“I think if instead of chasing perfection, sainthood, and magnificence we struggled to just be decent and kind the benefits would be dramatic for everyone involved.” – Keith Haze, local liquor store manager and part time philosopher
I just finished reading “A Different Kind of Power,” Jacinda Ardern’s memoir about growing up in New Zealand and her eventual ascension to prime minister of her country. She was recounting a conversation she had with a long-time friend and journalist while driving to her inauguration:
John asked me for “one last idealistic flourish,” before the hard work of governing began. “Untethered, big-picture stuff. What is it you want to do?”
I had answered questions like this a hundred times on the campaign, What’s the plan? What’s your agenda? I could rattle off an entire work program, off the cuff, but that’s not what immediately came into my mind.
“I want this government to feel different,” I said. “I want people to feel that it’s open, that it’s listening, and that it’s going to gring kindness back.”
“Kindness.” That was the word. It is a child’s word, in a way. Simple. And yet it encompassed everything that left an imprint on me. My father in his uniform in Murupara, agreeing to not arrest a man quite yet, not in the town square, so that the man might preserve a bit of dignity. Hamish’s wife taking care of my mother when she fell apart, then my mother taking care of absolutely everyone. All the people I’d known through the years: family and friends, people I’d worshipped alongside or worked with, even fought with, but always – always – in the service of something better.
Some people thought kindness was sentimental, soft. A bit naive, even. But I knew this. But I knew they were wrong. Kindness has a power and strength that almost nothing else on this planet has. I’d seen kindness do extraordinary things: I’d seen it give people hope; I’d seen it change minds and transform lives. I wasn’t afraid to say it out loud, and as soon as I did, I was sure: kindness. This would be my guiding principle no matter what lay ahead.
<Sigh>