Welcome to
Kindness USA

by Dina Elboghdady

WASHINGTON – The philosophy of Bakersfield College professor Chuck Wall inspired Rep. Walter Tucker, D-Los Angeles, to propose a way Congress can help end the violence and increase the peace.

This week, Tucker will introduce the "Random Acts of Kindness" resolution, which designated the week of Feb. 14 as a time for people to lavish one another with kind deeds for no reason at all.

In legislative terms, a resolution is largely a symbolic gesture meant to express the opinion of Congress or propose an action. But Tucker said he hopes his measure prompts people to adopt a gentler lifestyle.

We're a society that needs hooks or slogans or terms of art that become part of our culture," Tucker said. "Mrs. Reagan came up with the 'Just Say No' campaign ... That slogan brought attention to the (drug) issue. We hope this campaign catches people's attention in the same way."

Wall, a business professor at Bakersfield College, sparked the campaign last semester when he assigned his students to commit "one random act of senseless kindness." He thought of the slogan when he heard a newscaster report "another act of random violence."