In my life I have been blessed to know many people who I held (or hold) in the highest regard. They are people who have had a positive effect in my life, who have taught me tolerance and given me hope. Among them are:

    Art, Rosa - Atheists (along with many other)
    Walter - a catholic priest
    Skip - a Baptist minister
    My youngest son - a Agnostic
    My son Pasha - a Muslim
    Howard -a Jew
    Roger - a gay man
    jimmy - a Republican (among many)
    Willie C. - a Democrat (among many)
    Kempton - a multimillionaire
    Anna - living in Public Housing on government assistance
   
For so many people, others are divided by labels and looked upon more commonly as antagonists... rich versus poor, straight versus gay, Republican versus Democrat, Christians, Jews and muslims versus Atheists and Agnostics (and sometimes Christians versus Jews and vice versa. It's not just politics where this happens. Our culture seems to be built around labels and division. That's as obvious on Mudcat as it is in politics. Too often, birds of a feather take a dump on all other birds.

So, what is the measure of man (and woman)? Is it the labels that divide us? I don't think so. What are the common qualities in my list of people who I respect and admire? I'm sure that you have your own list, and hopefully it's equally diverse.

I'll start out with a quality each of my friends listed above have in abundance: compassion. They have (or had) a great capacity for
empathizing with those who were less fortunate than them. They didn't just give to charity... they shared their blessings happily with those who were in need, whether it was money, material goods, time or encouragement.

Compassion isn't gay or straight, Republican or Democrat (no matter how much some insist they are) rich or poor, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Agnostic or Atheist. It is a basic human quality, and one of many "measures of man, and woman."

Tell me about your list, and what qualities you feel are the true measure of a man or woman...

As Frasier said, "I'm listening.."

Jerry