Do Good Anyways
By Robyn Near
“Noblesse oblige.” With great wealth comes great responsibility. This sentiment has been paraphrased, reworked and oft quoted. The best example of the spirit of “noblesse oblige” in recent years has been that of Senator Edward Kennedy. While watching parts of his funeral last week, I was struck once again by the public service he performed during his almost 50 years in government. The Kennedy family, love ‘em or hate ‘em, were born to privilege and power. Joe Sr. groomed his boys, Joe Jr., Jack, Bobbie and Teddy, for power. Their mother, Rose, groomed them for service. In the end, it was Ted Kennedy who served his country the longest. But it’s not his “official” service I want to address. It is his private contributions with which I am most impressed.
Without fanfare or publicity, Ted Kennedy went about doing what he could, individually, for hundreds, if not thousands, of people who crossed his path. News stories are abundant now that he has died about how he read weekly to inner city school children, most of whom did not know him as “Senator”, but rather “friend.” I heard about how he personally called each family in his home state of Massachusetts who were victimized by 9/11, not once, but several times, checking up, seeing how they were coping with that unspeakable tragedy, a tragedy he understood all too well. Time and again he used his position of privilege and power for people less fortunate than he. His legislation was always aimed at helping people, whether it was civil rights or health care reform. He reached out to the “common” people around him, not just his rich and powerful cronies. Kennedy admitted himself he was not a perfect man, far from it, but he persevered, he kept trying. Politics aside, Senator Kennedy was a great humanitarian and as such, an example for all of us.
I have often used this column to exhort people to get involved in the community, give back, help their fellow citizens, a sort of “noblesse oblige” of the working class. I fall far short of that which I could do, but I keep trying. I’m not a rich or powerful person, but occasionally I need to be reminded to be unselfish with my time and energy. During a particularly low point recently, a friend gave me a copy of some words Mother Teresa had on a wall in the children’s home in Calcutta. Subsequently I followed up on the Internet and discovered they were written by a 19 year old Harvard student in 1968. The original is from a booklet written by Kent Keith for college leaders. Now posted at my desk, The Paradoxical Commandments urge me on and give me impetus to continue when I feel no one is listening or cares. Perhaps you will find them inspirational as well.
The Paradoxical Commandments
by Dr. Kent M. Keith
People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.
If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.
If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.
The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.
Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.
The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.
People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.
What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.
People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway.
Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.
“Noblesse oblige.” With great wealth comes great responsibility. This sentiment has been paraphrased, reworked and oft quoted. The best example of the spirit of “noblesse oblige” in recent years has been that of Senator Edward Kennedy. While watching parts of his funeral last week, I was struck once again by the public service he performed during his almost 50 years in government. The Kennedy family, love ‘em or hate ‘em, were born to privilege and power. Joe Sr. groomed his boys, Joe Jr., Jack, Bobbie and Teddy, for power. Their mother, Rose, groomed them for service. In the end, it was Ted Kennedy who served his country the longest. But it’s not his “official” service I want to address. It is his private contributions with which I am most impressed.
Without fanfare or publicity, Ted Kennedy went about doing what he could, individually, for hundreds, if not thousands, of people who crossed his path. News stories are abundant now that he has died about how he read weekly to inner city school children, most of whom did not know him as “Senator”, but rather “friend.” I heard about how he personally called each family in his home state of Massachusetts who were victimized by 9/11, not once, but several times, checking up, seeing how they were coping with that unspeakable tragedy, a tragedy he understood all too well. Time and again he used his position of privilege and power for people less fortunate than he. His legislation was always aimed at helping people, whether it was civil rights or health care reform. He reached out to the “common” people around him, not just his rich and powerful cronies. Kennedy admitted himself he was not a perfect man, far from it, but he persevered, he kept trying. Politics aside, Senator Kennedy was a great humanitarian and as such, an example for all of us.
I have often used this column to exhort people to get involved in the community, give back, help their fellow citizens, a sort of “noblesse oblige” of the working class. I fall far short of that which I could do, but I keep trying. I’m not a rich or powerful person, but occasionally I need to be reminded to be unselfish with my time and energy. During a particularly low point recently, a friend gave me a copy of some words Mother Teresa had on a wall in the children’s home in Calcutta. Subsequently I followed up on the Internet and discovered they were written by a 19 year old Harvard student in 1968. The original is from a booklet written by Kent Keith for college leaders. Now posted at my desk, The Paradoxical Commandments urge me on and give me impetus to continue when I feel no one is listening or cares. Perhaps you will find them inspirational as well.
The Paradoxical Commandments
by Dr. Kent M. Keith
People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.
If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.
If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.
The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.
Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.
The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.
People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.
What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.
People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway.
Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.