Sticks And Stones May Break My Bones And Words Can Also HURT Me!

In The End Only Kindness Matters!!!!!!!!!

We don't stop to think what our words may or may not do to those we aim them toward. Words can do as much damage to a person as a slap in the face! Words bear a burden that someone will have to carry for a lifetime. I know; I was the one with braces on my teeth in HS and I remember the names and the teasing.... Those are not pleasant, warm or fuzzy memories! They still hurt! I so wanted just to fit in but I was the one who liked to write, who liked Mozart, Shakespeare, Ballet, History, Cars, and Sports.... The boys didn't know what to think of me and neither did the girls.... So I was always the odd person out so to speak... I know how it hurts to be excluded and to be different.... So I speak from experience.... before you tease even if you think it is in good fun just remember that person who is laughing along with you maybe crying inside! Think before you speak! Everyone deserves respect.... it is their birthright from God! Read the lyrics to the following song it says it all!

Don't Laugh At Me
by Mark Wills

I'm a little boy with glasses
The one they call the geek
A little girl who never smiles
'Cause I've got braces on my teeth
And I know how it feels
To cry myself to sleep
I'm that kid on every playground
Who's always chosen last
A single teenage mother Tryin' to overcome my past
You don't have to be my friend
But is it too much to ask
Don't laugh at me
Don't call me names
Don't get your pleasure from my pain
In God's eyes we're all the same
Someday we'll all have perfect wings
Don't laugh at me
I'm the cripple on the corner
You've passed me on the street
And I wouldn't be out here beggin'
If I had enough to eat
And don't think I don't notice
That our eyes never meet
I lost my wife and little boy when
Someone cross that yellow line
The day we laid them in the ground
Is the day I lost my mind
And right now I'm down to holdin' This little cardboard sign...so
Don't laugh at me
Don't call me names
Don't get your pleasure from my pain
In God's eyes we're all the same
Someday we'll all have perfect wings
Don't laugh at me
I'm fat, I'm thin, I'm short, I'm tall
I'm deaf, I'm blind, hey, aren't we all
Don't laugh at me
Don't call me names
Don't get your pleasure from my pain
In God's eyes we're all the same
Someday we'll all have perfect wings
Don't laugh at me

Love One Another As I First Loved You.... God!

Lessons in Caring and Respect From The Character Counts Coalition:

Respect
We all want a chance to be ourselves, make decisions, be accepted, and be treated in a polite, decent way, and have a little privacy. Respectful people give others the information they need to make decisions about their lives. Respectful people threat others with consideration. They don't stoop to violence, meanness, or rudeness. Respectful people tolerate other people's beliefs and accepts individual differences without prejudice. They don't insist that everyone be like them. Respectful people treat others as they themselves would like to be treated. They value others, they build up others. They help other people value themselves.

Respect Do's:
1) Be polite
2) Be accepting of differences
3) judge people on their merits only

Repect Don'ts:
1) Don't insult, abuse, hurt, put down, mistreat or harass others
2)Don't make unwanted comments about a person's appearance
3)Don't take advantage of others
4)Don't withhold information needed by others to make decisions

Caring
A caring person is a bright spot in a sometimes grim world. We have moved from a society of social visits to a society dominated by the VCR and video games. It is as if we are so overwhelmed by the needs of the world that we have retreated into isolation. Ethical people care. Caring is at the heart of an ethical person's character. It is the guideline for their interactions with others. A caring person is considerate, kind, compassionate, and generous. A caring person always takes into account how decisions, words, and actions are likely to affect others. Genuine ethical maturity is the ability to think and care about someone besides oneself. Selfish motives and selfish actions are childish. Caring people have progressed from selfish to selfless. The Golden Rule is the general principle of caring and concern. It encourages us to maximize the good and minimize the harm done to others. Stakeholders are the people, groups, or institutions who will be affected by a decision, word, or action. A person wants to be ethical has a moral obligation to think about every possible effect his or her decisions etc will have on all stakeholders. And all stakeholders who are impacted by a decision have a moral claim on the decisionmaker. Caring requires us to be as considerate, kind, compassionate as our duties and responsibilities permit. But sometimes even love has to be tough. Sometimes really caring requires difficult decisions that are unpleasant for a stakeholder initially but are best for him or her in the long run. Sometimes responsibility seems to conflict with caring ...

Caring Do's
1) show kindness, caring, generosity, and compassion
2) Live by the Golden Rule
3) Think about how every decision, word, and action will impact all stakeholders

Caring Don'ts
1) Don't be selfish
2)Don't be mean
3) Don't be cruel
4)Don't be insensitive to others feelings


The Golden Rule: Do Unto Others As You Would Have Them Do Unto You!!!!!!