Dear Family and friends,
just like all of you and so many others,
I have been thinking about the stresses piling up on common folks, and
particularly on the poor and the vulnerable, all over the world. I summarized
the many lessons I learnt during this epidemic about humanity in general and about
individuals and nations. If you agree with these ideas, please help spread the
message. If you have additional ideas, please share them with everyone.
We, humans, are vulnerable. We, humans, depend on each other
for survival. This virus does not care where you are from, whether you are a
male or a female, white or colored, or whatever category you want to
“pigeonhole” people into.
Some other lessons I learnt were 1.the recognition of who
the essential workers are in a society; 2. that most of these workers are women
and minorities; 3. This pandemic is taking an undue toll among the poor; 4. The
socio-economic divide is made glaringly obvious by this small virus and 5. The
most altruistic people of the society are the front-line essential workers.
I also made a list of things I would like to change, if only
I had the platform to change. Then, I realized that listing problems and
writing solutions are not adequate, if we, as a society, do not agree on a
vision.
Several factors during the past few decades have driven our
civilization to a critical point in history. Scientific developments,
technological advances and, education of
professionals in every field have contributed immensely to the uplift of
millions around the world out of poverty. Rewards for contribution to the society
and encouragement and recognition of individuals for such contributions have
benefitted humanity in general. More recent developments including rapid travel
and instant communication have brought peoples of the world together more than
ever before.
At the same time, the social and economic divides have
become wider. All kinds of “…isms” are driving people into corners and polar
positions, thanks partly to social media. In addition to contending with rapid
spread of infections such as the coronal virus, we have to deal with endemic
“mental viruses” such as racial bias, gender bias, color bias, caste bias etc.,
This is a good time for the civilization to rethink its
purpose, refocus on priorities and reimagine the future. What should a broad and bold vision look
like? What are the values that should
guide our remedies? Can we create a vision we can all agree on?
Here is a personal
point of view
Humanity has reaped the fruits of socio-political philosophy emphasizing
primacy of the individual (personal effort and success, in other words competition),
pursuit of happiness and legal rights. It is time we turn our
attention to and balance them with a system which emphasizes common purposes of collective welfare, cooperation, spiritual happiness, morality and
ethics.
We live in a period in history when competition and pursuit
of happiness are emphasized, may be overemphasized. When we compete, the
emphasis is on the individual. In our desire to “win”, some of us are likely to
use “unfair” means. Even if we win “fair and square” someone else loses. That
someone will wait for his/her chance to get even. There will be inequality and unhappiness. There is bound to be
disharmony.
Add to this sense of competition, the fact that the
competition is for physical possessions in the “pursuit of happiness”. The word
“happiness” is connected in the minds of most people and most often with
material happiness. Competition begets more competition because “I want to get
what she has” and “I want build a house bigger than his”. More emphasis on
individual happiness and individual success leads us to our own private
islands. It leads to social isolation, suffering, sadness, depression, jealousy
and anger in one group. It leads to anxiety, restlessness, fear and moral
torpor in another group. In essence, there is misery all around.
On further thinking, I believe that one other cause for
social disharmony is the primacy given to legality over morality and ethics. In
settling disputes coming out of competition, conflicts in individual rights and
injury caused by relentless pursuit of profits and happiness, the current ethos
among a number of people, particularly in business and politics, seems to be that
as long as one can get away with the “fine prints” of law, it is acceptable
even if it is immoral. Morality and ethics do not seem to matter.
How can we escape this cycle? What are some principles which
should form the basis of a vision for
the future?
For a peaceful and just society, competition must be
moderated by cooperation.
The word happiness should include collective happiness and
spiritual happiness. Individual happiness must be moderated by universal
welfare. Pursuit of happiness should include not only pursuit of material happiness but also
happiness of others and spiritual happiness.
Morality and ethics should matter and, morality must take
precedence over legality. Even if the law allows, one should not practice
what the “inner light” says is immoral.
Responsibilities and duties of the individuals,
organizations and the government should be considered covenants, in which the
more powerful in the transaction takes care of the welfare of the weaker
participant; and not mere legal contracts, buried in small prints and
disclaimers, which can be manipulated by the rich and the powerful.
Great civilizations need lofty ideals to aim for and noble
values to be guided by.
2 comments:
A truly powerful message!
You have adequately covered this topic. There is enough substance in it to implement for the betterment of Society and the world. Let us individually practice these virtues without considering the reaction of others. More will join and improvement will come about.
Two things to commence this process are: 1) simple living and 2) Ceiling on desires. These
two will reduce social and economic tensions to bearable levels. Thanks. I will be reviewing your bloc more to imbibe these ideas better.
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