The Problem of Politicians With Little Skin-in-the-Game
“Most people don’t care what happens so long as it doesn’t happen to them.”
A classic story brings this out:
Rabbi Shalom Schwadron of Jerusalem tells of a “maaseh” that he was a part of. The story brings out how different one’s reaction is when he relates to someone’s suffering as contrasted with when he doesn’t.
A neighborhood boy was playing in front of the rabbi’s home. The child fell and received a bad cut. The little boy started screaming. Rabbi Schwadron ran out, put a towel around cut and carried the boy towards the home of a doctor who lived nearby.
An elderly lady saw him excitedly running carrying the child, and said “Don’t worry, G-d will help.” She thought it was one of Rabbi Schwadron’s children. When he got closer, she recognized that the screaming boy was none other than her own grandson. When she saw who the child was, she stopped saying a dispassionate, “Don’t worry,” and started frantically screaming, “My Mayer, My Mayer.” Several neighbors tried strenuously to calm her down.
Rabbi Schwadron noted that when it was someone else’s child one can dispassionately go through the motions and say, “Don’t worry, G-d will help.” Let it be G-d’s worry. When it’s one’s own child one screams frantically.
In the same spirit, check out the wry article we once wrote on Emuna\Bitachon over here.