In Search Of A Humane Humanity

Humanity is at is best, of course, when it is humane. The current state of global affairs has been shaped heavily by big business, big government, and big media. As a result, the role of citizens and consumers is rapidly evolving. This societal change is embryonic, shifting swiftly and daily as public needs collide and grind against the inertia of inefficient and untrustworthy institutions. The issues are much more entrenched, however. We are living in an era of mass desensitization where truth in media and society are being called on the carpet right before our eyes. Daily, a wide media coverage of shocking events challenges our values, beliefs, and ethics. The constant bombardment of violent, grotesque, and outlandish behavior from the media that extends to including tweets, messages, and video images sent to our electronic devices is having an enormously negative impact on the public, particularly an effect on our children. Do we really need to see and hear so many of the horrors of daily life to understand the world? Are we losing ourselves amid this constant barrage of negative news or through rapid advancements in technology? Is technology too far ahead of our ability to assimilate it wisely? We are at a critical crossroad of evolution. The paths are very different. The other path can be a shortcut that views life as a means to an end, a commodity that exists to be manipulated and possibly abused and leveraged and controlled for the gain of a select few. The latter path is the one we are currently on.

Out Of Control

We can collide particles close to the speed of light to understand the origins of the Universe, but we cannot bring political parties together to address the origins of hatred and violence. We fund, fuel, and fly missions to Mars and the outer rings of Saturn, but we struggle to bring the same imagination and leadership to find solutions to eradicate hunger and poverty. I’ve always been captivated by the contradictions inherent between capitalism and the need for conservation. The problem for humanity is not so much that we cannot accomplish what we set our minds to do. If anything, humanity has repeatedly proven itself to be highly resilient, determined, and innovative. During dark times and difficult challenges, we have mustered up the best that we have to give and create a way to survive. Our fate has become more than just about survival. It is about dignity, that is, how we serve each other during our time here on Earth. We are at our most resilient, innovative, and beautiful when we are humane to each other and to all living things. The question then is not about whether we can or cannot accomplish something. It is about our will and sheer determination to decide where to focus our individual and collective energies. I am no judge or jury of the success of humanity.

Memories Are Made Of This

I’m just an observer who is connecting the paths we have treaded in the past with those that we are choosing for our journey into the future. Do these options align with your values, morals, and sense of dignity? If not, what role can we serve to scout new paths of enlightenment toward a richer and fuller life for us and our families? Each of us makes deliberate choices on how we spend our energy, time, and resources. The narrative of our lives has been, for too long, scripted and directed by others. It is time to stop being a bystander of change. The time has come for all of us, as citizens and consumers, to be in control of our own narrative for creating a beautiful, fulfilling, and consequential life. If There Is No Place for Hatred, Why Does Hate Persist? Time may heal old wounds for some. But for most of society the passage of time has yet to prove to be a cure for pervasive hatred. We can try to look at humanity through the limiting lenses of economic, geopolitical, religious, or other ideologies and justify when, how, and why we treat others the way we do. We may stand behind certain decisions on the merits of economic policy, national security, academic freedom, free speech, fairness of college admissions, or some other rationalizing framework. Every decision we filter through these constructs that have inherent bias has an impact on humanity. This behavior runs rampant throughout society today. Whether it’s expressed transparently in a tweet by a sitting president of our country, within the sanctuary and confines of church, or under the veil of secrecy within Greek fraternities, each day the best of humanity comes head to head with people who perpetuate limiting beliefs, irrational thinking, and inhumane behavior.

Forgive And Forget

The unfortunate Theta Tau fraternity event at Syracuse University is indicative of a broader issue within society. If none of us truly accept hatred in our hearts or within our communities, then why, then, is it playing out daily, right before our eyes, on the news, in our schools and communities? If we denounce hate, then why does hate continue to happen? We and our existence together are the common denominators for a more sustainable world. Individually and together, we have the potential and power to enact change and see it through. It takes all of us doing our part, every single day, to attain a better world. You have likely heard that if there is one constant in the universe, on Earth with living systems, and in life, it is change. Change is always imminent. How we perceive and come to accept this fact is critical to whether we will live a life with dignity or one which cedes to external forces. The key to changing our relationships with other people and with our living Earth to be more rewarding and fulfilling can begin by our ability to reflect on past relationships, redefine what we expect to attain, and create future possibilities. One only need to turn to Twitter or the daily news cycle to see that the world is under constant and extreme fire, figuratively and literally, imposed predominately by ourselves.