Tom Kirvan
Legal News, Editor-in-Chief
Legal News, Editor-in-Chief
There is a sign I see per-iodically on my daily travels, bearing a message that is as simple as it is profound.
“I think everybody should be nice to everybody.”
The message is affixed to a three-legged signpost that sits on the edge of a vacant lot on a busy street corner where tens of thousands of motorists zip by every day.
I smile each time I see it, hoping that its sentiment will somehow change the way we think about and interact with those we encounter on a daily basis.
It is a reminder of “Random Acts of Kindness Day,” which is marked each year on February 17, providing an opportunity for people worldwide to come together in an effort to make the world a better place through thoughtful actions.
Author Anne Herbert is widely credited with coining the phrase “practice random acts of kindness and senseless acts of beauty.” She reportedly penned those immortal words on a placemat at a restaurant in Sausalito, Calif. in 1982, inspiring her to write a book by a shortened version of that phrase in 1993, recounting in vivid detail real-life examples of profound acts of kindness.
Her work would later lead to the creation of the Random Act of Kindness Foundation, a worldwide phenomenon that is driven by the spirit of so-called “Raktivists,” those who have made the endearing practice part of their daily lives.
The concept of kindness, not surprisingly, has the potential to become contagious, possibly spreading goodwill across age, race, religious, cultural, political, and socioeconomic lines. Such a mindset aligns seamlessly with a shared set of values based upon a sense of respect for others.
Respect, which the late Aretha Franklin so neatly spelled out in her signature song, can be granted and earned, but never demanded. In its most enduring form, it is given to others by way of kindness, understanding, tolerance, and compassion.
Those measures are a sure-fire way to build a better world, one we long to see after continuing to witness assorted acts of evil in recent days.
In New York, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare was gunned down on December 4 outside a Manhattan hotel that he was about to enter, in what police investigators believe was a coldly calculated assassination. The killing took place just blocks from such Midtown tourist attractions as Radio City Music Hall and the Museum of Modern Art, and reportedly was witnessed by a number of nearby pedestrians who scurried for cover as the shots rang out.
On the same day in California, two kindergartners at a small religious school were wounded by a gunman minutes after he met with an administrator about enrolling a child in the school located 65 miles north of Sacramento. It was the latest school shooting that echoed tragedies that took place in Newtown, Conn.; Parkland, Fla.; Uvalde, Texas; and Oxford, Mich.
And then, of course, is the mounting death toll from the continuing war in Ukraine, which has been under Russian siege since February 2022 following an unprovoked invasion sparked by yet another dictatorial madman. The handiwork of Vladimir Putin already has cost hundreds of thousands of lives, while sending millions of Ukrainian refugees streaming across neighboring borders in desperate quests for safety.
Evil, of course, knows no bounds. That fact became clear recently as the long-running Syrian civil war took on a new dimension when rebels seized control of the country’s large city of Aleppo, weakening the grip that embattled President Bashar al-Assad holds on the nation closely aligned with Iran and Russia.
Closer to home, we have come under attack in recent years by right-wing extremist groups who have expressed – sometimes in violent fashion – a total disdain for the truth and the rule of law. They have fomented conflict and chaos where none should exist, threatening the very existence of civilized society.
Senseless acts of violence stand in stark contrast to increased calls for kindness, the latter of which we hope will multiply in the years ahead.
“I think everybody should be nice to everybody.”
The message is affixed to a three-legged signpost that sits on the edge of a vacant lot on a busy street corner where tens of thousands of motorists zip by every day.
I smile each time I see it, hoping that its sentiment will somehow change the way we think about and interact with those we encounter on a daily basis.
It is a reminder of “Random Acts of Kindness Day,” which is marked each year on February 17, providing an opportunity for people worldwide to come together in an effort to make the world a better place through thoughtful actions.
Author Anne Herbert is widely credited with coining the phrase “practice random acts of kindness and senseless acts of beauty.” She reportedly penned those immortal words on a placemat at a restaurant in Sausalito, Calif. in 1982, inspiring her to write a book by a shortened version of that phrase in 1993, recounting in vivid detail real-life examples of profound acts of kindness.
Her work would later lead to the creation of the Random Act of Kindness Foundation, a worldwide phenomenon that is driven by the spirit of so-called “Raktivists,” those who have made the endearing practice part of their daily lives.
The concept of kindness, not surprisingly, has the potential to become contagious, possibly spreading goodwill across age, race, religious, cultural, political, and socioeconomic lines. Such a mindset aligns seamlessly with a shared set of values based upon a sense of respect for others.
Respect, which the late Aretha Franklin so neatly spelled out in her signature song, can be granted and earned, but never demanded. In its most enduring form, it is given to others by way of kindness, understanding, tolerance, and compassion.
Those measures are a sure-fire way to build a better world, one we long to see after continuing to witness assorted acts of evil in recent days.
In New York, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare was gunned down on December 4 outside a Manhattan hotel that he was about to enter, in what police investigators believe was a coldly calculated assassination. The killing took place just blocks from such Midtown tourist attractions as Radio City Music Hall and the Museum of Modern Art, and reportedly was witnessed by a number of nearby pedestrians who scurried for cover as the shots rang out.
On the same day in California, two kindergartners at a small religious school were wounded by a gunman minutes after he met with an administrator about enrolling a child in the school located 65 miles north of Sacramento. It was the latest school shooting that echoed tragedies that took place in Newtown, Conn.; Parkland, Fla.; Uvalde, Texas; and Oxford, Mich.
And then, of course, is the mounting death toll from the continuing war in Ukraine, which has been under Russian siege since February 2022 following an unprovoked invasion sparked by yet another dictatorial madman. The handiwork of Vladimir Putin already has cost hundreds of thousands of lives, while sending millions of Ukrainian refugees streaming across neighboring borders in desperate quests for safety.
Evil, of course, knows no bounds. That fact became clear recently as the long-running Syrian civil war took on a new dimension when rebels seized control of the country’s large city of Aleppo, weakening the grip that embattled President Bashar al-Assad holds on the nation closely aligned with Iran and Russia.
Closer to home, we have come under attack in recent years by right-wing extremist groups who have expressed – sometimes in violent fashion – a total disdain for the truth and the rule of law. They have fomented conflict and chaos where none should exist, threatening the very existence of civilized society.
Senseless acts of violence stand in stark contrast to increased calls for kindness, the latter of which we hope will multiply in the years ahead.
A sign of the times deserves a loyal following.
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