“Lomaplast” is the biggest (vehicle) bumper factory in South America. However, years ago, while the factory was in the process of becoming a big company something happened that changed the course of the company. One day while they were fixing the roof of the factory, a welding shard fell and completely burnt the factory which totally stopped its production. However, in that moment of desperation, an unexpected event occurred: the biggest competitor offered help. In an interview, the owner of Lomaplast said “He called me and said: ‘Would you like to borrow bumpers from me?’” That gesture deeply marked him.
Later on in the interview he said: “When you have a difficult moment in the company, you see what others are made of”, and he continued “there are people who go into the flames to try to put it out; people who are worried that the screwdriver they left inside is burning; people who stay to sweep up the debris; and there are people who get a lawyer and sue you. But the fact that my lifelong competitor called me to offer his help, to lend me a hand, I will never be able to forget that.”
I would like to take advantage of this story to talk about a “forgotten” virtue: solidarity. As St. John Paull II says: “Solidarity is undoubtedly a Christian virtue… In the light of faith, solidarity seeks to go beyond itself.” He explains that it is a Christian virtue because it is related to charity, “which is the distinguishing mark of Christ’s disciples (cf. Jn 13:35)” (Sollicitudo rei socialis, 40).
Solidarity comes from the awareness that we depend on others and others depend on us, which means that there is an interdependence among people and no one can live without the help of another. Since the beginning of our existence, we have needed God who gave us the soul and two people who gave us a body. We are debtors and solidarity is a way to pay that debt.
Even more, solidarity is the awareness that I cannot be okay if my neighbor is not okay. It is the awareness that the good of my neighbor is more important than what I have and for that reason, I should be willing to sacrifice what I have in order to help my neighbor in his need.
The other side of the coin of what I just said is the understanding the reality that I do not become a good person because of what I have, but rather my good actions are what make me a good person. If I keep what I have rather than sacrificing it in order to help my neighbor, I would have more material things. I could even increase my wealth (as the competitor of Lomaplast could have taken all their clients and its business would have grown, instead of helping Lomaplast), but I will not grow as a person which is much more important than riches.
