Donna Saslove And Simon Lugassy - JO LEE Magazine

DOUBLE ENTENDRE
Our Emotional Footprint
By Saul Levine, MD
San Diego – California
It is clear that the world has become
concerned about our “carbon
footprint,” and we are taking more
seriously the potential consequences
of global warming. Human beings
have shown themselves to be
remarkably resourceful and creative
in overcoming challenges, and there
is some optimism that our ingenuity
and dedication will ultimately reduce
our carbon footprint.
I am less sanguine, however,
that we will be as successful in
meeting another threat, one that
equally endangers our existence –
our “emotional footprint”. Our
emotional footprint is what we
contribute, psychologically and
socially, to each other and to our
communities. It is how we behave
towards, and affect, each other.
As with our carbon footprint,
our emotional footprint can be
positive, created with care and
benevolence, or it can be negative,
influenced by our selfishness, abuse,
and nastiness.
I sometimes think that we are living
in an “Age of Incivility”. We have
seen many politicians and celebrities
who have been intemperate and nasty
in public. You have surely noticed
that many people are rude even in
their day-to-day dealings with each
other, at home, at work, and in
stores. Some seem to feel it is their
“right” to be pushy and antagonistic,
often expressing themselves loudly
and aggressively, emulating the
media pundits who fill our airwaves
and screens with angry, degrading
comments. The truth is, we can all
be uncivil. We sometimes criticize
and mock even our friends and
family members.
All of this affects us, and worse,
serves as a model of behavior to our
children. This incivility also does real
damage to the social “atmosphere”
we live in. Having different opinions
is as human as breathing, and in
a civil democracy, differing views
should be appreciated. But when
they are delivered with invective and
derision, we enter into an unpleasant
atmosphere.
A virtual tsunami of diatribes and
verbal assaults are delivered via
television talk shows and cyber
bullying. These raise the level of
nastiness, escalating a decidedly
negative emotional footprint. And
they affect us all, engendering “bad
moods”, abrasiveness, and even
demoralization.
We have a crucial decision to make:
We can either continue on a path of
increasing antagonism and conflict,
or concentrate on acting with more
tolerance, respect and kindness. If
we can be convinced that we must
change, we could bring the same
kind of international awareness and
commitment to that task as we now
bring to reducing global warming.
The Yiddish concept of “mentsh”,
a respectful and decent person,
comes close to this ideal of acting
with respect, generosity of spirit,
and tolerance. A positive emotional
footprint is related to the Bantu
concept of “Ubuntu”, which Bishop
Desmond Tutu refers to as “the
essence of being human”. This
emphasizes that we are members
of many different communities,
but essentially of one common
social network, the “Community of
Humanity.”
A culture centered on everyday
rudeness and intolerance, increases
rancor among the people. But in a
culture that stresses mutual respect
and cooperation, the predominant
mood is much more positive
and generative, and antagonism
diminishes.
We can decide in many small and
large ways either to increase or
decrease our carbon footprint.
Similarly, we can choose daily
rudeness and discord, or we can
choose everyday actions of civility,
respect, and cooperation – a positive
emotional footprint. Which will
we choose? And by the way, what is
your emotional footprint?
Jo Lee Power 2011 73