Teen Becomes Hero on His Way to Jail!

We hear it every day.  The news is filled with it and so are Facebook posts.  The tension seems to grow by the minute.  I’m sure you know what I am referring to just by reading this first paragraph.  If not, you must be living in a cave.  Either way, you are going to love what you are about to read. It’s NOT about who is right and who is wrong.  It’s not about one side versus another.  In fact, it’s not about all that controversy at all. If you are looking for that, this is not for you.  You can get your fill of that by turning on any of the cable “news” shows out there. This is for you if you want proof of the brighter side of things.  Proof that people actually do care about each other.  Proof that just because someone does one — or even a few bad things —  they may not be a bad person and can still make wonderful choices and do amazing things. Here’s the story…

Jamal Rutledge was off to a bad start in life.  By 17, he already had several run-ins with the law.  According to a Sun Sentinel article published earlier this year, “Rutledge was being booked for violation of probation on charges including burglary and violation of juvenile imposed conditions…” Seems like a pretty bad kid, doesn’t he?  Well, the story gets better… While Officer Franklin Foulks was filling out some mandatory paperwork in relation to Jamal’s arrest, he grabbed his chest in pain, fell off his chair, and collapsed to the floor.  Jamal, who was sitting just a few feet away, did not hesitate to react.  He immediately got up and started kicking the security fence and screaming for other officers to come help. In no time, help arrived and began administering CPR and defibrillation to Foulks’ heart.  There is no doubt that Jamal’s immediate action saved the life of Officer Foulks.

This may seem ironic at first, but the irony is overshadowed by the much bigger picture.  That bigger picture is the fact that Jamal is not an evil person, he is just a misguided kid.  While he made some bad decisions in his life thus far, he still has the ability to care about other people – even people he might dislike under a certain set of circumstances – and save lives. It’s amazing how important “certain circumstances” are.  It is not uncommon for two people who think they hate each other in one environment to find out they like or even love each other when placed in totally different surroundings.  Most of the time it is because the false narrative of “us vs. them” falls apart once people deal with each other on a personal level.  We see how our “enemies” are actually just like us and not enemies at all.

The “common enemy” is the battle cry of those who profit from promoting division… not unity.  War not peace.  Struggle not success.  Author and speaker, Wayne Dyer has often said, “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”  I have a feeling Jamal and Foulk understand what Wayne Dyer is talking about.  I bet they have both changed the way they look at things, and because of that, their entire lives have changed…