Have you seen the FPV drones taking lives on the battle field? I have. I often see short videos with accompanying casualty numbers. I watch for a bit, then swipe up, put my phone in my pocket and pick up my kids from school.
I forget...
Those weren’t just soldiers on a video game. They were real. They were someone’s son, brother, father or friend. All had routines, arguments, favorite foods, unfinished plans... until they didn’t.
We watch and move on...
Someone defaults on a car loan. Another family loses their home. Credit-card debt . Elder abuse and thefts account for millions lost.
Someone else’s problem. We move on...
I’ve been thinking about the connection between financial stress and the rise in fraud and scams—and about how easily we disconnect numbers from the human beings behind them. Financial loss is not remotely the same as a casualty in war, but it does destroy lives, and our disconnect seems similar.
We see foreclosure numbers, auto-loan defaults and rising credit-card debt and file them away as economic statistics.
We forget...
Behind the numbers are tears falling on a kitchen table, trying to figure out what gets paid this month and what doesn’t.
Experiencing personal crisis is when the philosophical distance evaporates.
We hear about people losing thousands of dollars and wonder, How could someone fall for that?
Desperation changes things. .
Sometimes criminals sound like the lifeline desperately needed.
“I can save your house.”
“I can fix your credit.”
“I can get you approved.”
“I can make this problem go away.”
When you’re secure, skepticism is easy. When you’re scared, hope is very convincing.
I think that’s the disconnect we should pay more attention to. We are very good at turning human experiences into numbers, short videos and statistics.
Maybe that’s why empathy matters so much. Not because we have to agree with every decision someone makes, but because we should remember that behind almost every statistic is a human life unfolding in real time.
A foreclosure isn’t just a foreclosure.
A default isn’t just a default.
A scam victim isn’t just a victim.
And a casualty isn’t just a number.
They’re people.