Character counts… but really, it does.

I recently read an AP story about a 15-year-old girl who was gang raped outside her high school. Following a homecoming dance, the victim was walking to meet her father when a group of young men attacked and proceeded to assault her for more than two hours.

Wow. Initially, I want to yell and question what is wrong with these people and the chemistry of their brains. Yes, bad stuff happens all the time. True.

However, I’ve never heard about a rape occurring where people observed the incident and didn’t take action. According to the article, more than a dozen people watched or participated in the rape. Really?

That’s just sick. I can’t comprehend why someone would do that. But it almost baffles me more that there were bystanders, observers, those who stood by and did nothing. And that is pathetic. Which brings us to the issues of character, integrity and strength.

Haven’t ever been involved in something like this? Ditto. That doesn’t mean we should push it to the back of our minds and pat ourselves on the shoulder for being good, upstanding citizens. So many other instances hit closer to home where this mindset can be applied.

Although we are all, for the most part, adults, there was surely a time when you excluded someone. Maybe it was Sally back in the sixth grade when you didn’t invite her to your sleepover. Or maybe you remember picking that skinny, awkward boy last for kickball and snickering the entire time. Without anything violent, terribly wrong or unusual happening, we’ve all probably shown a lack of character and empathy at some point in time.

We’d like to think everyone grows out of that, though. I would like to believe that “adults,” as we so quickly title ourselves, wouldn’t do such trivial things. However, it still happens. In fact, I recall being with a group of 20 somethings recently and watching a number of them secretly make fun of another girl in attendance. It was pretty pathetic. Of course, they didn’t know I was paying attention. They had no idea that I knew what was going on.

After I confronted them, a hasty denial and a sheepish attempt at recovery followed. They were just “having fun” and “didn’t mean anything by it.” I’m sure she didn’t even notice the jabs being made behind her back … right?

Some of my only regrets in life come from memories I have of not sticking up for others, being my own person or doing what I know to be right. This isn’t a lesson in behavior but a reminder that these things still occur today, and we have a chance to fix them, at least in our own lives.

We all want to be treated as adults, right? I have an idea then: Let’s act like it. And that doesn’t mean just because someone is older than you, they cannot learn from you.

2 Timothy 4:12: “Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith and your purity.” If that’s not a call to action, I’m not sure what it will take.

So when do people grow out of caring so much about what others think? When will we exhibit character, integrity and strength to do what is right? That is up to you.

It may not be easy, convenient or socially acceptable, but as the saying goes, sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same.