How many of you...

...would put yourselves in harm's way to help someone...or donate a significant amount of money to help out someone in financial distress...or attempt to influence someone's life for good even when that could jeopardize your life and your family relationships?

What if you weren't even positive that the person in question needed or wanted your help?

...

You can come up with plenty of similar situations, I'm sure. Maybe you've even been in some. Most of us have at some time in our lives. It's just interesting to ponder.

The other night as I was leaving work, around 11.30 p.m., I noticed a young lady who had pulled into the parking lot and was heaving everything out of her trunk onto the grass by the side of the lot. Assuming she had a flat tire and was looking for a spare, I cruised alongside her car slowly, wondering if I should offer help.

Horror stories from the news flashed through my mind...people robbed, beaten, or killed just because they tried to help out someone they thought was in distress...

I finally made up my mind to cautiously roll down my window and ask, "Do you need help?"

"NO!" she barked, taking a defensive stance. "No, I have Triple A and they'll be here shortly! I'm fine! Thanks anyway!"

"OK!" I replied in the same tone, a little miffed that she'd been so rude when I was just offering to help, and in fact stepping WAY out of my comfort zone to do so.

But the more I thought about it, I realized I would have reacted in a similar way. If I'd been her, I would have been terrified to be all by myself with a flat tire that late at night. I can't blame her at all.

It's a shame. Not only are people who need help scared out of their wits to ask anybody for assistance...but now others who could offer help are scared out of their wits to do so because it could be a potentially dangerous or even fatal trap.

And yet we have TV programs like "What Would You Do?" that put bystanders in situations like the ones I mentioned above, just to test them to see what they'll do. The program rewards the people who do "the right thing" and scolds the ones who don't -- or at least, the host speaks about them afterward in a very disappointed tone of voice, asking why more people don't step up to help those around them.

I know why. They're afraid.

So...how far would you go to help someone? What would you do?