A Journalist's Story

 

I suppose many of you are too young to remember Peter Jennings, who was an anchorman for ABC.  Heck, I wonder how many of you even know what an anchorman is!

Anyway, I'm reading a book about him (A Reporter's Life), which is a compilation of commentaries about him from people who knew him well.

Jennings initially made a career out of being a foreign correspondent, and a fair one at that.  He was known for trying to seek the truth and give both sides of a story, having traveled to many war-torn countries.

He paid a price for this because people accused him of being pro-Palestinian or pro-Israeli.  He just wanted to make sure both sides were heard and reported.

One of his associates told this story, that I thought I would share, just because . . .

Jennings and another associate were in a hospital during the war in Syria.  They were following a story about an Israeli pilot who was being operated on. They asked the doctor who was operating on the pilot (who flew for the opposing country) how he felt about operating on the Israeli pilot, a so-called enemy.

Twice the doctor didn't answer them. They finally got a little upset and walked out. After about ten minutes, the doctor took them to a window and showed them a home that was bombed out by an Israeli plane three days prior, where the doctor's wife and two children died. 

"It could have been him [that flew the plane that killed his family]" he said, "But, I'm a doctor."

It feels like there's a lesson in there somewhere, especially when you consider what is going on around us today.  

What might our world be like if we were so dedicated to doing the right thing, even for our "enemy", when our human emotions tell us not to?

If we could adopt a spiritual, supernatural way of living, where we act not so much according to our human tendencies, but from a place of faith, love and dedication, we could make a difference.

It isn't hard to make this application to our own life.  Consider it the next time you have "the right" to be mad at someone, and, like the doctor, choose to do the right thing, even if it is hard to do.

Janet Cassidy
janetcassidy.com
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