You are in a highrise building. You hear the fire alarm. You grab your kids and a few items. Just before you run out the door you call your family members who also live in the same building. They don't hear the alarm but you do. You tell them there is a fire. They laugh. You say "no really, I can see smoke now." They say "want to come over for dinner?" You say "Please please, just leave the building, just listen to me this one time please!" They say, "oh don't be silly your such an alarmist, they will put out any fire. Thats what firemen are for. They wouldn't let the buiding burn down because it would cost the owners money."

You beg and plead. Finally, you simply can't wait. You grab your kids and run for the door. From outside you see the flames licking up the building towards your DWGI family. You see their window open. They are screaming for help. There is no way you can help them without risking the well-being of your own children. If you go back in the burning building your kids will most likely become orphans.

What do you do?

-- Dolma Lhamo (I'm@nonymous.now), November 07, 1999

Answers

hmmmm?

-- Dolma Lhamo (I'm@nonymous.now), November 07, 1999.

Let them burn!

-- FLAMEAWAY (blehman202@aol.com), November 07, 1999.

You yell up to them, "Throw out your valuables and I'll catch them in this blanket. That's right, the cash, the gold, the watches, the stock certificates. The fire department is on its way. They'll let you down on the ladder, but they won't take valuables; fire departmetn policy. My blanket isn't strong enough for any of you, just your valuables. Don't worry, I won't miss!"

Howz dat?

-- Kurt Ayau (Ayau@iwinet.com), November 07, 1999.

Wave goodbye, hope they have burial money, and hope you were included in the will.

-- bardou (bardou@baloney.com), November 07, 1999.

Good analogy - pretty close.

Of course, sometimes the same action can be righteous or evil depending on the state of your heart. If you tearfully let them endure *theri* consequences for *their* actions, and remain true to your higher responsibility to care for your family, I think God would consider you righteous. If you jeered them "I told you fools, now burn!" - I am equally certain God would judge you harshly.

I am responsible for that which God places on me. I am my brother's keeper (Good Samaritan parable) but only to the extent God allows and equips me to. I cannot feed my state, or my town. I cannot feed my neighborhood. I must do only that which God provides me to, and I should do *all* that He provides me to do.

IMHO,

-- NoOne Special (NoOne@Iknow.com), November 07, 1999.

For God's sake DO NOT waste time arguing!

-- Mr. Mike (mikeabn@aol.com), November 07, 1999.

You go pop a brewski with Paul Milne And talk about irritating relatives

-- (bloodNot@thicker.thanbeer), November 07, 1999.

Nothing. Darwin will take care of them.

-- anonymous (anonymous@anonymous.com), November 07, 1999.

If they can't get out, you can't get in. How will you help them by running into the flames?

Lot's sons-in-law perished in Sodom because they mocked at his warning. What can you do? Probably no more than grieve at the loss.

A sad thought. We can only do what we can.

Gene

-- gene (ekbaker@essex1.com), November 07, 1999.

It is like the bridge out scenerio. Foggy night, sharp bend before the bridge. How hard must you try to slow down oncoming cars? Sacrifice your car or body? Your analogy is better in some ways because once 1 or 2 cars stop, the emergency is over. With the fire as with the impending rollover, there is no "absolute" proof of whether the firemen or bug exterminators will be sufficiently successful until it is way way too late.

(And if you do slow them down in the fog before the bridge, the following traffic causes a 200 car pileup like on I-75 in Tenn a few years back. That is what kosky is worried aout. The pileup of slowed and skewed economy, not the plummet off the edge.)

-- tree (thetrees@bigfoot.com), November 07, 1999.

Pray.

-- Leslie (***@***.net), November 08, 1999.

Be sure you don't have on holey or dirty underwear in the highrise fire when the firemen and women come to rescue you. Didn't your mommas ever tell you that? And what about the emergency room personnel when you're brought in on the stretcher in your holey and dirty underpants?

-- Paula (chowbabe@pacbell.net), November 08, 1999.

Pray. Yep. Also get out of there since you don't want your kids to witness the burning death of your family. Possibly they will survive. There are alot of people who in effect are choosing to burn to death with their extended families because they can not leave them behind. One of the great paradoxes of Y2K preps is that people are not preping because ... others are not preping, a self reinforcing system of behavior. This is 'crowdness' at its finest(?).

-- ..- (dit@dot.dash), November 08, 1999.