Kinds of Kindness

In the new UK politics there is talk of kindness. It is not a well defined concept. In this short article I begin to map its many meanings.

At one end of the continuum is 'kind' and at the other end is 'cruel'. The motivation to act one way or the other is rooted in your nature, nurture or in chance. The kind/cruel reaction lies on an expanding horizon from 'me', through 'us' and 'them' to 'it'. The following table helps to think systematically about kinds of kind and cruel. Note that there are those who do kind and cruel things and there are those who have kindness and cruelty thrust upon them.

Some generalisations:

 

• There is a tendency towards kindness when dealing with me and us.
• There is a tendency towards cruelty when dealing with them.
• Parenting is tough eg the terrible twos; adolescence
• Mechanised agriculture is cruel to the environment.
• Trans National Corporations exploit their workers and pollute the environment.
• Genocide has been and still is quite common.
• War propaganda demonises the enemy.
• Those who know only Me and Us are naïve and easily exploited.
• The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
• Instituted religion tends to produce zealots and suicide bombers.
• Power corrupts so there is need of checks and balances.
• 'It' includes climate change.
• Human nature includes a territorial imperative.
• Man is a social animal - “No man is an island unto himself”

Padding out the continuum

 

 

 

Kind people are good Samaritans who do not look away from suffering. Cruel people treat 'them' as inhuman and therefore fair game for exploitation – poor working conditions; rape, pillage, and enslavement; torture, murder and genocide.

The present refugee situation in the EU offers many examples of kindness and cruelty. Some host nations have crowds of volunteers freely donating resources and offering to help with the logistics of processing such large numbers of people. For many of the people traffickers the refugees are just commodities that are bulk processed so as to generate maximum profit.

It would be 'nice' if more people were kind and less people were cruel. This is possible. Preceding a kind or cruel action is a kind or cruel thought or feeling. If people develop a mindfulness practice they will be aware of the arising of thoughts and feelings and they will be able to choose between kind and cruel.

Kind and cruel are mind states associated with chemical and electrical signals in the mindbrain. By taking thought the signals can be changed. 'What fires together wires together'. It is never too late to change your mind.