Kindness, the Open Door to Respect

By Karyn Mandan

It pierced my heart – the prospect of an innocent child being discriminated against solely because of his or her race, gender, religion or other aspects of life.

I was skimming a children’s book about Jackie Robinson, the first African American player in Major League Baseball, with the intention of reading it to my 5 year old bi-racial relative who loves baseball. The book illustrates the era in which Robinson grew up and segregation was the reality of American life.

Suddenly it struck me that my little guy had no concept of discrimination. His pre-school is a veritable United Nations of girls and boys from many ethnic, racial and religious backgrounds. Inequality is no part of his vocabulary in thought or word. Just the opposite! The children learn and practice kindness to everyone – sensitivity, care, and respect for each other’s wishes and needs.

Society has made some progress from the harsh color lines Jackie Robinson faced. But still…considering what an innocent child, my family’s innocent child, could encounter today awakened in me a profound desire to look deep into my own heart. Do I ever discriminate? Am I discriminated against? How do I respond? Do I respect and honor the humanity of everyone every day? Am I kind … regardless of situation? What more can I do to be inclusive, to express the generous sense of sisterhood and brotherhood I sincerely hope for the rising generation?

A few days ago, the little boy shared how he’s navigating life: “Sometimes I’m scared, but I have courage.” Through the eyes of a child, being courageous is all it takes to defeat anything! Jackie Robinson defeated discrimination with incredible courage…but I thought I would wait a while for that lesson. I put Robinson’s biography away for now.

Later that day, I took a long walk through my city, crossing paths with a wide variety of people. Instead of glancing past them and focusing on my own concerns, I gently looked each person in the eye and held a kind and respectful gaze. Some people seemed surprised and hesitant at first. But eventually our eyes met and we smiled – in a moment, bridging our differences through a genuine connection.

Equality – universal appreciation, respect  and opportunity – is it possible? What does it look like? Do we want to achieve it? How will we do it?

Answers to these questions may differ for each of us – depending on our culture, gender, ethnicity, race, age, experience and more. But grounded in a recognition of our common humanity and everyone’s inherent dignity and worth, expressions of kindness may be a good place to begin.

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Illustration Credit:  Thank you, Alex Cook at http://www.stonebalancer.com/ for your uplifting messages of innocence and beauty. To learn more about how Alex creates art in public spaces to convey powerful, healing messages for children and adults, click here.