This is an email I sent to the KIND team this morning, encouraging empathy and bridge-building during a time of deep division within our country.
KIND Team,
This past weekend, Americans elected Joe Biden the 46th U.S. President. I have long felt that President-elect Biden’s campaign messages echo KIND’s ethos and I am encouraged that this administration will champion the values that we at KIND, regardless of political party, hold dear.
I realize that this news does not hit everyone the same way. As I have said before, everyone has a home here at KIND. We must continue to model empathy and respectful listening and discourse, not only internally at KIND but also externally in our communities.
Since I immigrated to the U.S. in 1984, I have never experienced such polarization, distrust, and even downright hatred among fellow Americans. While substantive differences are real, what we have in common is far greater. We need to re-learn how to respectfully disagree, learn from one another, and work with our fellow citizens for a brighter future.
The overwhelming majority of Americans long for a more perfect union. Everyone has a role to play – and a duty to play it – in forging this path. And we at KIND have a particularly important contribution to make by modeling our values within our communities, bridging relations, listening, and acting with empathy. The work ahead will require assumption of positive intent from one another.
The issues are real. It is absolutely not easy. But just as being KIND requires strength, so does trying to forge common ground with our fellow citizens. These are not weaknesses but signs of courage and leadership.
With warmth,
DL