04-17-2012, 11:14 PM
dfiant Wrote:I'm afraid that the world is becoming a place where our fellow man is second and bad manners are becoming the norm. Chivalry or random acts of kindness are few and far between and people have to be coaxed, guilted or encouraged to be kind.
I share this worry/fear. And the honest truth is, too, that I have fearful resistances to the only antidote to the stated poison in the world. I fear taking the risk of, as M. Gandhi put it, "be[ing] the change you would like to see in the world". It takes being vulnerable to offer kindness and warmth, most of the time. Most of us probably have some fear (and thus resistance) associated with memories of others not understanding and appreciating our kindness and generosity, our willingness to be open and vulnerable, loving....
Part of this is "a guy thing". Us guys are taught to suppress our tenderness, sensitivity..., so-called "feminine" traits.... We are expected to "man up" and just sorta push our weight around and pretend that we're brave and smart and all-knowing and assorted similar bullshit.