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| SHOWING KINDNESS — Fourth graders Patryk Schlomann, Michael Sugar, Ellis Shanley and Jared Pope from Holy Apostles School in New Berlin help Evelyn Wilkening, a resident of Linden Grove Nursing Home in New Berlin, on an art project Jan. 23. (Catholic Herald photo by Sam Lucero) |
These days, the Golden Rule sometimes appears to be a relic, admirable but outdated, like a home-cooked meal in a fast-food age. The message of “do unto others” can get lost amidst computer games that make killing a sport, brawling fans at basketball games, and a “me-first” attitude among everyone from politicians to morning commuters.
How, as parents, do we teach our children about respect and empathy when rudeness runs rampant?
We start with ourselves, says Barbara Searing, director of child ministry in the Christian formation program at St. Mary Parish in Menomonee Falls.
In an e-mail interview, Searing related a Native American story she heard.
“A grandfather was sitting around the fire when he told his grandson that he has two wolves inside him,” she wrote. “The grandson looked at his grandfather with eyes wide open as his grandfather told him that the two wolves are always fighting each other. One wolf is disrespectful, selfish and violent. The other is kind, compassionate and generous.
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