{"id":392,"date":"2016-01-22T10:30:28","date_gmt":"2016-01-22T18:30:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tidbitsandtantrums.com\/?p=392"},"modified":"2016-01-22T10:30:28","modified_gmt":"2016-01-22T18:30:28","slug":"painting-a-broader-stripe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tidbitsandtantrums.com\/?p=392","title":{"rendered":"Painting a Broader Stripe"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cYesterday I went to Olive Garden restaurant to have dinner with nice families. We were a group of 7 adults and 5 children. Everyone in the restaurant was knowing that we were Arabs Muslims on the table because of the language and the ladies were having scarves over their head (Hijab). After finishing we asked for the receipts and the waitress came to us with that receipt (in the picture). Yes, someone paid for us and wrote those wonderful words on the receipt. I can\u2019t express how this act touched our hearts. There is still light in the dark, there is still hope within the frustration. All I can say to who did that, Merry Christmas to you too and God bless such a beautiful heart you have.\u201d (\u201cLove is What Really Matters<\/u>\u201d on Facebook)\"PAID<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

When I read the paragraph above, my heart swelled with pride and joy. Whoever paid the food bill for this Middle Eastern group, and wrote those beautiful words on the \u201cPaid in Full\u201d receipt exhibited the very best attributes of every person in The United States of America today!<\/p>\n

But why did they do it? <\/em><\/strong>Money is tight for almost everyone around the holidays. <\/em>They must have hesitated for a moment to wonder if the Arab families might take offense to this anonymous act of generosity (Middle Eastern men are all about \u201csaving face\u201d (pride) when approached with what could have been misunderstood as \u201ccharity\u201d)? Did you catch the part about the patrons writing \u201cMerry Christmas\u201d on the receipt? How about the Arab gentleman responding in kind, and then adding \u201cGod Bless\u201d? What\u2019s up with that<\/u>? Didn\u2019t he say he was Muslim?<\/p>\n

It is an irrefutable fact that this world is chock-a-block full of wonderful, compassionate courageous individuals (of many skin colors) over-flowing<\/em> with righteous character and integrity. Praise God!<\/p>\n

We are (and hopefully will always remain) a country of immigrants. Immigrants were crucial to building the initial infrastructure of our beloved country with their talents, skills and innovations brought from the home country of their birth. In exchange, America was to them a golden land of opportunity to live in freedom and prosper without limitations or fear. We need<\/em> the energy of others to (legally) enter the United States and assimilate their ideas and experiences into our societies. This is as truthful today as it was when The Statue of Liberty welcomed the first wide-eyed hopefuls with the promise of \u201cBring me your poor, your tired, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.\u201d (American poet, Emma Lazarus)<\/p>\n

I highlighted the incident at Olive Garden— which didn\u2019t make the national news— because it saddens me to think that somewhere along the line \u201cprivileged <\/em>men and women\u201d of all colors, race, creeds and religions have lost their generous spirit. We\u2019ve become afraid of the differences in others and suspect of the unfamiliar outside of our neighborhoods. We stopped giving the benefit of the doubt, callously insisting there is \u201cno room for error\u201d when it comes to the safety of our own. Worst of all, we forgot that we are all equal in the eyes of God, innocent until proven guilty, worthy of respect<\/em> and kindness<\/em> until proven otherwise.<\/p>\n

As a result, we\u2019ve become a fearful, angry and narcissistic people living in the present while apologizing for the past. We\u2019ve rewritten history to cloud the current issues and undermine the hard lessons we learned from our mistakes. An entire generation of people will never know what it is like to form an opinion on their own from experience rather than hearsay<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Forget political correctness, racial epithets and cultural \u201cover-sensitivities\u201d. Throw out the vulgar name calling, ridiculous labeling and \u201cpainting a broad stripe\u201d that attempts to lay blame on the \u201cwhole\u201d rather than offending the \u201cfew\u201d.<\/em> We don\u2019t need to change others to fit into the way we speak, eat, dress, or worship<\/strong>— we need to challenge ourselves to be non-judgmental, be more inclusive and less suspect of the differences of others.<\/strong> Loving our neighbors means more than \u201cnot hating\u201d or \u201cnot trusting\u201d them. For a solution to occur, we must be more empathetic toward marginalized individuals and groups, grasping the opportunity to condemn racism, bigotry and ethnocentricity whenever and wherever it presents.<\/p>\n

