Fundamental Worth of the Individual

Our society is one that recognizes the importance of a democracy. One of the concepts that is part of this is the fundamental worth of the individual. An example of this is found in the heroic works of a New York firefighter, Anthony Caroleo. He first became a firefighter for New York in 1995. It was during this time that he joined a program called the National Marrow Donor Program. It wasn’t until the year 2000 that he was called to be a donor. He donated his bone marrow, but he wasn’t able to meet the person he was donating to until one year after. The only information that he was given was that it was a six-year-old girl. This is part of the program’s policy.

A year went by and there were a lot of things that happened to both the girl and the firefighter. The girls name was Xiomara Mendez. During the time of her donation she was in bad shape. She had to go through a lot of chemotherapy. It appeared to be helpful until it relapsed a year later. The best chance that she had was through a donor because another chemotherapy treatment could be life threatening in her condition. Fortunately, she received this donation from Anthony Caroleo within a few weeks. That year Caroleo went through the terrorist attacks of the World Trade Center. It was a nightmare for him, but he did it for America and for individuals who need his help. One year later he happily met with Xiomara Mendez. Even though Caroleo doesn’t think of himself as a hero, he is very important to many individuals who he has helped out.

Caroleo is a perfect example of someone who understands the fundamental worth of individuals. He puts his life at risk to help out people. He saw that there was a need for bone marrow for this girl and he willingly helped her out by donating his bone marrow. He has respect for each and every individual who was in the trade tower too. It doesn’t matter what race, physical ability, mental ability, or religion that the person is. Each individual is important.

The country is made of immigrants from other countries. We consider everyone a unique and important individual to the diversity of the country. This concept must never be lost, or we will lose our right to be called a democracy.

Works Cited