Kind and Free

Nelson Mandela is one of History’s heroes. Imprisoned for 27 years for leading the opposition to apartheid in South Africa, he continued to provide vision and courage to the movement even behind bars.

And he survived it. And became the president of his nation. Now 94, Nelson Mandela continues to fuel billions of people on the planet with courage, vision and purpose. He shared this opinion:

“To be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”

To be free does not mean the absence of chains. To be free requires a way of living that is giving of freedom to others. That comes from respect for the ideas, cultures and beliefs of those who differ from us. They are thus free to think and live unencumbered by me and my beliefs. We are both free to do the same.

Respect provides the space for acceptance on both sides of the issues so they can co-exist. Without war. Without hate. Without physical blows. Maybe even without denigrating speech!

Well that might be going too far! But one can hope.

Amelia Earhart gave us this quote:

“A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees.”

That’s how it is supposed to work.

This method is the well-spring of diplomacy, of business negotiations, of relationship building, of customer service. We employ a similar process when we find that special person we wish to build a lifelong relationship with – a proposal of marriage, an acceptance, the wedding ceremony, learning to live with one another, making babies, raising those children and working through the relationship to the end of life. It takes diplomacy, kindness, respect. It requires us to accept each other as we are with all of our defects and foibles.

In many relationships we are strong enough to laugh hysterically over the foibles and defects. Those are the things that make us human. Laughter levels the effort for us all. I am laughed at and I laugh at others as well, or at least the foibles are laughed at!

Kindness and respect are the foundation of civility. Differences among us are the spark of uniqueness and interest. They are attractive and stimulating. They are not rooted in power or influence.

Government officials, whether hired or elected, ought to think upon this. If they did they might find workable solutions to these issues:

-Set national debt ceiling at a point that is manageable and requires efforts to reduce it over time

-Remove corporations and industries from funding the campaigns of elected officials

-Remove all religious dogma and doctrine from government process and relations

-Re-declare freedom of religion so believers of specific faiths can live their lives without imposing their dogma on others, either through influence or legislation

-Invent methods of expanding energy resources without polluting the air, water and soil of the planet; replace fossil fuels through the fruits of scientific discovery

-Provide innovative solutions to providing education to all people so they can live up to their full potential; provide the world with the benefit of their creativity

-Provide full access to health care that enables each person to thrive according to their physical limits

These issues are universal. They span national borders and will assist the world in becoming peaceful. They do not pertain just to America or the Western World. All regions of the planet are involved and will benefit. So let us make this happen.

It all begins with respect and kindness.

Do we care? Or do we not?

October 8, 2013