He doesn’t know me at all and I only know him as jersey No. 6. He’s probably 9 years old, maybe 10. His actions on the soccer field this past Saturday should make us all very proud, and remind us of how civil society is supposed to act.
We were there at Lydgate Park to watch our 8-year-old grandson Rixon play his final game of the American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) season. It was the first game of the day.
Player No. 6 was on the opposing team who were beating our guys pretty badly. It was in the third quarter. There was a pause in play and the players each took up their positions, facing off against each other, waiting for the referee to resume the game.
Player No. 6 and his opponent were facing each other, standing only a few feet apart. Then No. 6 pointed down at his opponents feet, telling him his shoe lace was untied.
Both players looked over to the referee who then continued to pause the play so the young boy could tie his shoe. With the game stopped and everyone on the sidelines watching, the young boy reached down and struggled unsuccessfully to retie his shoe.
Jersey No. 6 without prompting or fanfare, then kneeled down and proceeded to help his young opponent tie his shoe.
It was an awesome moment really. Those of us privileged to witness this selfless and impromptu act by young No. 6, offered a spontaneous yet subdued applause as the game resumed.
To young No. 6 I’m sure the act was nothing special. He was just following his na’au and did what he felt he needed to do at that particular moment in time.
He could have just looked away and ignored the other boys untied shoe, and consequently the other boy could have tripped and hurt himself. He could have just stood there and watched his opponent struggle with his inability to tie his own shoe.
But he didn’t. He saw a problem, called attention to it, and then helped fix it.
Wow. Just wow.
He didn’t criticize, or mock, or brag, or call attention in any way to his own good deed.
This little man No. 6, just seemed to know instinctively that “we are all in this together” and those who can, should, and must, assist those who cannot.
What does this have to do with policy and politics you might be wondering?
Well just about everything is the short answer.
Some will say we are all in this together and we have a responsibility to help each other, while other’s say it’s the law of the jungle, survival of the fittest, and only the strong survive.
No. 6 has never had a class in political science nor studied the theory of natural selection. He acted out of instinct, and he did the right thing.
Mahalo plenty to you young man and to your ohana who supports and nurtures you.
And to the young fellow who couldn’t get that shoe tied just right. Please know it’s perfectly natural and normal for a young guy like you to not have a lot of experience in this. I checked with my grandson Rixon. He confirmed that every single one of his friends has worn rubbah slippahs from the day they were born. He says tying shoe laces is not something most of his classmates are good at.
At the end of the day it doesn’t matter which political party you belong to, or who you support or do not support for political office — because we are all in this together. We must always remember this lesson from that young man wearing jersey No. 6 and do our best to help each other.
