin made the point that when charity is used to compensate for tolerance of unjust wages, charity becomes a form of cheap grace.

It was only right that we were so moved by Hamlin's injury and possible death or being crippled. It was only right to cancel the game on the spot and then to pray for Damar and to donate to his charity foundation. But can we muster a sufficient amount of concern for other Americans who suffer greatly and face great health risks who are not sports heroes or entertainment celebrities? Is love for Damar enough or do we need to share much more love for vulnerable Americans than we do now? After all, many Americans are suffering today and facing significant risks today. Wouldn't it be patriotic to be willing to sacrifice more to help our fellow Americans or is practicing patriotism only for those who put on a uniform and use weapons to defend America and advances its policies?