What Wouldn’t I Do? Sep. 6 Writing Prompt Refresh the Soul

There Are Worse Things I Could Do

What is one thing you would never do and why?

I probably wouldn’t try free-climbing. I don’t have the upper-body strength, nor do I have a death wish. I probably wouldn’t go skiing again, either. The first time, I tore my MCL. Next time, it’s likely to be a broken neck. And knowing me, I’d get up for two seconds and wave off the ski patrol. “I’m fine, fine. Don’t worry…” right before dropping dead. I’ll whine like a big baby over a cold, but knocking at Death’s door? I’d be all like, “I hate to be a bother, but could I borrow a cup of sugar?”

The Bright Red Line I Wouldn’t Cross

I wouldn’t shave off my eyebrows for a Klondike Bar, that’s for sure.

But if we’re scrupulously honest with ourselves, is there anything we wouldn’t do, given the right circumstances?

I’d draw the line at cannibalism if it meant killing someone. If they were already dead, as with survivors of the 1972 Andes Plane Crash? Never say never. If I were already dead, I wouldn’t want the remaining survivors to waste their chance to live, due to moral taboos around eating people. Perhaps the line I wouldn’t cross, ever, comes down to the Golden Rule. Do unto others as you would have done unto you.

Would I kill another human? Yes, in self-defense or defense of others. That said, I’d rather escape. I don’t believe in “stand your ground” laws; if there is a reasonable chance of escape, no property is worth another person’s life. Some part of me is Jain, in spirit, but it’s a very unrealistic ideal to live up to — especially for an omnivore. Who would, admittedly, eat you if you were already dead and they were starving to death on the icy, snow-covered Andes.

Many years ago, after watching the movie “Sophie’s Choice,” I asked my mom who she would choose if a Nazi held a gun and demanded she choose between my dad and me. After I had children, I understood her answer: “I would pray to God to strike me dead right then and there and let me hit the floor before the gun went off. It’s an impossible choice.” That may be the thing I couldn’t do. I couldn’t choose which of my loved ones would die and which would live. My husband and children are under strict orders to outlive me, even if it means living to 130 themselves. I plan to live to be 95, at least.

So that’s the thing I’d never do. But for the most part, I don’t think any of us really know where we’d draw the bright red line, given the right — or wrong — circumstances. We think we know when it’s easy and hypothetical. But most of us — thank God — are never tested to our hypothetical limits.

Holly Jahangiri is the author of Trockle ; A Puppy, Not a Guppy; and A New Leaf for Lyle. She draws inspiration from her family, from her own childhood adventures (some of which only happened in her overactive imagination), and from readers both young and young at heart. Visit her website at jahangiri.us and subscribe to her newsletter at https://hollyjahangiri.substack.com/