People are angry. We have never seen it like this before. Emails, phone calls, letters; they have all been increasingly negative over the past week. Last week we wrote about a Wall Street Journal poll that found nine out of ten people in this country believe there is a lack of civility now. That is 90 percent of the country and we are feeling it here in our community.
Often the incivility is coupled with untruths. By its very nature when people are mean and overly aggressive, uncivil, they lose sight of the truth. They may not mean to do so, but in their haste to make their point they do and that is unfortunate.
Words matter. How we use words matters. Ruth Bader Ginsburg said: “You can disagree without being disagreeable.” We agree.
We understand life is busy. Life is stressful. What is happening today in our country and our state is creating a sense of uncertainty that affects us here in town. We cannot recall a campaign season so filled with vitriol and anger. It is unsettling. On the national level neither candidate has demonstrated they have the capacity to unite our country and keep us safe. They are not raising the debate they are lowering it and we are inundated with the negativity on a daily, if not hourly, basis.
It is because of this stress and uncertainty that we should all make an effort to be a little nicer.
Being nice can take practice. Will Rogers said: “Most men are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” Being nice is the same. For some it’s an effort. They may feel that in the middle of a busy stressful day, saying hello to someone they do not know will not make a difference, but they are wrong. We challenge you to say “hello” to someone you pass on the street as you are running your errands. Watch their face. See if you can see the smile, even with a mask on, and then notice how that makes you feel. Being nice makes you feel good. Literally.
According to “Psychology Today” being nice and doing nice things for others boasts your serotonin. Serotonin is the neurotransmitter that gives us the feeling of satisfaction and well-being. Most anti-depressant medications work by increasing the amount of serotonin available to your brain. What this means is that being nice and doing nice things for others changes your brain in a way that makes you feel better. Best part? No side effects.
We do not expect that next week everyone in town will be blissfully happy. That sounds like a creepy episode on the “Twilight Zone” from the 1960’s. We do hope that folks will turn the “nice” dial up a couple of notches. Is there really a need for four cars to honk their horns simultaneously because someone is struggling to turn against the traffic? That just adds to an already stressful situation. Hold the door for the person behind you, say “thank you” when they do the same for you. These are little things we can do.
Life is stressful and uncertain. Many are concerned about what is happening nationally, economically, internationally, and even locally. There is anger and fear being hurled at us from all directions. Let us not let that consume us here in Greenwich. Let us, as a community, try to be a little nicer to one another. After all, it will make you feel better.
