“If you have to choose between being kind and being right, choose being kind, and you will always be right.” (Sent by Tara Kane) Friend Tara teaches more than public safety to college students. She explains to them (as illustrated in her quote) the importance of knowing how to get along with people. Whether it be a police officer, a fire fighter, or an ordinary citizen...how to be kind to others is an important skill. Keep your eyes open today to “see” kindness. ;-) Jack
FROM SF: I have repeated this statement many times. It works. Thanks for the reminder. ===JACK: "Being right" is subjective and can lead to misunderstandings. I know kindness when I see and feel it.
FROM HONEST JOHN: I don't buy this for a second. If there is a Hitler like character around, should we be kind and not mention that he is causing pain to a lot of people....or, should we insist that this stop?===JACK: There is no "all the time" after "being kind." ...and for that matter, no "all the time" after "being right." As Potter Stewart said of pornography, "I know it when I see it." I use common sense to identify rightness and kindness.===JOHN: All the time is certainly implied....no qualifications are placed on the act of bring kind. I think you are resorting to Sophistry here. ===JACK: I seem to recall someone saying, "Love your enemies."===JOHN: Yes. To do he right thing is to love your enemy. Sometimes, however, to love one's enemy...e.g., Hitler....is to attempt to assassinate him.===JACK: I'm not so sure that the omniscient Jesus would favor the assassination of our enemies or the capital punishment of them...but "who has known the mind of the Lord, or become his counselor?"===JOHN: Ethics means making hard choices....not simple ones. I will go with Bonhoeffer on this one.===JACK: I'm glad to see that you're finally buying into Situation Ethics! ===JOHN: I never have and never will. To understand that our reason is sometimes unable to grasp the mind of God is unequal to recognizing that there is no ethic at all. Any relativism in ethics cannot be called Situational Ethics. It is the denial of ethics...as Socrates insisted.===JACK: I knew that if I gave you an example of Situation Ethics, you'd find some reason to deny it. Maybe it's the term, SE, that bothers you. What's a better name for finding yourself in situations where "you're damned if you do, and damned if you don't?"===JOHN: The term bothers me because it implies that there is no real Ethic....if the situation is determinative, we are left without an Ethic...and, in essence, without a God. If this is acceptable to you, embrace it. I can not.===JACK: I agree that there is a basic ethic, a basic law. Forget the word, situation... There can be a circumstance (the Hitler assassination attempt) when the Law (Thou shalt not kill) can be set aside. And if that be a sin, so be it. "God be merciful to me, a sinner."===JOHN: Exactly. That is called living in Grace.===JACK: I think that (at last) we're on the same page.===JOHN: That in itself is a scary thought!
FROM TK: Thank you Jack! I am sure I stole that quote from someone else along the way. ===JACK: I'm like you...When we come across something good, we usually forward it on to others. That's how it often is with friends...We often introduce them to others. I wanted WWs readers to know about the work that you are doing. I should also tell them how to get rid of the "bags" under their eyes.FROM BLAZING OAKS: Absolutely Spot On! After being married awhile, I came to the conclusion that Kindness was the most important requisite for successful relationships, and I was blessed with a kind, unflappable mate! A sense of humor is right up there, too! :-) But kindness and politeness can't be overrated; they are underused!! Let's change that in our little corner of the world!===JACK: I have to continue working at practicing what I preach. As Glen Campbell used to sing...
Let me be a little kinder Let me be a little blinder
To the faults of those about me Let me praise a little more
Let me be a little meeker With the brother who is weaker
Let me think more of my neighbor And a little less of me
===OAKS: Love those song words; Haven't heard it, but Bill probably knew it, as he listened to Country Western songs a lot. ...and don't we all have to work to be more like we KNOW to be the
===OAKS: Thanks, Jack! Good words, and catchy melody! You are so good to take the time to find these things and pass them on!
FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY: Glad we have people like her to teach our students kindness. ===JACK: She's one who lives the words.
FROM BB IN CHGO: Absolutely lovely and inSpirational. Thank you.===JACK: I like this poem about The Power of Words by Omkar Atale
Words can make one happy, Words can bend one's mind;
Words can make one grumpy, words can make one kind.
Words can illuminate a man, Words can make one weep;
Words can hurt so much, That a man cannot even sleep.
Words can hide the truth, Words can strike the heart;
Words can provoke the youth, To make a revolution start.
Words can give one freedom, Words can push one to heights;
Only words have such powers, To separate wrongs from rights.
Words are more than missiles, That can make one just die;
but words, if hit, cause much damage, That makes one forget to try.
Words before being spoken, Are under our total control;
But after we speak the words, We fall under their control!
FROM TAMPA SHIRL: What goes around comes around!===JACK: ...or as Major Bowes used to say on radio's "The Original Amateur Hour".."Round and round she goes, and where she stops, nobody knows."
FROM FARMBOY: Another good one emphasizing ‘...an important skill.’===JACK: Making right choices is truly a skill. If we're lucky, we learn it from someone sometime.
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