Tag: kindness

Moving Forward Without Moving On

America, Education, Government, Headlines, Media, Morality, Politics, Reason, Religion, Society & Culture, Technology, Values

Many of us are so angry at what has transpired not just in the election, but to our country altogether, that we either quietly or loudly talk about revolution, rebellion, armed insurrection, etc. Many have bought guns, are hoarding ammunition, and above and below ground organizations are springing up discussing what to do about the raping of our country by the Leftist, woke mob.  

Others are complacent, waiting for either the MOAB (the Mother of All Bombs) to drop or some event or action that will save us from this madness.

It’s January 1, 2021. The cavalry may not come, the Senate could fall into Democrat hands, Biden and Harris might actually be inaugurated on January 20th, and America will have not just descended all the way to the bottom of the slippery slope, but have replicated the scene at the bottom of Mt. Sinai when Moses came down with the tablets. The whooping and hollering, the recklessness, the profligacy and debauchery will overshadow the anguish those of us who believe in a traditional America will feel.

I used to think the Silent Majority would speak up and speak out, and believed the majority, albeit a small one, of Americans would reject the stupidity of the Left. I now fear that the dumbing down of two generations behind me, their surrender to peer pressure of social media and the perversion of the “knowledge” that was placed in their heads by too many of the recycled hippie teachers of MY generation, i.e. the brainwashing, has finally caught up with us. The levers of power in all our institutions are now in the hands of the base-of-Mt.Sinai misfits.

What can we do about this? I’ve been wrestling with this question for months as Leftist forces seem to have grown in size and power and the influence of the Right waned.

First, we must not concede defeat. Even if traditionalists are now a minority in our nation, we know our values are right and just and must stick up for them, set an example using them, have courage to defend them in the face of ridicule, condescension, belittlement.

Second, we must not let disappointment and sadness give way to despair. We must become happy rebels. Think of the hedgehog in cartoons that gets slapped hard and is sent flying across the room. He rolls into a ball, comes to a stop and  then with a grin stands up ready to fight again. We’ve got to learn to derive meaning and contentment by fighting back against evil. We must band together under the banners and slogans we all know: “Don’t tread on me”, “We have nothing to fear but fear itself”, “Never give up. Never, never give up”, “The colors of our flag don’t run”, “Land of the Free, Home of the Brave”, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction”, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing” and on and on.

Third, we must get fit physically. We need to shed the Covid pounds. We need to MOVE – even if we’re working from home, we need to force ourselves to get out of our chairs regularly and exercise. Just stretching and walking is helpful. We need to make physical activity a habit, not a chore.

Fourth, we must get fit morally. We have to practice Good (a.k.a. righteous) Principles that we know but have allowed to atrophy, starting with the Golden Rule. In our confinement we’ve gotten testy, short, frustrated, easily annoyed. We need to do unto others, starting with our own families, as we would like them to do unto us. And we need to consciously avoid the barrage of “trending” garbage coming at us from social media, television, Hollywood. We need to honor each other, be true and faithful to one another, seek to find the good in others instead of needing to find fault (tough task here!)

Fifth, we must restore faith. Whether we believe in God or not, we must recommit to believe in the principles of the Judeo-Christian tradition…the principles that have ALWAYS, IN ALL TIMES and ALL GENERATIONS, helped mankind to grow and prosper: Freedom, the tenets enshrined in the Ten Commandments, the right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness, belief in the dignity of Human Life, the Work Ethic, Meritocracy, common Decency, Self-reliance, Accountability, Kindness and Charity. If we have faith, we need to make it a habit to return to our houses of worship as soon as possible, to gather with others of like mind in fellowship. There is strength in numbers.

Sixth, we need to feed our souls with GOOD food. Uplifting literature, music, film, web destinations. There are many. I’ll devote another post to some we can rely on for inspiration, motivation and positive reinforcement of our principles.

Seventh, we have to keep our eyes and ears open and listen for the call to resist when and where needed. I’m not talking about armed rebellion. As angry as we are, we must stay under control, not give in, not give up, but not lose our cool. We need to “stay frosty” as the special forces and good guys would say.

