The greatness of humanity

There is no point being spiritually enlightened while watching others being trampled on. True spiritual enlightenment links us to each other and compels us to lift the spirits of others. We need people who believe in something beyond themselves; people who are strong, people who are living full lives, people who believe in the greatness of humanity and its oneness.

We must all seek to grow in understanding and live larger lives, seeking to inspire those around us to live larger lives as well.  But even a world of enlightened people, living large lives, does not complete the dream of human greatness if we are all isolated; our greatness will come when we holds hands, all around the world, in unity.

A simple equation for human prosperity

APART = SUFFERING ; TOGETHER = PROSPERITY

Sad, smiling

Large, small

African, Asian

Man, woman

 

Taking, giving

Apart, together

Suffering, Prosperity

When we legitimise hatred ...

When we legitimise hatred ... hatred flourishes.  When we outlaw hatred, hatred is stemmed, it becomes private and some even rid themselves of it.  When we encourage love, hatred has no place and evaporates like dew on a hot summer’s morning.  Let me give an example of what I mean by 'love' here so as not to look like a cheesy greeting card writer ... I am a proponent of limiting the weight given to difference, not to eradicate or deny difference but to ensure that it matters less than we have been led to believe it does, to lower the barriers between 'us' and 'them.' A start would be to recognize the equal moral value of every human being on earth, regardless of the many labels we choose to place on each other - this would be a powerful act of love which would go a long way to evaporating hatred.

Change the rules or change the game? American inequality

It is startling to see the wealth inequality in America and to note that America has one of the fastest growing GINI coefficients in the world, i.e. it is becoming more unequal faster than most other countries.  I know all about inequality, after all my home country, South Africa, is without a doubt one of the most unequal societies on earth.  But just like South Africa's inequality is no mistake, it appears to me that America's inequality too is by design ... but perhaps not in a way that Americans would be happy to admit.

In America, inequality is acceptable.  It is even desirable.  In fact, it is designed into society.  Let me explain.

America has embraced the idea of competition ... everything is a competition - reality shows, obsession with competitive sport, grading systems from the time kids are born, ranking tables and top 10's for almost everything.  Competition is seen as good.  Winners are celebrated and revered.  And what creates inequality other than consistent winners and consistent losers.

The complaints about America's inequality doesn't seem to be about inequality at all, rather it is about envy.  No-one is calling for a change to the economic system.  I haven't heard many calls for socialism which is one of the most effective ways to eliminate or temper widespread inequality.  So competition is good, winners are good, wealth is good, as long as I am the one with the wealth.  It is not the shape of the distribution curve which seems to be the problem but the population distribution across the curve, i.e. who stands where across the wealth distribution. 

What has the political and societal response been?  Change the rules of the game, i.e. punish the winners and patronise the losers.  This creates a perverse game where vigorous competition is encouraged then at the end of the game some of the winners medals are taken from the winners and given to the losers.  With these rules everyone loses.  So what is needed?  Not to change the rules of this old game but to create a new game! 

A game where competition isn't everything.  Where the goal is not to produce winners and losers.  A game that does not advantage some and disadvantage others.  A game that does not produce the inequality that is so undesirable.  Are Americans ready to experiment with creating such a game? A game that will not just distribute wealth more equitably but more importantly, ensure that dignity is maximised for all citizens.  Such a game could be the saviour of America's soul and be the greatest export ever.