The Dear Abby Domino

Do you know how many people read Dear Abby?  The circulation is 110 million according to wikipedia.  Whatever % of those 110 million people read it, I would say this makes her a pretty big domino.  When she takes action, there's a lot of energy transferred into other dominos.   

My sister handed me a copy of the following write up in Dear Abby:

My son, a U.S. infantry soldier, left yesterday for a 12-month deployment.  After a tearful goodbye to me and to his young wife at the airport, he flew to Atlanta to join the other members of his unit for their flights overseas.  He called me the evening he reached Atlanta.

He had been eating a late dinner at the restaurant in the Atlanta airport.  A man who appeared to be about 60 years old saw him show his military ID to the waitress when he ordered a drink with his meal.  The man took my son's dinner check when he got up to leave, saying "Let me buy a soldier a meal."  When my son tried to politely refuse, he insisted and said it was his way to thank him for what he was doing.  Because Army privates don't make much money, my son was grateful.  This act of kindness made a strong impression.

To that kind gentleman, I want you to know that this father is grateful, too.  I sent my son into harm's way yesterday, and you, sir, a stranger, took care of him on his journey.  Thank you and God bless you – A Soldier's Grateful Dad.

Let's dissect this a bit:

So, one person buys a meal.  This makes a huge impression on the recipient, and few people the recipient knows.  One of them sends a letter to Dear Abby, which presumably must be vetted by someone.  The "screener" believes the "Purpose" is clear and powerful, so they queue it up for Dear Abby.  Millions read it, and presumably more dominos fall.  So, by tipping that domino in Atlanta that night, this stranger set in motion even more than he would have ever thought possible.  And, he's probably totally unaware of it.

In addition to supporting the core concept that little dominos can tip over big dominos, the fact that my sister noticed the article supports the core concept that once you start to understand Domino Theory you can see it happening all around you.  Sure, she's my sister so she might be watching out for her little brother, but I don't think that's the case.  I believe she has a heightened awareness of these kinds of stories, and with that heightened awareness she will come to believe even more strongly that one of her own small actions might tip over a big domino.

Another thing to observe:  I'm sure Abby is well aware that she's a big domino.  She put that story out there with intention.  Through the DT lens this means she accepts that the world is a highly connected place and that she has enormous power to set big things in motion.  A big goal of DT is help everyone realize the same thing.  See yourself as a domino and begin to manipulate the world around you in good ways.  I'm not simply saying "be good."  I'm talking about knowing that when you do something there's a ripple effect so take full advantage of that!