Is the Risk Worth the Reward?


Is the risk worth the reward? I have been asking myself this for nearly eight years now. When I was in third grade, I witnessed a car accident that forever changed my perspective on life. My best friend was in that car; he tragically never made it out. I have always wondered; if I had the chance, would I change places with him so he could have lived to see the world we live in today? In my sophomore English class we have read the Book Thief by Markus Zusak. This book is full of characters making decisions that are morally right, and extremely risky. The Hubermanns, main characters, hid a Jew, named Max in, in their basement in Nazi Germany in 1943. This book brought back my memory of my friend and the thought of would I give my life to save his. I have been asked the question should you do the right thing no matter the consequences? I have to believe that no matter what, you should make the right decision, and help another person in need.

Would you be able to risk everything to save a stranger? If you get hurt, you may never see your friends, family, and loved ones ever again. It being in a situation such as this one would make everyone think twice. I don’t know if I could lose my family for a complete stranger. Would they do the same for me? These questions I ask are important because they will go through your head in a time that someone is in dire need of your help. You will try to come up with every excuse to not risk yourself for another, and no one would blame you because they are doing the same thing.

One side would say if it wasn’t him it would be you. I have always thought of that too. But, would I be able to live with myself knowing that I let someone else potentially die so I can save my own behind. It can rip at you morally, and stick with you for years until you can finally deal with it. I understand that most people aren’t willing to give everything to save one person but in such an instance such as the Holocaust in Germany, I would risk being caught by the Germans to save a few lives, especially a friend, from the inevitable death in Buchenwald or Auschwitz. Without people who are willing to give their lives, millions of people innocent civilians would vanish off the face of the earth every day. People everywhere would be hurt for no reason. It is our job as humans to help others, and protect them from the atrocities of our world today.

There are so many ifs, ands, or buts when talking about risking everything for another person. Is that person worth it? Would they do the same for me? You will never know, but one thing you will know is the sense of accomplishment that you could have after saving another person, who is in danger. If your kid had been at Sandy Hook or running in the Boston Marathon you would have helped, and this should be the case for everyone because we are all humans, and that should be enough to risk your life for preserving another. So many atrocities have happened in the past sixty to seventy years. After each one of these atrocities such as the Holocaust, and the Genocide in Darfur, we have said never again yet they seem to be occurring daily. All it takes is one U.N. member to take a stand and end these horrific acts of crime against humanity and all would be saved. It would have saved over 10 million lives from genocidal acts if we would have stopped all the genocides including the holocaust, and all that have followed it. If one man can make a stand against the wrongs, and risk everything; shouldn’t we all do it?

It has taken me nearly eight years to get over the loss of a dear friend and only one could imagine how long it would have taken to get over the guilt if I was able to help and was selfish enough to decide my life was more important than his. All over the world people are being hurt with no one to help them. If we all took a stand to help others in danger, we could really have an impact in the world. That is why you should always do the right thing no matter the consequences. So I’ll ask my original question it again, do you believe that the risk is worth the reward.