Letter to the editor: Start a kindness movement

It takes one person to start a movement. That one person could be you.

Today, with divisiveness being stoked by politicians and the media, change may seem hopeless. But it does not have to be this way.

The power others seem to hold they have because we give it to them. Politicians only have power if we vote for them. Our power is taken away if we seek what to think instead of how to think.

What can we do today to begin a movement of love and hope? I try every day to share a kindness with someone. It could be as simple as holding a door for someone and smiling or complimenting someone on their new eyeglasses or hairstyle. There is power in kindness. It is a strength, not a weakness.

Being kind to a clerk who looks like she would rather be anywhere else could turn her entire day around, and she might pass it on to the next customer. Remember that when another driver makes a mistake, he is not intending to harm you. It is not personal.

Many of us say we want to live as Jesus did, and how he wants us behave. We are only here for a short while and we should make our lives count. Be happy. Spread kindness. In time, it will again become the fabric of our lives, which leads to raising the expectation of how our leaders should behave. Their motives should be to serve their fellow citizens, not power. Power changes people, and it must be guarded against.

^

Timothy J. Kunselman

McCandless