Mercy

As is my custom I have been doing a bit of a study. This one has been on “mercy.” I get definitions and references. I am looking for examples of it in a particular document.
I have been able to find heaps of others relating to other things I have looked at, but when it came to mercy, I was drawing a blank. This was frustrating but then I had a thought. Who knows if it is right or not but it works for me.
I thought mercy is often the motivator for many other things. I cannot assume it is always the case, but I reckon it often is.
We saw a show on Foxtel yesterday about the doctor that found the source of a cholera outbreak in London. As a result of his work, we know it was the water. Thousands were dying in London. This fella determined to find out why. He noted that in a place nearby people were not dying. That led him to examine the drinking water. Where people were not dying the water came from a different source.
His name was John Snow. It made us wonder if he is related to a Snow we know. Hey that rhymes. Snow, know, grow, so. Let it go Kuskie. Hey go rhymes too. Moving right along (I think it best) I do not know his motives, but he wanted to prevent preventable deaths. The act is famous for curing, but the motivating factor to me is mercy.
After the Brisbane floods the army of helpers in the clean up received widespread recognition and praise. People were bused in from all over. They came armed with brooms and gloves and others provided sandwiches for the workers. People were there to help and were ready to get down and dirty. It was spontaneous. It was not choreographed. To me while the clean up was highlighted it was in part an act of mercy. People needed help and people were willing to help.
To me even the Covid vaccine has a mercy element to it. Certainly, big pharmaceuticals see a way to make a buck, and big business want the place to open up, but for little old me I just do not want to get it. The availability of a shot is a mercy.
When I look up the definition of mercy it contains the word compassion. To me that is a bottom line. Acts borne of compassion or mercy benefit all but the self-seeking.