Time to Give a Damn

Well good morning!  Now that I have your attention, let’s talk for a while about ‘giving a damn’.

It is a seriously underrated commodity in today’s economy, after all.  Frankly, I’m attracted to people and businesses who demonstrate that they do, indeed, give a damn. 

When we give a damn, we …              

~Go out of our way to help someone

~Do the unusual and unexpected just because we can and we care

~Put on some extra touches just to make sure the job is done right

~Pay attention to the individual, not the pocketbook they carry

Meet Ryan.  He is 69 and feeble.  He walks with a slow gait; the right side of his face is caved in from some unknown illness.  He curses and swears, he finds fault with a lot of things in life, yet he has a friend to whom he goes for advice and help.  And this friend welcomes him every time without judgment, without embarrassment, for this businessman friend of Ryan’s gives a damn.  He looks beyond the old and frail frame of a man and sees a human being who deserves good care and good treatment just because he is.

He helps Ryan with a monthly check that must be written for his cab fare.  He answers questions for Ryan about bills that are due, or about some phone scam Ryan was talked into and now needs help getting out of.

Ryan’s friend gives a damn about him. 

Meet Larry.  Larry is a forty-nine-year-old ex-con.  He spent eight years in San Quentin prison.  To say Larry has had a rough life is to put it mildly.  He is a stranger to his own father, and rarely sees his mother. 

Larry may not mean much to his neighbors, or to the “system” in Seattle.  To them, he is nothing more than a name and number on the welfare benefits role, but to one businessman in Seattle, Larry matters. 

Larry has had to borrow $10 or $20 or even $40 dollars on occasion from his business friend.  Would you loan money to an ex-con from San Quentin?  Guess what – every time, EVERY TIME Larry has come back around and paid the man the money owed. 

This business person gives a damn.  He cares for this simple man on the streets and sees a soul in need of a hand of help.

He gives a damn!

Now listen up.  I don’t want you to rush out and throw money at the next down-and-out person you meet, unless you really feel in your heart that is the thing to do.  You see, if you did that, then you would be responding from a point of guilt. 

Moving forward, maybe we choose to adopt the attitude of “care” and “validation” and “honor” and “respect” for our fellow travelers.  Every person has a story and a past.

This is, perhaps, the best way to show that we really do ‘give a damn’.

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