Among the victims of the serious accident was a driver who obviously required a tracheotomy to survive. Traffic conditions precluded speedy delivery of medical assistance. The physician described his first thought as he saw the struggling driver as not one about the welfare of the dying man, but that of what would happen to his license and how much liability he would have if anything went wrong during the procedure. After he performed the tracheotomy, the young physician was relieved, not because he saved the driver's life but because the driver was moving his toes which meant no neurological damage from the tracheotomy. Malpractice, recovery, litigation, and rights are creations of statutory law that reduce us to a society of confrontation.
Forgiveness is a concept absent from the remedy-laden codified law.
As the disaster at the nuclear plant in Chernobyl was analyzed, it became clear that engineers in the plant had overridden the safety policies and procedures at the plant. Within a small group of individuals was the power to bring about a mishap that will affect generations of Russians. The fallout from the reactor meltdown was measured around the world. Within that same small group of plant employees rested the trust of a world in the exercise of their judgment. That trust was betrayed as these plant operators opted to minimize costs.