A Commentary on Our Times

Knowledge is very important, of course, but it’s meaningless without wisdom, judgment, and empathy.

Parents provide their children’s foremost dose of education, and rightfully so.  At best, those of us in the school business merely reinforce the positive lessons that parents teach through their words, actions, and deeds.

So what are those lessons?   Or, at least, what should they be?

Think before you speak. Remember that once harsh, bold, or hurtful words leave your mouth, you can’t call them back.   Trash talking might feel good at the moment, but it’s not the least bit attractive, and it accomplishes nothing.   Accentuate the positive. Don’t dwell on the negative.   “It has always been a mystery to me how men can feel themselves honored by the humiliation of their fellow beings.”  Gandhi said that.  Makes very good sense.

Don’t be a bully. Bullies prey on those who are weaker or whom they perceive to be weaker. Does bullying make you better, tougher, more macho, or more powerful?   What energy it wastes. Bullies eventually get their comeuppance, and not just in Clint Eastwood westerns.  

“Don’t look too good nor talk too wise.” That comes from “If” by Rudyard Kipling. It’s advice, universal and timeless, that he gave to his young son Jack. Don’t try to out-cool the next guy.  Let your actions speak more loudly than your words.  Good counsel, don’t you think?

Be kind to one other.  Focus on similarities rather than dwelling on differences.  Compassion and respect are noble attributes and true gifts to others.  Gandhi said, “My life is my message.”  That spirit we want. He also said, “An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind” and “Anger and intolerance are the enemies of correct understanding.”  That we don’t.

Wait your turn.  Assertively angling for position is fine when you’re battling for a rebound.  Otherwise, it isn’t all that cute.
    
Don’t feel sorry for yourself.  Don’t whine. Don’t make excuses.

Be honest with yourself and with others.  Doesn’t seem all that complicated, does it?
    
Listen.  Mindfully listening is such a lost art in this high-octane, high-decibel, high-tech world.  It shouldn’t be.  
    
“Never put passion before principle.  Even when you win, you lose.”  That’s Mr. Miyagi from The Karate Kid.  Mr. Miyagi speaks the truth, even if he is a fictional movie character.
 
Be polite and gracious and show respect for each other, each other’s property, and each other’s opinions.  That’s a message that kindergarten teachers hammer home.  The rest of us charged with nurturing young people do as well…or should.

“We talk about respect,” said Robby Turner, who has taught kindergarten at Collegiate since 2000.  “I love those discussions.  We’ve had many. It’s refreshing that they (five- and six-year-olds) understand that different people can believe different things.”

Understand that you will make mistakes, and accept responsibility when you do. View mistakes as learning opportunities.  Apologize if your misstep warrants contrition.  And apologize sincerely.  The words “I’m sorry” are hollow syllables without meaning.

Act responsibility. What does that mean?  How long do we have?  Suffice it to say…all of the above.

Mainly, follow the Golden Rule.  That’s the earliest lesson.  Should be a “forever” lesson.

“We have these long talks about treating people the way we want to be treated,” Turner, the kindergarten teacher, added.  “You can hurt people with your words as much as you can hurt them with your hands.”

So what’s my point?

You might have noticed that it’s campaign season in America.

My guess is that the men and women who aspire to lead the Free World learned all those basic lessons somewhere along the way.

I’m sure that they’re good and decent people at heart, but why would time-honored truths that we teach our children – and they have presumably taught theirs – not apply when they reach the “big time”?

Why all the posturing? Why all the partisan intractability and refusal even to consider compromise?  Why all the childish, in-your-face insults? Why all the vitriol?   We expect our children to speak and act with proper decorum.  Why should we not expect the same from the adults who hope to be our leader?

Yeah, I know. I’m dreaming. I’m idealistic.  The real world doesn’t work that way.  That’s really sad.  It should.
                                              -- Weldon Bradshaw