Choosing Civility

With all of the recent hullabaloo surrounding the horrifying outbursts of celebrities and the like, it leaves us wondering what's the deal!? The LA Times wrote a fascinating article on this very subject on the cover of today's paper, and it really got me thinking about what we have become. Why is there suddenly this outpouring of rude behavior by the very people that we are supposed to look up to? And is this really sudden at all, or has it been a slippery slope for some time now?

It seems as though almost everyone has been caught up in this viral infection of rudeness. In the wake of athletes losing their cool over a bad call on the court, politicians yelling out during the president's address to the nation, and of course the widely publicized Kanye West and Taylor Swift drama...

Of course these are celebrities, but it did get me thinking... If celebrities, athletes, and politicians are saying things like this to one another, think of the thousands of others who are treating one another this way that aren't being publicized on the evening news.

I'm not ranting about this subject just to rehash the hash --- my whole purpose in commenting about these crazy things is to offer a small ray of hope! In the wake of all of this, I was reminded this week of the goodness of people, and in the celebrities that some of us look up to. This week was the annual KIIS FM event at CHOC and we were so fortunate to have people donate their time to visit the kids and their families, and bring a smile to their faces. I just have to share one of the stories!

I had the complete privilege to tour a certain british soccer player :) around the hospital to see the kids in their rooms, and let me tell you, it was a complete joy. Yes ladies, for obvious reasons, but even more than that I was in complete awe of his humility, grace and class. He was a complete gentleman for starters... he refused to get in the elevator before me, held open every door, and had all the time in the world for the patients and their families. He was completely unaffected by the media surrounding him, and placed every emphasis on the strength of those kids. Seeing the joy on the kid's faces was heartwarming, and hearing him say that he was forever changed by the experience was priceless. His facial expressions said it all! We were fortunate to have so many celebrities and average joes alike share in the day and I was utterly impressed by all of them. I had been looking forward to this day in preparation for a while now, but I was expecting at least a few out of the bunch to be a little "hollywood." I was pleasantly surprised by their humility and sincerity.

This whole day gave me hope. It helped me realize that yes, these are people just like the rest of us, and they are gracious, classy and sincere at the core. Choose civility and hopefully it will start a new viral strain of kindness...