Kindlandia: A Legacy of Kindness & Civility

Kizzie’s beloved Thomas Wert offers a guest post for the blog this week. He is a retired Lutheran pastor/chaplain who continues to serve at the Seattle UCC German-speaking Church and works also as an Eldergrow educator.
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​Dearest Edythe~

My beloved Thomas and I shared in a poignant discussion after the passing of former President George H.W. Bush. Since it touches so closely to the heart of our Kindlandia, where only kind people dwell, I asked Thom to offer a guest post for my blog and he graciously accepted my invitation. Here is his post.

This weekend, in light of the death of former President George H.W. Bush, words from his inaugural address come to mind in which he called people to the “high moral principle…to make kinder the face of the Nation and gentler the face of the world.”

This hope, for a kinder and gentler world, works hand in hand with a culture of civility. As former President Jimmy Carter summed up President Bush’s legacy, “His administration was marked by grace, civility, and social conscience. Through his Points of Light initiative and other projects, he espoused a uniquely American volunteer spirit, fostering bipartisan support for citizen service and inspiring millions to embrace community volunteerism as a cherished responsibility.”

Over the last few years, Edythe, I heard you and Kizzie speak often of Kindlandia and the importance of acts of kindness—planned, spontaneous, or random. It is indeed up to all of us to be agents of kindness and civility.

May we each contribute to Kindlandia and be part of the community envisioned by the late President Bush in his 1988 Republican National Convention acceptance speech, as “a brilliant diversity spread like stars, like a thousand points of light in a broad and peaceful sky.”