By Mike Aleman | FāVS News Columnist
In the beautiful and poignant animated film, “The Boy, The Mole, the Fox and the Horse,” the fox asks the boy, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”
“Kind,” the boy answers.
Today, we live in a society of rudeness, a society of rude language and crude behavior. So much so that it has become necessary to encourage people to “practice random acts of kindness.”
It would help if the United States had leaders who were kind, who believed it best to “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Political leaders now feel free to insult their fellows because of their weight, their beliefs, their talent, their looks, etc.
Respect for others has taken a serious beating. The President of the United States and congressmen and women are quick to insult — to give harmful nicknames to opponents. We’ve become a hypercritical society. Despite good intentions, it never helped when our mothers told us, “Sticks and stones may break our bones, but words will never hurt us.”
That was always untrue. Words hurt, sometimes irreparably. Interpersonal and online bullying have become a harmful way of life. Too many have committed suicide because of it. Television and social critics often in the thin guise of humor have made it an art to denigrate others. So, how can we change such a harmful and pervasive status quo?
Recently I was taking a two-mile walk and needed a restroom. So, I rang the doorbell at Moran United Methodist Church on Moran Prairie in Spokane and asked if I could use theirs. They said yes. In this day of locked church doors, it was an act of human kindness, though it seems so trivial as almost not worth mentioning. Every kind act, however, is worth mentioning.
The Bible has much to say about being kind.
Ephesians 4:32 reads, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other…”
Colossians 3:12 instructs, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.”
Proverbs 31:26 tells us, “She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.”
And finally, Titus 3:4-6 says, “But when the kindness of God our Savior and his love for mankind appeared, He saved us…”
Being kind and considerate to others seems too simple a solution to the anti-social behaviors we face, but it is essential if we’re to make an uncivil society civil once again.
Of course kindness needs to start in the home, and certainly in schools, but television late-night hosts, comedy club and night-club entertainers could lead the charge in returning us to a civil society. Cessation of the f-word alone would be a good beginning.
Unless there is a nationwide, concentrated effort, we will continue our slide into rudeness. Compassion, understanding and civility will continue to be pushed aside, and conflict among all members of society will only increase and be passed down from generation to generation until kindness is erased from the earth.
If we were to listen to people of wisdom and take their statements to heart, perhaps we can build a kind society.
“Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate.”
— Albert Schweitzer
“I would rather make mistakes in kindness and compassion than work miracles in unkindness and hardness.”
― Mother Teresa,
“My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.” ― Dalai Lama
And let the people say, “Amen.”
The views expressed in this opinion column are those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of FāVS News. FāVS News values diverse perspectives and thoughtful analysis on matters of faith and spirituality.
