Gratitude is Good

I was reminded of something that I had said the other day about gratitude and contemporary society.  I was going into a gas station, and a black man was coming to the door at the same time.  So, I opened the door and motioned for him to go.  He looked back at me in anger and then opened the other door to go through it, rather than let a white man help him.

This reminded me of my comments on my experience with liberal women that see help from a man as saying that they are unable and explanations from a man as "mansplaining"... my comments about it was that this was killing chivalry, even as they judged men for not being chivalrous.  In much the same way, many minorities are refusing the help of white people... especially men.  THEN, they go about saying how bad white men treat them.  You can't have it both ways.  It's almost like, in both cases, they are refusing the aid because it would mean they have to give up their prejudice, which is something they don't want to do.

It shouldn't have to be said, but gratitude is good.  We have a holiday devoted specifically to it, though most of our holidays have just become a generic sports, food, drinking day, nowadays.  We are instructed by God in the Bible to be grateful, and it is a good way to bring good to us.  There used to be a commercial where people said "thank you" and was met with a good response.  Teachers are taught to use positive reinforcement rather than negative, which is saying something good to reinforce the same behavior in the future.  So, why can't we do the same to white men?

Our response to others is a good predictor of what we will receive.  It's not perfect, and you can be abused in your trust.  However, one way to ensure good things DON'T happen to you is to be upset when another does them for you.  So, if you want to live a happy life, be grateful to those that bring good to you.  Then, maybe you will see more of it in the future.