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National Do Something Nice Day 2024
What a sweet October Saturday to be National Do Something Nice Day. Hold a door for someone. Share a smile. Do something nice and you’ll feel better for having done so.
It’s More Important To Be Nice
It is nice to be important, but it’s more important to be nice. ~John Templeton
It takes little to no effort to do something nice. You can hold a door for someone, get something off the top shelf for a shorter person, pass the vegetables or untie your wife’s crazily knotted sneaker laces.
Being nice is actually part of American character. Sure, we have the image as the “Ugly American”, because of how we sometimes behave as tourists.
In reality, Americans are naturally nice. We’ll do our best to help you. We’ll invite to parties and cookouts. We’ll pitch in and help where we can. That’s how we’re wired.
Certainly, there are noteable exceptions. In general, we’re very nice people. We mean well and don’t mind going the extra mile to be helpful.
Of course, if you mess with us, we’ll bomb your ass back to the Stone Age. That’s to be expected. We’re not really into the whole biting the hand that feeds you aesthetic.
If you’re neutral, we’re nice. If you’re nice, we’re extra nice. We like reciprocating or even reciprocating with interest.
Right now, there are a lot of people suffering from the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene. Do something nice. Give to Samaritan’s Purse, the Red Cross or any number of excellent charities and support organizations who are already on the ground doing what they do.
National Do Something Nice Day
NATIONAL DO SOMETHING NICE DAY | October 5th – National Day Calendar
It’s kind of nice to have a day set aside for doing something nice.
I work from home, so doing something nice usually takes the form of getting snacks for my dog or my cat. It might also include doing a support call with a colleague on how to fix a report.
I like to do nice things for people and pets. It makes me feel good to know I’ve helped.
You can, too. I believe in you.
Being Nice And Kind Is Easy
Not only do I think being nice and kind is easy but being kind, in my opinion, is important. ~Dwayne Johnson
This is, in theory, a credo of a superhero.
We think about Superman getting cats out of trees, Spider-Man foiling muggings, the Flash running an injured citizen to the ER.
Superheroes are typically nice. Even the anachronistic ones…
Black Adam | Tomb Scene | Warner Bros. Entertainment
See? He was nice and saved the lady from getting squished by falling rocks.
Nice is on a bit of a sliding scale with superheroes, it must be acknowledged.
With great power comes the temptation to misuse it.
The ones who do not are considered superheroes.
Those who occassionally give in to temptation are considered antiheroes.
The characters who revel in their power and give not a whit about helping people are considered villains.
That’s fairly simplistic, but it actually subsections the real world pretty neatly.
Some people agree with The Rock that being nice and kind is easy and they act accordingly.
Some people are a bit too busy being busy to be nice. If you could sit them down in a quiet moment, they’d probably agree that being nice and kind is generally a good thing.
Some people revel in getting over on people. They don’t feel like they can get ahead unless they’re using your forehead as a stepladder.
These people suck. They need therapy, medication and church.
That’s the world we live in summarized. Now you see why it leads to this sort of characterization in comic books and related media.
So, if you can, be nice. Be that hero.
That’s it for this day of doing nice things. I’ve got plenty of writing to get through this weekend. I hope you find this weekend restful.