Good Deeds Make a Difference
By Jeremy Gulley
On January 18, 2009, the day before his inauguration as President of the United States, Barack Obama spent time painting the walls of a Washington D.C. area teen homeless shelter called “Safe Space.” The shelter houses troubled teens, runaways and other at risk youth, but was in desperate need of renovation. “Currently, it has the feel of an orphanage or hospital,” said Presidential Communication Director Josh Earnest, “The goal is to transform it into a space that encourages positive attitudes, social activity and awareness by installing curtains, energy-efficient light fixtures and desk assembly, and painting walls and lockers.”
As part of the national day of service, then President Elect Obama did his part to help set an example. Clad in jeans and a white dress shirt, the event had the feel of a photo-op, but reports paint a picture of Obama putting in his share of work.
The image of Obama “working” at the shelter in jeans and work shirt caused people from all over the country to weigh in with opinions. On the CBS news website reporting the story, comments such as “Great job painting in a dress shirt, Barack! Looks like you’ve done a lot of hard labor in your time. Guess that makes you a man for the lower working classes” and “After painting the wall for five seconds, and posing for the photo op, Obama and his staff limoed to a five course meal where they discussed jailing the D.C. homeless during his inauguration” were common.
It is reasonable to consider our President’s intention, and what impact that effort actually had on the city and the country. As is often the case, however, the opinions that got the most attention are not those who were directly impacted.
This is where the idea of perspective comes in to play – the difference between what we hear and what’s the truth.
While visiting D.C. last week, I was given an insight that helped clarify Obama’s example.
My perspective change came in the form of an Ethiopian taxi driver who spoke in broken English. As is my nature, I engaged him in conversation during the drive, and at one point asked about crime in the city.
His response: “The first thing Obama did was paint homeless shelter. Now there no more crime in my city.”
The driver said he had lived in D.C. for 15 years and has never seen the city as clean and safe as it currently is.
While the talking heads and political debaters discuss the authenticity of Obama’s actions, this taxi driver, who was trained as a mechanical engineer in his home country, and others like him, took Obama’s example to heart. “People now care,” he told me, “because it seem others care.”
Regardless of political affiliation; regardless of our opinion of Obama and others in the spotlight; regardless of our interpretation of those good deeds we see so often as “photo-ops,” the truth is that good deeds make a difference. Whether staged or from the heart – good deeds make a difference.
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Posted by admin
on Mar 2 2011. Filed under Jeremy Gulley, Opinion.
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