Melvin's blog

Nshima & Curry

Melvin's  Blog

Nshima & Curry

A LITTLE PRIDE GOES A LONG WAY

Every now and then, I see a bumper sticker that says, "Proud
to be an American." And I say to myself, "That's nice, but
what exactly are you proud of?" I wish they'd be a little
more specific: "Proud to live in a country that supports
free speech," or "Proud to live in a country that supports
freedom of worship," or "Proud to live in a country that
supports equal rights for all, except gay people of course."

I'd like to know if they're "Proud to live in a country that
produced the last 36 'World Champions' in American
football," or "Proud to live in a country that created
gangster rap," or "Proud to live in a country that set O.J.
free."

I don't mind them exhibiting national pride, as long as they
remember that no country is perfect, as long as they don't
get carried away and start believing that America can do no
wrong, never mind what those crazy people in France think.

National pride has its place, but I'd like to know if
they're proud of themselves, not just the country they were
lucky enough to be born in. I'd like to know if they're
"Proud to be a parent," "Proud to be a teacher," or "Proud
to be a drinker."

Most of all, I'd like to know if they're "Proud to be a good
person." It's easy to be an American or a Canadian or a
German. But being a good person involves a little effort,
the type of effort some people seem too proud to spare.

Consider, for example, the six-year study of "simple acts of
kindness" conducted in 23 cities on all five continents and
published in American Scientist magazine. Researchers put
ordinary people to the test by having an injured person
knock over a magazine stand, another person drop a pen and a
blind man attempt to cross a busy street.

In Rio de Janeiro, good Samaritans were plentiful: they
returned the pen to its owner and assisted the blind man
across the street every time. They helped the injured person
gather the magazines 80% of the time. And they did all this
without once displaying a "Proud to be a Brazilian" sticker.
(They're saving that for the World Cup.)

While Rio was the friendliest city in the study, New York
City and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, were 22nd and 23rd
respectively. In New York, the pens and magazines were not
returned to their owners and even more shocking, the blind
man ran off with them!

Actually, New Yorkers were not as terrible as that. They
were reluctant to provide physical help, but were willing to
offer verbal support, with friendly words such as "You
dropped your pen," "Nice magazines!" and "Good luck crossing
the road!" And later, they even complimented the blind man:
"Nice tire marks, dude!"

"In general, it seemed as though New Yorkers are willing to
help only when they could do so with the assurance of no
further contact," said Robert Levine, a professor of
psychology at California State University in Fresno, who
coordinated the study. "But in more helpful cities, like
Rio, it often seemed to us that human contact is the very
motive for helping."

But all isn't lost, New Yorkers: If you act quickly, you
might be able to exchange your "Proud to be a New Yorker"
sticker for one that says "Proud to be ahead of Kuala
Lumpur."

Send this column to a friend

                                             Don't forget to visit Melvin's funny blog!