Those Who Preach and Those Who Practice

Those Who Preach1A1My good friend BL introduced me to a motivational speaker with the name of Simon Anholt the other day. The topic was “Which country does the most good for the world?”. I’d never heard of Anholt until BL told me about him. According to Wikipedia, Anholt is an Englishman who is a writer and speaker who advises his audience on international affairs. He devised a new concept called the Good Country Index, ranking countries not by wealth, size or population, but by how much “good” it gives to Planet Earth and its human species. I only have a brief and superficial understanding of his methodology, but it is interesting and refreshing in two respects. First, how do you quantify something that is morally and ethically good? Second, what is considered “good” and what common standards do you use? Nonetheless, the fact that one would try to measure people/nations like that was indeed pioneering work.

Out of the 125 countries included in the study, these come out on top:
1. Ireland
2. Finland
3. Switzerland
4. Netherlands
5. New Zealand

The dubious honor of bringing up the rear goes to:
121. Angola
122. Azerbaijan
123. Iraq
124. Vietnam
125. Libya

If you want to find out the ranking for a certain country, go to www.wikipedia.com and look up “Good Country Index.”

If you want to see and hear Anholt speak, go to: https://youtu.be/1X7fZoDs9KU

BL shared the above information with a number of mutual friends. One of them was LC, who is another good friend. In response, LC sent us the following internet link. It’s about how a former Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany opened up his home to refugees as a temporary shelter. I thought it was just too coincidental with what Mr. Anholt preached. Hungary did not make top marks on Anholt’s survey, but Gyurcsany as a concerned citizen of the world, surely deserves a high spot on the list of do-gooders.

This is the link:

http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2015/09/16/440579232/a-former-hungarian-leader-hostsmigrants-despite-government-crackdown

Judging on this act alone, Mr. Gyurcsany and his family are my kind of heroes. It’s good to put kindness to work. What he probably couldn’t do as a politician he does it in his own private life. Bravo!Those Who Preach2A

I am 100% non-politician material. May I venture to say that the majority of you who have time to read my trivial writing are not either. So whatever we do, we’ll have very little impact on the world on an individual basis. But I think we can collectively make a big difference. You don’t have to donate your whole life to education – like the Jesuit priests did, many of whom come from number-one-ranked Ireland. You don’t have to forego medium comfort for you and your children and become a doctor without borders –after years of hard studies in medical school. That’s too much sacrifice to do “good.” But you can still be an inspiring teacher and an excellent physician if you are nice to the people you serve in your career.

If you and I don’t have Anholt’s vision and wisdom, or Gyurcsany’s bravery and financial means, what can we do to help, we ask ourselves? How about feeding the homeless once in awhile? That’s basically what Gyurcsany did. How about spending some spare time tutoring kids in a low-ranking school? That’s basically what the Jesuit educators do. How about buying some cookies from girl scouts when you see them selling in front of Safeway? Sure they are more expensive than what’s available inside the big store, but just look at the smiles you get from the kids in return. That’s why those cookies always taste so good.

 *** The End ***

 

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