Thursday, October 31, 2019

Being A Good Human Being

Hello Nation and all of the ships at sea! You know, this particular greeting was similar to the one that my father said many times addressing emails to the family. He would say “Boys & Girls and all the ships at sea”. I later learned that the great columnist Walter Winchell coined the actual phrase as "Good evening Mr. and Mrs. America from border to border and coast to coast and all the ships at sea. Let's go to press." He used it at the top of his radio broadcasts. So I will use my own take on it, should that be okay with you.

At the end of each episode of The Joel Michalec Show, I use a sign-off that goes somewhat such as this, “Be good to one another and if you’re out and about, pick up three pieces of trash”. Why I do that is to promote well being. Somewhere in the past twenty years, something has gone very wrong with our society. We’ve become more vain, more disrespectful and we’re making a mess of our planet. I am amazed, no, I am furious every time I notice that someone had the audacity to throw their fast food rubbish out of their vehicle into the street. Asking people to be kind to one another and pick up after themselves is no being a jackass, it is simply asking one to be human.

Imagine what a simple act of kindness could do. Holding a door open for someone entering as you exit seems like such a simple thing to do, yet think of what could happen if the next person passes it on and so forth. Think of the possibilities if we all acted kind to one another and not to mention how much less energy it takes to be kind. It takes a lot of energy to be angry. As for picking up after yourself, why would you not? I cannot imagine what your own home might look like based on your behavior out and about. I have seen parks and beaches just littered with garbage. This past summer, driving past a beach town rental home on a Saturday morning, on display was the evidence of a crazy night before. Strewn across the lawn were hundreds of the red SOLO brand cups and beer cans. All I could think of in that instant was the image of the American Indian from the TV commercials in the 1970s, standing in a field of trash with a tear running down his cheek.

So, as I say each week, be kind to one another and if you are out and about, pick up three pieces of trash. Remember, you can subscribe to the program at www.JoelMichalec.com and a new episode drops every Sunday!