I do none harm, I say none harm, I think none harm. And if this be not enough to keep a man alive, in good faith I long not to live. — Sir Thomas More in Richard Bolt’s, A Man For All Seasons.
It is hard for people to imagine that a football player could say or write the above, but in reality even big offensive lineman never wished to do their opponents harm, they only wanted to move them around a bit. Bolt’s play is full of great quotes, but this one stuck with me this morning. More’s thoughts are not bad words to live by, and we could use a little bit more of “none harm” these days.
Why does it seem necessary to pour salt in our opponent’s wounds or to say what’s wrong with someone rather than what’s good? Do we always need to remind people of their misgivings or past mistakes? I think not.
The pill of forgiveness is the best medicine a person can take.
My dad’s favorite quote and he lived it for 80 years. Our heroes in our past were all real people we knew well. Far too many heroes/sheroes today are media/spin creations and we know little about who they reall are OR like Trump we become fascinated how bad somebody can be and still command the media’s attention. I guess the compelling question for our day and times would be: What if all social media disappeared? Would we be better or woese off? Would the answers differ significantly by generation?
Thanks – reminded me of what a really good person my dad was all his life. Not qiuite 80 so maybe I have some time to start catching up!