Modern life has its set of values. Some people get rewarded by incredible wealth. Some drop out and become invisible. A Swiss photographer froze to death in a busy street in Paris, France. Hundreds of people must have walked past, but nobody helped, because, seemingly a homeless person, he had become invisible. Modern society had no empathy, no sense of common responsibility, no time to devote to someone in need of help.

Most religions exhort us to give alms to the beggar, to help the widow and the orphan. What has gone wrong? 

American psychologist Gustave Gilbert observed the Nuremberg trials and kept a diary. He recorded a discussion with Herman Göring in which the Nazi politician explained that any leader can always get the people to do the bidding of their leaders if you tell them that they are in danger and that pacifists lack patriotism. Gilbert sought to identify the nature of evil and concluded that it was a lack of empathy. "It’s the one characteristic that connects all the defendants, a genuine incapacity to feel with their fellow men.”

So, it was with delight that, in my studies at the University of YouTube, I  came across a little unimportant story of a veteran, unable to fit into society, who lived in a van in the woods. With the onset of winter his van broke down and he just could not cope any more. A tow truck operator went to check on him, managed to get him and his van out and alerted local support structures. A local repair facility offered to repair the van, the local authority made housing facilities available, and a GOFundMe request was quickly over-subscribed. 

But what was really touching was the comment from someone that he or she lived in that town on $ 750 a month, so could not offer money. However, he or she was willing to help in whatever way was needed. 

Leadership is bringing people together. This saying is attributed to George W Bush, but can be seen in the lives of many other successful leaders. I find that it contrasts diametrically to the view expressed by Herman Göring.

These are times when people and societies are being tested. Where do you stand?