Can Barack Obama bring Jdimytai Damour Back from the Dead?

I was overseas on election day and like many travelers in hotels around the globe, I was glued to CNN World News.  It was amazing and even exhilarating to see so many gatherings around the world, celebrating what Obama's victory symbolizes; hope for our future.

 

During Obama's acceptance speech, we all heard him say how this change we seek must also come from us as individuals and that we are all in this together.  

On those words, millions and perhaps, billions of us made a personal pact right then and there to do our part to help fix what is broken in our society.

 

Just weeks after Obama's words were spoken, another man became a symbol. I didn't know him until the news reported he was killed by shoppers who trampled him to death as he opened the doors to a Walmart store on Black Friday.

 

I bet if you asked each one of those shoppers who was present that night at Walmart  on Thanksgiving the previous day, that an innocent young man would die in this terrible manner while they were at the store, they would have said, "No Way!"

 

And if you told Jdimytai's parents on Thanksgiving that their son would be trampled to death by people shopping the next day at his temp job at Walmart, they probably would disbelieve you.

 

But it happened.

 

 And as much as we look to our leaders to make our lives better, they can't fix tragedies like this one that occurred on Black Friday. That is, unless Obama can bring Jdimytai back from the dead.

 

Jdimytai's tragic death should be a symbol of what we need to fix in our society as a whole.  He should remain in our thoughts as a beacon of light to remind us to pay attention to each other and be considerate to people around us no matter how we are feeling at the time.

 

We are human beings who can make choices as to how we behave at all times.  Sometimes it is so much easier to follow the crowd but we need to think before we take any action, even if people around us take the wrong one. There is a leader in all of us!  And, there is no time like the present to bring this leader in us forward.

 

The fact that people were rushing to get good deals for gifts for their loved ones at the expense of an innocent man's life should be the biggest light bulb for us all.  I believe we all need to slow down and consider the importance of people over things. We need to consider that all people are as important as the ones we know personally.

 

Jdimytai's death has helped our whole family focus on people rather than things for the holidays.  

 

This year, our entire extended family is doing a Pollyanna for Christmas. Instead of buying everyone gifts, we have one person for which to buy a present and with our savings we are making a donation to families who are in need. We all feel so good about this and it has even opened a new door to discussion about additional ways we can help those in need as an extended family throughout the year.

 

I never knew him during his short life but for our family and I hope for yours, Jdimytai  will be a symbol for the change we must believe in for our future.

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