National Post (National Edition)
‘Coronavirus compassion’ and the DS example
The past two weeks have felt grim. The news cycle is uniformly negative. Social media is worse. It’s difficult to escape the cloud of darkness enveloping our society.
There are, however, rays of light if one is prepared to look for them. Some, such as companies stepping up to manufacture much-needed medical devices, have been widely reported. Others, such as volunteers taking meals to seniors, or retail employees working long hours at personal risk, have received less attention.
These examples of what has been dubbed “coronavirus compassion” are a respite from the anxiety and dread that most of us are feeling. They’re precisely what we need in times like this.
Acts of generosity and kindness trigger something deep inside of us. This isn’t mere rhetoric. Research by Harvard professor Nicholas Christakis and others has shown that we have an instinct for goodness. It’s hardwired in us.
That doesn’t mean of course that we always abide by it. The power of self-interest can be overwhelming. But in a crisis like the one we’re living through, people have a tendency to revert to their impulse for altruism and co-operation.
It doesn’t, however, take a global pandemic to reaffirm everyone’s generosity and kindness. Some among us exhibit these traits all the time. They live according what University of California-Berkley professor Dacher Keltner calls a “compassionate instinct.”
World Down Syndrome Day, which was held last Saturday, recognized many such people around the world, including roughly 45,000 Canadians with Down syndrome. Although domestic quarantines in dozens of countries altered the day’s normal activities, the organizations, individuals and families involved barely seemed to notice. They still showered social media with beautiful displays of love and joy.
The annual celebration is hosted on March 21 to signify the chromosomal defect — an extra 21st chromosome — that causes Down syndrome. It’s an opportunity to celebrate the tremendous progress that has been made (average life expectancy has jumped from 28 to 60 in less than 40 years), to raise funds (including selling colourful socks) for research and family support, and to challenge modern society not only to treat people with Down syndrome better, but to be better more generally.
This year’s World Down
Syndrome Day seemed even more poignant than usual, notwithstanding (or perhaps because of) the limits of social distancing. The theme was “We Decide” to convey that people with Down syndrome ought to have greater self-determination about their lives free from discrimination, exclusion, or low expectations. It’s a simple yet profound message that the rest of us ought to hear — especially in light of ongoing efforts on the part of some governments around the world to “eliminate” Down syndrome.
The theme works on another level though, too. “We Decide” also applies to how we choose to see the world, treat each other, and live dayto-day. We can decide to be overwhelmed by negativity in the current circumstances. We can decide to disregard others. And we can decide to live our lives by the dictates of our own self-regard.
Or we can decide to follow the example of people with Down syndrome and their families who are rightly known for their unfailing kindness and generosity. You only need to Google “Down syndrome” and “joy” to find the overwhelming evidence. They generally operate at a different, better level than the rest of us.
Conservative writer George Will, whose son Jon has Down syndrome, made a similar observation in a 2012 column marking his son’s 40th birthday. As he wrote at the time: “Judging by Jon, the world would be improved by more people with Down syndrome, who are quite nice, as humans go.”
How can we aspire to follow their example?
Nicholas Christakis and a co-author have actually shown that helping each other is, if you’ll forgive the metaphor, contagious: acts of generosity and kindness beget more acts of generosity and kindness. It’s a reminder that being good isn’t just a solitary act. It breeds and multiplies.
But it must start with “We Decide.” We must decide in favour of compassion over egotism and co-operation over self-reliance. It only takes a small number of people to choose goodness for it to start to spread throughout our communities and society.
“We Decide” ought to therefore not just be the slogan of this year’s World Down Syndrome Day or even our current, extraordinary circumstances. It ought to be a new social cause as we come out of this immediate-term crisis. Canadians with Down syndrome are providing a guiding light in the current darkness. The rest of us should follow it towards greater generosity, kindness, and compassion.