Last week I witnessed an act of kindness and respect that made me smile for the rest of the day. I was stopped at a traffic light heading westbound on a 4-lane, 50mph max road. While waiting for the light to change, I noticed a ground hog in the median along side of me. My first thought was “no, no, no, don’t cross the road”. The light turned green, and the little fellow started across the 2 lanes of eastbound traffic. “Hurry, hurry, hurry” I thought as the cars were bearing down on him. But both lead cars stopped and let the little fellow make it across safely. Wow, you just don’t see that kind of kindness and respect anymore. I honked my horn and stuck my arm out the window and gave a thumbs up to both cars!
The Rise of Social Media and Loss of Kindness and Respect
There has always been mean people who cannot be kind and respectful, and social media has given them a voice. It has provided a platform for vicious diatribes and bullying. I feel sorry for those people. Their stress level must be off the charts. The bravado they feel on social media has emboldened them offline. Respect and kindness for others is vanishing and I do not know how this can be fixed.
♫ What the World Needs Now is Love, Sweet Love ♫ – Burt Bacharach
My apologies to those who did not experience 60’s music. It is true though. We need to be kind and respectful to one another. It is not hard. You can start with ‘if you don’t have anything nice to say, then don’t say anything’. Recognize a coworker’s hard work or if they are struggling, offer to help. No road rage. Smile at people and say hello. Rub your dog’s belly.
Remember the Golden Rule “Treat others as you would like others to treat you”?
And don’t run over little furry animals.