Imagine that you are walking down the street one day and you see a small child wander out into the street.  The child clearly is too young to be in the street and someone needs to get this child back to the sidewalk and safety.  As you walk towards the child, you realize that it isn’t just any child; it’s actually the child of one of your close friends – someone whom you have known for years.

As soon as you make that realization, you realize something else too…THERE’S A CAR COMING!  The car is coming down the road fast and it doesn’t see the child.  You are standing on the side of the road – there’s still time to do something if you choose to, but you need to hurry.  You could run out and grab the child.  You could yell at the child to get back to safety.  You could try to get the driver’s attention and tell him to stop.  YOU MUST DO SOMETHING!!!!

But instead, you sit idly by.  You choose not to take any action.  You turn your head so you don’t have to see what’s coming but you know what happens next.  The driver tries to slam on the brakes at the last second, but by then it’s too late.  The child suffers fatal injuries and doesn’t make it through the night.

You were there.  You could have done something.  You could have at least tried.  But you chose not to.  You stood by idly and took no action when you had the chance to save your best friend’s child.