That saying has been my “thing” lately. I guess you could say it’s my new mantra. :)
Doesn’t seem too hard, does it? But, unfortunately it seems that being kind to others is a foreign, unknown thing to more and more people I come across. I have actually started to write on this topic many times in the last few weeks. I start something and stop because it just seems almost silly that we need to talk about it or remind people to be kind and courteous to others. And no, I’m not saying you have to be friends with everyone. Heck, I’m not even saying you have to like everyone. Anyone who knows me well has probably heard me say how I don’t like people! J Ok, I’m usually half kidding and saying that after I have dealt with someone being careless or rude, etc., but still, not being happy with a situation or not necessarily agreeing with someone or something that happened doesn’t mean that I would be unkind to them. It’s not my nature. And life is really too short to be upset and mean all the time.
And that’s why, when I look at social media, I honestly don’t really like it lately. Not like I used to anyway. I remember when I first joined Facebook in 2008... Wow, that was exciting to search for people that you went to school with or used to work with or even family members that you maybe haven’t seen in years. It was a way to reconnect, stay in touch with friends and family alike, and see what people were up to, share fun news and events from afar. I used to try to keep up with my newsfeed every day to keep up with everyone. But fast forward to the last few years… Yikes. There are some days where I don’t even care if I get on there or not. And if I do peruse through the newsfeed, I don’t even think about reading the comments any more on any of the news stories or even the local city groups I’m in. People are just rude! I mean outright mean. I often wonder would those people be so mean and say the things they do to others to their face. And I know there are fake accounts and trolls etc., but I have even seen people I have known for years post things or say things to others that I just can’t believe. It’s those times that are worst. I begin to wonder if I ever really knew that person in the first place.
Politics don’t help. Well not even really politics. It’s that politics has made its way into topics that I quite honestly don’t understand how they have even become political topics. I recently had a conversation about this with my 17 year old. He has a great perspective on things. He agreed with me that people are “keyboard warriors” who feel they can say what they want hiding behind their keyboard. And we both agreed that politics have been interjected into too many things. For example, there are people who get upset at sports teams and athletes because of the “politics” that they have brought into the games? But, let me try to get that straight… When they are saying that, it is usually in reference to when people are trying to spread a message about equality, in an un-hurtful manner, such as signs or t-shirts, silent protests, etc. So does that really mean people’s rights and trying to spread the idea of equality for EVERYONE is now a political stance? Really? And if that is the case, well here I am trying spreading kindness… Does that mean I’m being political? I don’t mean to be. When it does come to politics, most of my beliefs and influences are liberal and then sometimes, I end up falling in the middle ground where I just want what’s best for all of us. But if you want to label me a liberal or a democrat or some derogatory version of those words that people use because I’m spreading kindness, than does that mean that the opposite (republicans/conservatives) are all racists who are mean and care about nothing but themselves? That sounds silly just to type that and I honestly can’t believe that to be true of everyone, but there seems to be no middle ground anymore on topics like that.
It’s really hard for me to sit and watch people who take these all or nothing kind of stands. I mean really, just because, for example, I would stand behind the Black Lives Matters movement, that doesn’t mean I am against police officers and that I don’t appreciate the work that they do. That’s just silly and anyone who says that or thinks that needs to seriously open their minds and think about how stupid that sounds when you make that comparison. Sorry, I know that stupid is not a very kind word, but I can’t think of a better word than that. There needs to be middle ground; there needs to be common sense; and there needs to be more understanding. Period.
And masks and COVID related precautions? If I hear one more person talk about having to wear masks is against their American given rights, I may just slap them across the face. Ok, so, not really because I already said that I’m a kind person and by saying that now I’ve become the keyboard warrior, but you get my point I hope. I mean, really, just really, why in the world is it a political stance to wear masks or to care about people’s health and to try to protect those that are most vulnerable? Seriously, if someone can explain that to me because I just don’t get it. I could go on and on. But it makes me tired thinking about it. This pandemic and how people have reacted to it has really been eye opening to say the least. That’s all I will say on that.
So how do we fix it? Well, I don’t know yet, but I am going to try to stay positive that other likeminded people will do the same as me and find the good in people again and try to keep an open mind when we disagree. And I know that kindness is not completely gone. I know a lot of great people. What concerns me is those that are spreading lies and hatred are just a very, very loud minority who seems to be what we hear the most sometimes. And without going too political, I believe having leadership in the country that seems to back that or make it seem OK, certainly doesn’t help. But I will keep my chin up, hope we can find our way again as a country and work together again as a whole.
Let me end this post for now saying that if you disagree with someone or don’t like someone or something that going on, that’s fine, but as long as that person or thing is not hurting you or others in any way, try to do this: mind your own business, do your own thing, worry about yourself and for crying out loud, be kind to others!
