“Kindness is the water that puts out the fire.”  I awoke today to this quote from Lady Gaga and I found myself moved by it.  We live in a time of unrest and unease and many people are responding with fire….with meanness and intolerance and divisiveness and fear.  But “Kindness is the water that puts out the fire.”

This is the cousin to my other favorite quote from the movie “Cinderella,” Have Courage and Be Kind.  Both of these quotes remind me of the tone and focus that I strive for in my life.  We can all impact the world, starting with our own little corner of it.  So I’m striving to respond with kindness.

We have a responsibility now to speak up when we hear someone spreading a blanket statement of meanness or intolerance.  We must be the water that puts out the fire, for the fire is not the truth.

If someone says that all Muslims are evil, we must speak up.  This is not true, and this is not kind.  I have many Muslim friends who are wonderful and caring and have the same values that we all share.

If someone says that gays will destory the fabric of society, we must speak up.  This is not true, and this is not kind.  And this kind of rhetoric just feeds the fear, feeds the fire.  How many tragedies do we have to endure before we decide to choose kindness instead of fear?

If we hear someone disparage Mexicans, or women, or African-American, or any other group, we must respond with kindness and bring the water to put out this fire.  Solutions to problems will not come from divisiveness or meanness or intolerance or hate.

So have courage and be kind.  Be the water that puts out the fire.  If we all bring the kindness to our own world, we can create a wave of love.