By now, almost everyone in America knows what happened in our home town at the Poplar Plaza shopping center earlier this week. The video of it is cringe-worthy, to say the least. It's beyond the capacity of right-thinking, moral people to understand what possesses one human being (let alone dozens of them) to do those kinds of things to other human beings. Memphis now bears a special kind of shame, and many heads are hung low this week.
However, Sunday's senseless violence is the same thing that happens all the time in other parts of the city, off camera. It happens in schools and in parks. It happens in neighborhood yards and on neighborhood streets. The only difference this time is that it was captured on video in a neighborhood not typically known for violence, and it went viral on the Internet. People the world over have seen it, and now we all have to take notice. There's a serious lack of compassion among many of the youth in this city, and some people wonder if it can ever be changed.
Every talk radio show has analyzed it six ways from Sunday, and almost every idea to change the situation has been paraded out. We've heard everything from "prosecute the parents of unruly kids" to "start another new youth anti-violence program in schools." Everybody seems to think there's some collective method of solving the youth violence problem. They look to political and religious leaders. They point fingers at each other and at the schools. Few seem to really get it.
You're probably now asking; "So, what do we do about it, genius?" Well, I don't know much, but there's an old phrase that is used by conquering armies after wars. Perhaps you've heard it said: "We have to win their hearts and minds." In other words; you can impose all the rules and penalties you want, but few things will actually change permanently unless your ideals become near and dear to those you have conquered. The way they think and feel has to genuinely change.
Make no mistake about it; this is a kind of war. But what's needed is more than a war. What's needed is a revolution, and one of the best revolutions I can think of is one that has existed in this city for several years now - the Kindness Revolution. Perhaps you've heard of it.
The Kindness Revolution was a tremendously popular concept in the beginning. It was started by a business man to encourage more civility in his community by improving kindness in customer service, and promoting kindness everywhere by raising awareness. Now that the excitement of its initial impact has died down, it seems to be losing steam, which is unfortunate. Still, I'm proud that this company is a part of it.
Like many other companies, we still try to live up to the ideals. We have the smiley face stickers, and we even support the program at a local elementary school, but a renewed enthusiasm would be great. You just don't hear as much about the Kindness Revolution as you did a few years ago. It seems like many in our community have drifted away from it and maybe given it up as a lost cause. Why? It's such a simple idea. While the concept wasn't necessarily intended to be a religious one, it's clearly based on a short and simple message from God himself: "Love thy neighbor as thyself."
It's one of the best ideas ever, but it's one that requires more than funding, more than programs, more than slogans and rallies, and more than organized group efforts. What it requires most is thousands of individuals looking for every opportunity to demonstrate kindness in their community, especially in the small ways that don't make newspaper headlines. Understand this: Nobody cares what you know until they know that you care. That's another old phrase, and it's absolutely true.
How many of us have individually gone to a struggling student and offered to tutor him or her for free? How many of us have individually spent time with a young family member or neighborhood kid who needed the guidance and wisdom of an adult? Do we even know the kids in our neighborhood? How many of us have asked a kid what he or she knows about God? So many of them don't know that God loves them. These are all things that don't require a lot of money or planning.
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| This man noticed that this young woman had no shoes and her feet were bleeding, so he gave her his shoes. |
Sure, a lot of us are part of organizations that do charity fundraisers or occasionally deliver meals to hungry people, and that's great. But what do we do on average in the course of our day to show small kindnesses to others around us? Do we ever let some mom struggling with small kids go ahead of us in line at the store? Do we ever let the car next to us get over in front of us when their lane is blocked and they need to get around it? Do we ever just go to a co-worker and tell them we notice how hard they're trying and what a good job they do? It's all about inspiring others, and it doesn't take some grand gesture. It only takes consistent thoughtfulness in ways that don't occur to most people.
It's the small things that add up. How many small, seemingly insignificant kindnesses can you come up with in a day's time? Believe it or not, people are watching. They take notice, and when they see our kindness it often inspires the same in them. That's why it's so important to show our kids how to do small kindnesses for others. Imagine how different those kids at Poplar Place shopping center might've been if they had daily seen the adults in their lives doing kindnesses for others. What might they be like now if their parents had constantly encouraged them to find small ways to do something kind for others - especially those who couldn't do anything for them in return.
The reality is that no Kindness Revolution will change this city over night. Winning hearts and minds often takes years, but it can and does happen. It takes a focused effort every day from each of us who cares. It takes prayer and courage and facing our own shortcomings. It often takes changing our own hearts and minds, and especially our habits.
It's not too late to turn this city around. As long as there is a spark of kindness, we can start brush fires, and those brush fires can become an inferno of goodness in this town. The spark is there, so start your own brush fire. It's never too late for a kindness revolution.
