Witness to Kindness

I was at the grocery store yesterday. Ahead of me was a woman with a cart loaded with food items.

I noticed a Hispanic man in line behind her, with only a carton of eggs. She told him he could go ahead of her, which he did. He thanked her, paid for his eggs, and as he left, he turned and thanked her again.

I commented to the cashier that it takes so little effort to do something nice for someone. She agreed that we need more acts of kindness in today's chaotic, anger-filled world.

I tell this story as a reminder that we all have the capacity to do something nice for others. 

What did her act of kindness cost her? Maybe a couple of minutes of her time. That's it. I believe letting that man go ahead of her in line brightened his day, as well as that of the cashier. And I was glad that I was able to  witness an act of kindness. 

So the question is, when doing acts of kindness is so simple, why are they so rare? Why don't more people do something nice for others with no expectation of reciprocity? Have Americans in the 21st century lost their ability to care about others? And why are some people so nasty?

For what possible reason could a member of Congress, calling on another representative in the House of Representatives, refer to her as Mr? The representative he insulted is a transgender woman. She's made no secret of that fact. So why did her colleague - - and I use that term loosely - - feel it necessary to call her Mr? When another member of the House asked the offender what he had just said, the first person repeated what he had said, calling the transgender woman Mr. The only reason I can see for this insulting behavior is to cause pain to the transgender person. Apparently the guy doesn't agree that transgender people are human and should receive the same respect as everyone else. 

That brings me to my second question. When and why did Republicans become so damn nasty? I do not understand the whole transgender thing, but I have no animus against transgender people. 

I used to work on occasion with a transgender woman. She used to be known as Steve, and she's now known as Stephanie. The fact that she is transgender is none of my business. I worked well with her, she was pleasant, she knew her job, end of discussion.

Why do so many Republicans, many of them self-professed evangelical Christians, feel it necessary or their right to be nasty to other people? 

For me, I will continue to look for opportunities to practice small random acts of kindness. 

In a world full of cruelty, be kind.