Cooperation and commitment to make things better

Friday 4 August

Cooperation and commitment to make things better for all of us, is that too much to ask? Unfortunately, yes. Too many of us want to hate, destroy, and take pleasure in the misery of others. Moreover, a significant number of individuals simply don't care about the consequences as long as they can satisfy their own desires.

For a while we were distracted. By optimism. We thought we could do better than our predecessors. However, that optimism was misguided. For a while things seemed to go in the right direction, but not because we were better. We just were lucky.

This pattern has occurred before when a combination of circumstances led to periods of peace and prosperity. Yet, circumstances change beyond our control, and now we realize the extent of our lack of control. Our societies are too complex, and there are too many bad or broken actors within them.

There will be no savior to rescue us from ourselves. The responsibility lies with us; we must save ourselves from our destructive tendencies. Can we stop hating? Can we stop wishing harm upon others? Can we care for people beyond our immediate circles? Can we understand that that wishing harm upon others is simply bad, because we are the other?