So, no easy road ahead. But let’s breathe in, breathe out, stiffen our spines, do what’s right and even if we never get this mess turned around and aren’t able to climb out of the hole we’re in and back up the slippery slope, recognize that a journey of striving to promote Good, and Right and Truth will be a meaningful and gratifying one.

Helping Others Matters

Morality, Society & Culture, Values

It used to be so straightforward. The Scout Slogan is “Do a good turn daily.” And many a Boy Scout has lived up to that slogan, not just when the whole troop was engaged in a community project, but In individual acts of kindness and service.

In today’s self-absorbed society, however, we’re told we should help others because it benefits us! Research “helping others” and you’ll get an array of articles citing the psychological, physical, spiritual and career-enhancing benefits of undertaking what should be a fundamental human activity.

Ayn Rand devotees will recognize this immediately. Objectivists argue that helping others is motivated by selfishness – that the positive feelings and benefits one derives from doing so are and should be the driving force behind acts of compassion or support for our fellow human beings.

Those with religious beliefs will, however, be motivated by the teachings of their canon. I know of no religion that doesn’t preach some form of the Golden Rule, even those the doctrines of which involve destroying anyone who doesn’t believe as they do!

A business associate of mine had the privileged responsibility of heading a centi-million-dollar foundation that was charged with improving health around the world. Explaining what it was the foundation did in that regard, my colleague pointed out, “Do you know how hard it is to give away money?” He went on to describe how difficult it was to identify legitimate opportunities to put the foundation’s money to work doing real good. He recounted story after story of how seemingly valid situations to fund potential health-improving initiatives in third world countries exposed corruption that delegitimized the opportunities. Not all, but way too much of the money would have lined the pockets of politicians, intermediaries and administrators.

We as a society face the same problem as my foundation chairman friend, both as organizations as well as individuals. It’s often difficult to assess whether the cause we wish to support is legitimate. That’s why we have websites and companies that undertake that assessment for us, promising to score philanthropies and causes objectively, while skimming just a wee bit off the top for their service.

As we walk down the streets of our major cities and are accosted by panhandlers it’s hard to know who are truly needy and who have the ability to work and care for themselves but choose not to. As we listen to pitch after pitch on television and on our phone answering machines asking for “just X$ per month”, it’s hard to know for sure how much is really going to the cause and how much is paying for the supporting bureaucracy.

In short, doing good and serving others today has been institutionalized. An array of honest and legitimate on one hand and dishonest and illegitimate organizations on the other have made helping others into an industry. Think about what “I gave at the office” means. It means we’ve abrogated responsibility for doing good to others to organizational intermediaries, or worse, to politicians and officials who with our tax dollars dole out money in return for support and votes.

I recall getting off a commuter train one day among a hoard of people racing to move along the platform and up the stairs to the exit. Suddenly there was a commotion ahead of me. Someone had, heaven forbid, failed to keep up the pace! In fact, uncharacteristically for this time of day, a mother with a stroller, clearly not a commuter, was struggling to fold it while hoisting her toddler into her arms, swing her bag over her shoulder and preparing to climb the stairs. Scowls and under-breath “take the elevator ______” accompanied the rush of people navigating around her.

As I got closer to the scene, having decided to offer my help, a suit-cladded businessman had already stopped to assist the mom and her child. By the time I got to the spot where the human flow had been stalled they were on their way up the stairs.

As it happens, I knew the businessman who stopped to help. He was the multi-millionaire chief executive of an insurance company, but you wouldn’t know that from his outward appearance or countenance. But I knew that the “good turn” he had just done was typical of him, and as I passed by him at the top of the stairs I caught his eye and smiled, saying, “I thought that was you!” and to myself said, “You beat me to it.”

A simple act of kindness. Service to another that cost absolutely nothing, where no recompense was needed or wanted. An example of helping another person not for the benefit it provided the good samaritan but simply because it was the right thing to do.

What would the world be like if everyone sought to help one another as a default state? Each and every day we are presented with multiple opportunities to help others, often in small ways.

May we strive to recognize those opportunities and live up to the Scout slogan.

Helping others matters.

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