What Ever Happened To Kindness?

I find much of human behavior completely baffling.  It ranges from unimaginable cruelty to totally selfless altruism.  To me, the absolute indifference of perpetrators and/or observers to the pain and suffering experienced in the Roman colosseums, Nazi death camps, widespread lynchings of blacks attended by thousands of spectators in a festival atmosphere (yes, right here in the good ol’ USA), the systematic torture and execution of political prisoners under the Assad regime in Syria or the genocide previously taking place in Gaza, is completely incomprehensible.  

In total contrast to the carnage, we could enumerate the vast number of historical examples of self sacrifice by individuals seeking to pursue peace and bring comfort to those who are suffering.  However, we need not look any further than the vast number of NGO’s and individuals currently working tirelessly around the world to aid those in need.  World Central Kitchen and Doctors Without Borders are just two examples of organizations comprised of individuals who are willing to place themselves in the midst of danger in order to help their fellow human beings.

Of course, we could consider the current domination of mega global corporations that are heartlessly exploiting the disempowered in a mad obsession with accumulating wealth and power.  Food, housing, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, elder care, and other essentials are being monopolized in an effort to extract maximum revenues while providing marginally adequate services and goods.  If someone could discover how to control the availability of air, there is no doubt that  we would have to labor endlessly just to be allowed to breathe.

Not since the latter half of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries has our government been so openly controlled by the wealthy.  Consequently, the tax structure and pertinent legislation heavily favor businesses while ignoring the impact on the general population. This is certainly nothing new.  A casual reflection on history reveals the timeless obsession with wealth accumulated by the heartless expenditure of human suffering and drudgery.

The occasional glimpses of egalitarian cooperation and harmony are both refreshing and far too rare.  In its simplest form, the answer seems to be whether or not we have a sense of connection with one another.  If we view others as an extension of ourselves, we are inclined to pursue interactions that are mutually beneficial.  The question is simply what is more important, people or things?

The other night I woke up with the following almost completely formed in my heart:

Mutual Bliss

I come 

Not to conquer or control

But to be 

One with you

Wholly present 

In the bonds of mutuality

Join me here

And we, together with others,

Will enter that bliss

That eludes those who walk alone