“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
-Edmund Burke
I recently heard an expert on bullying, Stu Cabe, address an auditorium full of high school students. He began with a story about elephants. Twenty years ago in Kruger National Park, South Africa’s largest conservation reserve, there was a serious over-population problem; too many elephants. Back then there was no cost effective way of moving the larger animals, so the decision was made to relocate the smaller elephants to another park.
Fine for the elephants, but not so much for their new neighbors, the white rhinos who over time began showing up dead. Turns out the relocated baby elephants had grown into adolescent bullies without the guidance of good role models, and the accountability that naturally follows. In their unchecked aggression, they were ramming the rhinos to death. Concerned about their steadily decreasing rhino population and the negative impact on tourism, the park figured they’d best correct the problem they’d first created years before. They rented special trucks and brought in large bull elephants to return the system to its natural state, establishing a new hierarchy. In a very short amount of time, the bigger bulls had laid down new rules for the younger elephants by modeling appropriate behavior, and physically intervening to stop the aggressive behavior when the modeling wasn’t enough. And surprise, surprise the violence stopped.
This world we live in is not unlike a wild animal reserve. There are hierarchies of power and rules of social engagement. And when proper modeling is lacking and active interventions are slow in coming, the vulnerable invariably get bullied. Why? Because human beings, when separated from a community that protects life, become small; they give in to fear, and selfishness, and violence. It’s “survival of the fittest”, and it’s ugly.
Bullying has now been identified as a major problem in schools. But of course it’s happening in schools because it’s happening everywhere else; at home, on the internet, at the office, and on the television. And finally, people are realizing that bullying doesn’t have to be physical in order to be violent. Far more damage is done with hateful words, mean-spirited alliances, and shaming actions than can ever be adequately measured.
Protectiveness as a virtue compels you to stand up for the underdog, get involved when you don’t have to, care when its not convenient, and live the belief that human rights extend beyond your own nose. And to understand how much is at stake if you don’t.
“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Good men, and good women, good boys, and good girls…
Unlike the animal reserve,when it comes to virtue “big-ness” isn’t dependent on the size of your body, but on the size of your heart. Yes adults should naturally lead in protecting life, but the young can and must be empowered to join this struggle as well.
For the sake of the vulnerable, for the sake of humanity, be a big elephant.
Question for reflection: What can you do to become more of a big elephant?
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About Me
- Ross Porter
- Dr. Ross Porter received his B.A. from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and his Master of Divinity (Theology) and Ph.D. (Clinical Psychology) degrees from Fuller Theological Seminary, where he first became interested in the integration of psychology and spirituality. He is a teacher, author, counselor, and consultant, specializing in integrative psychology, virtue ethics and family systems. He has taught at the high school, college, and graduate school levels. Ross is also the Founder and Executive Director of Stillpoint Family Resources, a non-profit organization that offers counseling services to individuals, couples, and families in crisis, with nine different office locations throughout Ventura, Los Angeles and Orange Counties (specific office locations can be found at www.stillpointfamilyresources.org). In 2009, Dr. Porter was named an “Outstanding Angeleno” by the Los Angeles Daily News. Ross and his wife Jennifer have been married for 21 years, and have four beautiful children. John Michael, their son who has Down Syndrome is their first born.
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