Did I mention I try not to talk politics in these Daily Inspiration posts?
And yet, this one is not about politics. And it is deeply personal. Because I'm truly bugged by it.
This is about human decency and dignity.
You might have seen the reports yesterday of a leaked phone call that Joe Biden made to his son, at a moment when Hunter was lost in the haze of his awful addiction. Whatever might have been going on with Hunter in his business life, the fact remains that he is an alcoholic, an addict, and has somehow managed to find his path to recovery and sobriety. How did he do that? You find a path through love, compassion, caring, and comfort - by finally grabbing onto the hope that others are trying to reach you with.
Listen to this call. Listen to it several times. Make yourself listen to it until you cry. This is the awful pain of a father.
Here's a Youtube version if you don't have access to Twitter.
This is not Joe Biden, the President.
This is a father - his anguish pouring forth from his soul, his compassion tearing apart his heart, his every speck of DNA as a dad crying out in anguish as he tries to reach into his son.
Compassion is a choice.
For some reason, a heartless soul at Fox News determined that sharing this phone call would be worthy of some sort of sick 'gotcha journalism' - an effort to make Joe Biden look bad. Whatever depths of depravity exist within the network, with this I am horrified deep within my soul that someone is so lacking any trace of human compassion that they could even think this was worthy of sharing with that goal in mind.
Compassion saves lives.
Yesterday, I golfed with a wonderful fellow I'd just met - today, as you are reading it, he will quietly celebrate 32 years of sobriety. He told me his story yesterday while we worked our way around the course. I can assure you that somewhere along the way, someone, somewhere, provided him that well of deep compassion, love, and caring that he so desperately needed at that most awful moment of his life. Somehow, this compassion and love reached into his soul, and provided him the passion, purpose, and spark that he might begin a journey of recovery. Today, he lives because someone brought him compassion.
Compassion saves lives.
That's what we hear in the voice of Joe Biden. As a father, I cannot imagine the pain that he must have gone through as these awful circumstances were unfolding with his son - those very addictions worsened by the recent loss of his other son.
This is not about politics. This is about human values. This is about kindness. This is about love. This is about a basic sense of human decency.
You either have them, or you don't.
Your choice.
Live with what you decide.
I know where I stand.