May 2008 Archive

Time Magazine in its May 12th issue lists what it considers the 100th most influential people in the world. The issue’s contributors such as Archbishop Desmond Tutu (who wrote about Peter Gabriel), Bill Clinton (who wrote about Tony Blair) and Edgar Bronfman Jr. (who wrote about the rock band Radiohead) are themselves influential and famous.

Richard Stengel the Managing Editor says in the introduction, that influence although subjective is measured by the effect people have on the world.

On a numerical smaller scale we each are the most influential person to someone, whether it is a family member, such as a 2-week old baby, a colleague at work or just a friend.

We all can use our financial resources to influence the lives of others. A small $10 donation to a hunger project will have a significant impact on someone who earns an average of $1 a day.

Our knowledge and experience can also be of great influence to many.

How careful are we about how we use our influence or power in order not to impact negatively the lives of others?

Ideally we should try to use our influence for the well-being of others. Many actors and actresses in Hollywood and elsewhere have used and are using their fame for good causes.Angelina Jolie has become a spokesperson of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHR,) Jerry Lewis has raised hundred of millions of dollars for research on muscular dystrophy and Bono is using his celebrity status to combat poverty in Africa.

We should also make sure that when we use our influence for our own benefit, as we should, we do not do it without consideration for others and try to be fair as much as we can. Fairness is a great value, but it is extremely difficult to determine and apply because we live in a very competitive world.

Fairness and justice are closely related concepts. The French word for fair is "just." Justice is an easier concept to comprehend and one to think about when we use whatever influence we have.

Eleanor Roosevelt once said:

"You can never really live anyone else’s life, not even your child’s. The influence you exert is through your own life, and what you’ve become yourself."

Two Reverends have been in the News lately.

Reverend Wright for his controversial and outrageous comments that have caused serious concern to the Obama campaign.

Reverend Sharpton who is threatening to cause serious disruption to the City of New York this coming Wednesday by leading a campaign of civil disobedience in protest of the not-guilty verdict of the three policemen who shot and killed Shawn Bell more than a year ago.

The etymology of the word "reverend" comes from the Latin "reverendus" which means "He who is to be respected. The Church gives that title to any ordained minister.

The philosopher, Emmanuel Kant considered respect as fundamental in Ethics. He believed that we should: "act in such a way that you always treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, never simply as a means, but always at the same time as an end."

To better understand the concept, we should remember that:

1. Respect is to be earned. An individual or an institution must have a long record of consistent ethical behavior, to earn the respect of others.

2. Respect is to be maintained. We can lose the respect of others and our reputation by a single breach of an ethical standard.

3. Respect is reciprocal. We can not expect be respected unless we respect others.

4. Respect requires self-respect. We can not expect to be respected if we do not have self-respect.

Respect is a very important value and fundamental in human relationships.

As Johann von Goethe once said:
"The way you see people is the way you treat them, and the way you treat them is what they become."