Just Be Kind.

Have you watched the news lately? Read any news articles on the internet? Picked up a paper? Well if you haven't noticed, the world is not a very nice place. More specifically our country is not a nice place. Literally. People are mean. Adults are mean, teenagers are mean, kids are mean and it's out of control. Since when did people stop being kind?

Everybody seems entitled to say and do as they please no matter who it's affecting. Kids are killing themselves over bullying! I went to a public school, I saw bullying and I recognized it was not nice. However, the kind of bullying that seems to be going on now is just disgusting. It goes beyond glasses or acne and has entered a realm of attacking sincerely personal and private things.

Now I am a Christian. And as a Christian I have formed pretty solid ideas of what I assume to be right or wrong based on what I've read in the bible and my relationship with Jesus. That being said, this gives me no right to form a "holier than thou" attitude, or judge someone based on how they live their lives. In fact, it should make me do the opposite. If I truly want to live like Christ did, I would be having dinner with these people that are so "bad." I would invite them over, I would hang out with them, and I would keep my mouth shut and my opinions to myself. I wouldn't hide anything I believe from them, but I certainly wouldn't belittle them. And it's ridiculous how much that happens today. Everyone has a certain idea of how someone should carry out their lives, what they should look like, how they should dress, etc. And if you don't fit into that mold you are an outcast, and deserve to be picked on. Wait, what? If you read that line and agreed with it I don't want to be friends with you anymore.

I'm not perfect. I judge people, I try not to but it happens. I usually do it silently though. I could never bring myself to intentionally hurt someone else. Unfortunately in my love for kids with special needs I see this sick crap all the time. Those kids get the brunt of it, without even really understanding why. But what I don't get, and will never get is why. Why are we who are "normal" so entitled to belittle and nit-pick. And who gave us that right? If you are a Christian, I can tell you with all certainty that you were never given that right, so you especially need to reevaluate how you treat everyone around you.

I don't even know what to call it when teenagers (or anyone) are killing themselves because of words. It's much worse than "wrong" or "disgusting." It needs a word all of it's own.

When I worked with Blake his mom always taught him to say things that were, "Kind and Caring." I always thought that was hilarious, since no one really uses those words anymore. I even joked about it with Kyle and told him he needed to be kind and caring to me. But soon enough I found myself taking it seriously, and when Blake was being mean, I would tell him that he needed to be kind and caring. And it's so true. Everyone just needs to be kind and caring.

Just. Be. Kind. It's not that hard. And if you can't find anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.