Reflection Paper

“What We Have to Lose” – Theodore Dalrymple

By: Ernest Pena

Theodore Dalrymple is an English writer and retired prison doctor. He has based most of

his writing off his experiences while working in a prison and the patients he helped. He

published “What We Have to Lose” in 2001 and received the Freedom Prize from the Flemish

think-tank Liberia in 2011. From reading his article I like how he includes scenarios he has

experienced himself. For me as a reader this helps me to be able to trust the author more and

believe what he is saying.

I believe that Dalrymple’s main argument is that us humans are the biggest threat to

ourselves. He pushes the idea that we can be the ultimate problem and if we aren’t careful

enough then we could lose everything or everyone. We take it for granted what living means and

the distractions of our every day lives distract us from the truth. One idea that he mentions

throughout the article is barbarism and how this contributes to how us humans act. Next, he uses

historic events or wars that resulted in many fatalities to further validate his claim. Also, he

provides personal insight and past experiences to relate to the topic. First, the topic of barbarism

is mentioned quite frequently throughout the article. Basically, Dalrymple is explaining these

acts of destruction and violence on the fact that it is the desire for humans to display this

behavior. He even describes a scenario from his childhood where he himself even felt that

feeling of barbarism inside of him. He and his brother took a radio outside to then smash it into

pieces using a mallet. He then mentions afterwards that “the joy we felt was indescribable”. This

is him attempting to prove the point that us humans take joy in destroying things. For me I think
that the reason that they enjoyed it so much that it makes them feel powerful. Ultimately, I agree

with him and I can admit that I have experienced what he did myself. Whether we like it or not

we all have a little bit of barbarism inside of us somewhere. I have witnessed other people

perform acts that directly corelate to barbarism and I myself have as well.

Next, Dalrymple uses past events that resulted in dramatic human loss. He uses the

attacks from 9/11 and World War II in his article. These two events resulted in thousands of lives

being lost. He makes a valid point by comparing the amount of lives he saved as a doctor to the

amount of lives that were lost in one day on 9/11. He admits that he couldn’t have saved as many

people that were lost that day in his whole lifetime. If you think about it that sounds scary to

imagine all those lives all being gone from one heinous act. Then there are the events correspond

with World War II. Most of the deaths that occurred during that war can arguably be traced back

to one man. Adolf Hitler convinced so many people that what he believed was right and many

people were killed because of it. You can argue that this was one of the most barbarism acts in

history. What helps Dalrymple’s argument is that he experienced these events himself and even

experienced bomb shelters himself. He described them as being “frightening” and I wouldn’t

blame him. If I was alive back, then I hope we never had to use bomb shelters because that

meant that something bad was about to happen. I like how he includes his emotions and how he

feels throughout the article. That helps me as a reader understand and realize what he was going

through.

What I found interesting was that he mentions music in his article and ties it into his

argument. He includes that with all this war and violence happening, that the music a woman

played was “one of the highest peaks of human achievement”. For me this was a great thing to

mention in his argument. I believe that he was trying to give credit to humans and not completely
give up on them. This is him realizing there may be a counter argument and that quote is giving

humans credit. He described the music as being a symbol of hope in my opinion and was a sign

of life in a sad world. What I liked was that he included that no one questioned why the music

was being played, they understood why and simply enjoyed the music.

The last example that Dalrymple used is an altercation between mother’s son and the

boyfriend. The boyfriend attacks the mom and chokes her, the boy was present and tried to stop

him. As a result, the boyfriend attacks the boy and severely injured him. Afterwards, the mother

asks the boy to protect the boyfriend and lie about what happened. Dalrymple then quotes that

“A little animal pleasure meant more to the mother than her son’s life”. To me this is the ultimate

act of barbarism and helps validate Dalrymple’s claim.

Ultimately, Dalrymple supports his main argument by using past historical events,

personal experiences, and his own opinions. I agree with him on his claims and I believe that us

humans should put forward more effort to protect civilization like he suggests. Without our

civilization we have nothing and that is the best possible thing we can have. The quote “The man

who sweeps the streets plays his part as surely as the great artist or thinker” speaks volumes. I

agree with this statement and I believe that we all have a part in this world to make it a better

place. If we don’t come together as a society and make more efforts to improve then barbarism

may take over. Dalrymple’s argument was valid and filled with the necessary requirements to

convince me to believe his claim. This article is well constructed and most importantly it inspires

me to do more. After reading this article I found things that I could relate to and I liked the idea

that the author established common ground.