It seems that nearly every day we hear about the decline in personal integrity and indifference toward moral standards or principles. There is a prevalent idea that there is less consideration for others now than there used to be, less regard for what we nostalgically refer to as ‘old-fashioned values’. But what if that is not true? What if that is just the pessimists’ notion of reality – that there has always been a tendency to bemoan present-day values and think of the golden years when everyone was nicer, kinder, better? There must have been cavemen who worried that the caveboys were not adhering to the old notions of goodness and kindness, medieval monks who thought that standards had declined to unsustainable levels. Yet here we are still, trying our best.
One way of helping to counter this gloomy outlook is of course to stop reading the Daily Mail immediately. Another is to think about nominating someone for a Good Guys Award. The Awards are an unassuming challenge to that generally accepted paradigm that things ain’t what they used to be. Despite its name,”Good Guys” is not gendered – women and men, girls and boys, companies and organisations, can all be nominated for this. So, if someone or some company strikes you as doing a good thing – it might be an ordinary good thing, as little as helping someone across the street, or a huge thing, where someone risks their life for the sake of someone else – then please nominate them for an Award.
Good Guys believes – or believe, since really I am just one person – that we are all a lot nicer than we perhaps think we are, and that this conviction, rather than the “realist” one, will help us to become even better. If you know of someone acting beyond self-interest, demonstrating values that you think should be recognised and encouraged in others, please put their name and good deed forward. Recipients of Awards will be published on this page and Facebook, and earn the respect of a grateful community.
If I were rich, they would also receive a cash award. Sadly, that is not yet the case.