One of my all-time favorite public speakers on various Christian topics is Justin Lee, the founder of the Gay Christian Network. His recent seminar at the GNC 2016 Conference entitled \u201cTwo Dirty Words<\/u>\u201d is about marginalized human beings (we all are members of a minority in one way or another).\u00a0 He\u00a0clearly explains liberal theology is focusing primarily on \u201csocial justice<\/strong>\u201d and\u00a0perhaps is doing more harm than good to bring about a real \u201creparation of the heart\u201d. Justin\u2019s words had a profound<\/em> impact on how I will listen and respond<\/strong> to everyone of a different color or culture or belief system in the future. I implore you to really open your heart to what he is saying (the talk is an hour in length (YouTube), but worth every second, I promise.)<\/p>\n

It is a beginning but we have a long way to go as inconsistent beings.\"MARTIN<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201c(Newser) <\/em><\/strong>\u2013 In April, James Brady was taking his daily walk when he found $850 in cash in a bank envelope on the sidewalk. The New Jersey man, then homeless, turned the money in to police. No one claimed it, and last month police returned it to him … and as a result, Brady was denied General Assistance and Medicaid benefits from Oct. 18 through the end of the year, the <\/em>Record<\/em><\/a> reports. The director of the Hackensack Human Services Department says she had no choice, because Brady didn’t report the added income.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

What part of \u201chomeless\u201d did HSD (choose to) not understand?<\/em> Was John Brady homeless because he was suffering from a mental illness or just temporarily down on his luck? I imagine very few individuals would even think to report the monies as a windfall to HSD or the IRS, a paltry sum to many, but certainly a king\u2019s ransom to others who have nothing. Instead of appreciating the honesty shown by Mr. Brady by turning the envelope over to the police (money that perhaps might have fed him for weeks, even put a roof over his head and fresh clothing on his back had he kept the money), he was \u201cpunished\u201d by the system for doing the right thing.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

What exactly is the \u201cright thing\u201d?<\/em> Laws are laws, created for the greater good of the masses, but we all know individuals that use laws to their own advantage. Some cynical folk might ask, \u201cDid Mr. Brady turn in the monies because he was a \u201cgood guy\u201d, or was he a guy bilking the system, seeking a reward and attention (doing something to get something in return) and got punked instead?\u201d<\/em> In the absence of a religious-based mandate to \u201cDo unto others as you would have them do unto you\u201d, where do we go to learn how to be honest and trustworthy? How do we become educated to understand and consider the needs of others, putting their needs before our own?<\/p>\n

I had the honor of meeting Mother Teresa twice in my lifetime, once at an orphanage that I volunteered in New Delhi in the mid 1970\u2019s and again in Australia when she came to visit our children\u2019s school in Alice Springs. A diminutive (in size only) woman of ordinary expression, she was truly one of the most influential people in my life. Her voice never minced inspirational words when it came to sacrifice and showing equal humanity to all of God\u2019s creatures:<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you judge people, you have no time to love them. Not all of us can do great things, but we all can do small things well. Smile five times a day at someone you don\u2019t really want to smile at; do it for peace.\u201d Blessed Mother Teresa\"TREAT<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

If our parents do not teach us to be respectful, compassionate and responsible human beings when we are young, and our teachers are not permitted to reinforce such common sense life lessons in the classrooms, if there is no spiritual guidance and influence in the home or fair \u201caccountability\u201d in our society, how will we ever transcend the inconsistencies and chaos we are faced with each and every day?<\/em><\/strong> I admit there are times I worry that as a nation we are headed in the wrong direction that our priorities are all screwed up and everyone is only out for themselves.<\/p>\n

But then I read such wonderful accounts of every day individuals that over-came their fears and prejudices to reach out to others with understanding and compassion to do the right thing<\/em>. Like the teenage mother that couldn\u2019t afford to buy diapers for her baby until the customer behind her added the diapers to his bill, or the little girl with Down Syndrome that sent over 100 Christmas cards to soldiers unable to come home for the holidays, or the policemen who returned to the house of the man who died shoveling snow just to finish the job for his widow, etc\u2026the list goes on and on. It is there that I find hope for mankind and remember that the earth is not our Kingdom. The Almighty is in his Heaven and all is (or will be) right with the world.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Something struck an immediate cord with me when I reread the Arab gentleman\u2019s response to his patron\u2019s generosity: \u201cThere is still light in the dark, there is still hope within the frustration<\/em>\u201d. Mother Teresa also said, \u201cGo out into <\/em>the world today and love the people you meet. Let your presence light new light in the hearts of people\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t let fear<\/strong> stand in the way of your humanity today or any day.<\/p>\n

God Bless<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cYesterday I went to Olive Garden restaurant to have dinner with nice families. We were a group of 7 adults and 5 children. Everyone in the restaurant was knowing that we were Arabs Muslims on the table because of the…
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