Mr. Yoon Exemplifies the Best of Human Behavior

Dong Yun Yoon, the Korean immigrant who lost his wife and 2 baby girls yesterday, has every reason in the world to feel angry and bitter. A troubled military jet crashed into his home yesterday, causing a fiery crash which took the lives of his loved ones. His response? "I don't have any hard feelings," Dong Yun Yoon, 37, told reporters near the rubble where his home once stood. "I know he did everything he could. Please pray for him not to suffer from this accident," Dong Yun Yoon said. "I know he is one of our treasured for the country."

Here is a man who just lost his home, his family, his life as he knows it. Did he immediately start bashing the military and threaten lawsuits? No. Did he challenge the pilot's abilities or his methods? No. Did he rage against the United States and the President and ask for millions in reparations? No. Even faced with unimaginable circumstances his thoughts were not for himself, but for the pilot that he knew would be racked with guilt over the lives that were lost when his jet crashed. His quiet plea for the well-being of this pilot is one of the most compassionate and charitable responses to tragedy a human being could offer, made even more significant by the fact that he is the victim of the tragedy. How many of us could respond in such a manner? The truth is, sweet Mr. Yoon gets what many in this world don't. Sometimes S**T happens. Sometimes good things happen to bad people. Sometimes there is no one to blame.

Wouldn't it be nice to see our elected officials respond to national disaster and economic meltdown with the same charitable responses and bipartisanship that Mr. Yoon has shown, instead of immediately looking to blame and cast aspersions at the opposing party? Wouldn't it be nice to see someone like Michelle Obama, who has suffered next to nothing compared to Mr. Yoon, express the same kind of patriotism by offering up kind and charitable remarks about the country that has given her so much? Wouldn't it be nice to see someone like Al Franken graciously accept defeat and offer his heartfelt and sincere congratulations to his opponent, rather than to manipulate the recount effort to skew questionable votes in his favor? Shouldn't our elected leaders be the people we look to as examples of compassionate service and speakers of charitable word and doers of kind deeds? Instead, the majority of us see many of them as folks of questionable character, who are not looking out for the welfare of their constituents, but for their own gain. How sad is it that a man from Korea, who made the effort to become a citizen and support the country that welcomed him, can behave better than the leaders he came here to support?!

Dong Yun Yoon is a shining example of humanity at its best. He is the person I will think of next time I want to lash out in anger over a minor slight or inconvenience. He is the person I will think of when my liberal neighbor goes off on the Bush Administration's shortcomings. I hope you will all join me in offering a prayer on his behalf, that he will find a way to heal and go on with his life. he deserves our support and respect and I can think of no one better to honor in our blog as a Great American-Korean than Mr. Yoon. Thank you sir, for reminding us that even in the worst of circumstances we can choose to be charitable, kind and forgiving to those around us, even those who have unintentionally caused us pain. Our thoughts are with you during this troubling time in your life.