When Grand Theft Is a Very Good Thing

In grand tragedies the small stories are often the most interesting. Frequently these small stories also give us the best perspective on the big picture. That's exactly the case in the story of eighteen-year-old Jabbor Gibson, a young man I watched Greta Van Susteren interview last night.

Gibson was tired of waiting for help so he decided to do something about it. According to Gibson he went to a lot where he knew there were school buses, looked for the key to the vehicle, started it up and drove off. Gibson had heard that Astrodome was to be used as a re-location site, so that was to be his destination. However, before heading out of town, he made one very important stop -- to collect about 80 strangers in need to join in the 7 hour journey.

Gibson had never driven a bus before, but managed to make the trip safely. Gibson stated that three times they had to stop for gas, with everyone pitching in pocket change in order to add a few gallons. His was the first bus to arrive at the Astrodome.

Here is a young man who instead of relying on others, decided to take action to not only to help himself but 80 complete strangers. Mitch Berg created a stir with a picture of a man who was taking control of his security amidst the looting in New Orleans once it was clear that the police had lost all control of security. The lesson is both cases is that when society breaks down, you can choose to be a victim and sit idly by, or you can choose to take control and change your situation while doing something for the greater good.

If only the mayor of New Orleans had exhibited the leadership like that Jabbor Gibson showed. More on that in the next post.