Saturday, November 12, 2016

Some Words You Should Know

This was printed in the Orlando Sentinel June 13, 2019.

These are four words, with their definitions, you should know.

Compassion.

Compassion is the response to the suffering of others that motivates a desire to help.

Man, there is never enough of that to go around. I was taught that if someone needs help, you help them. I was taught to always, always, be kind.

I try to teach my kids that.

You can't live by the credo' "I've got mine, forget you." You can't. What's that old saying? We are stronger as a unit than we are solo. E pluribus unum, folks. Out of many one. Instead of treating someone who is different, differently, try treating them how you would like to be treated.

Integrity.

Integrity is the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness. It is generally a personal choice to hold oneself to consistent moral and ethical standards.

This seems to have gone by the wayside. Oh, you can find it but you have to look for it. There are outlets upon outlets that will say or print anything, whether it's true or not. They want to draw you in and they'll do it in all kinds of ways. When I was at CBS they didn't play that. You didn't just blurt things out, you had to do your research, your homework. You had to be above the din and above all be truthful.

In private life you should strive to do that, as well. I'm not perfect and Lord knows I've made mistakes, big ones, in my life. I can remember every one. But every day you wake up and try to do the right thing.

Dignity.

A sense of pride in oneself; self-respect.

You can find homeless people who have nothing but the clothes on their back. But they have dignity. How many times have you seen someone on TV who's lost everything in a natural disaster who says, with dignity, they will rebuild, will go on with their lives?

I lived in New York during 9-11. You could cry at any time on TV and they didn't care. And here came the parade of guests. Those who lost loved ones in the rubble of the World Trade Center and those who were sure, sure, that their dear ones were alive in that rubble.

They all had dignity.

Which leads us to the last one.

Love.

... can be a virtue representing human kindness, compassion, and affection—the unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another.  It may also describe compassionate and affectionate actions towards other humans.

Did you see the word compassion in there? You can love a meal or love your jeans or love a color but it's when you open up your arms to love a person or a people that it's really special.

They've written songs about it, written books about it, made movies about it. It seems there's not a lot of love out there these days. Think I'm wrong? Turn on the TV, read social media. There seems to be a lot of angry words, a lot of angry shouting, and no one taking the time to listen to the other side.

That isn't love.

Let me say this, I don't know nothin'.

I just know we're better than we've shown.


















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