An extraordinary act of kindness that has occurred recently has reassured our faith in humanity, once again. A recent high school graduate who has been working at the Texas Waffle House is the perfect illustration of the fact that you will be rewarded for the good deeds that you have done when you least expect it. 18-years-old Evoni Williams from the city of La Marque in Texas has taken the job straight out of high school in order to earn enough money for college tuition. Adrian Charpentier is an elderly customer who was at the restaurant during William’s shift. He had just been released from the hospital after his recent surgery and was still recovering. As such, he was not able to utilize the cutleries properly which was captured by the surveillance video.

“I had no coordination or strength in my hands,” Charpentier proclaimed.

Following that, he requested for help from Williams. Amidst the crowded restaurant, Williams was seen to provide assistance without further hesitation.

“I was never raised to bash people. I was raised to help and try to give blessings. It just came from the heart,” Williams spoke modestly.

She further mentioned that Charpentier is a regular customer at Texas Waffle House and it was clear to her that he really needed assistance. This seemingly trivial deed consequently turned out to be so much more, though Williams certainly did not see it coming. A photo of the undertaking was posted on social media platforms and within a short period of time, went viral. This, in turn, turned many heads, including Bobby Hocking’s, the mayor of her town who then honored her. In addition, countless of people have openly complimented Williams for her action – an act of kindness without expectations. However, none of these compares to the biggest reward that she was offered by the Texas Southern University. Williams is now the recipient of a scholarship worth $16,000. This means that she will be able to begin her tertiary education with $4000 per semester for four semesters.

As we proceed into the later stages of the capitalist system, it seems that the notion of profit maximization has far exceeded the system itself. Money is slowly becoming the object of worship in the society, despite the fact that it is nothing but a piece of paper. A piece of paper which value was decided by the beliefs of people. This, in a way, destroys humanity because people have gone to extreme lengths to acquire wealth. Evident by the history, people are capable of sins like murder and such if they were obstructing their paths to gain money and power. Hence, it is heartening to find those who are willing to go out of their way to help others in need without incentives whatsoever.

While seeing the act of kindness itself is more than inspiring, we are certainly glad that Evoni Williams is getting the appreciation and rewards that she deserves. Her compassion and helpfulness towards the elderly are entities that every person should have. The society has always been cruel and deceitful because people are selfish by nature. With the growing capitalistic mentality, it should come as no surprise that a majority of the people are increasingly self-concerned, which subsequently means that they are less concerned with the well-being of others. Finally, this leads to the question wondering if our assumed ‘progress’ is for and against the sake of humanity. We have come so far from living in caves to being surrounded by skyscrapers. We have learned to build and go along with various economic and political systems that allow a nation to function properly.

Yet again, are we destroying mankind or improving it? Perhaps because of the tangibility of one as opposed to the abstractness of the concept of humanity. It seems as it has for a long time now, that the tangible things are overpowering our moralities. With Evoni Williams’ act of kindness, however, we can safely say that our system has not killed our humanity.

Featured Image via Flickr/Ethan Prater