Compassion is a necessity, not a luxury. Dalai Lama
I have now been on this earth 55 years and one thing I have learned during that time is that it is human nature to be compassionate, especially during times of suffering.
Whether it is from the aftermath of a tornado, hurricane, or other natural disasters, an accident, death, or the loss of a job, people will express an emotional side that they may not show during normal times.
Take 9/11 for example. The residents of New York City are not known for being the friendliest or the most understanding people in the world, but after 9/11 everyone pulled together to assist the dying and injured.
Who can forget the bravery and heroism of the New York City Port Authority, fire and police departments? I remember watching it live on TV; quite a few tears were shed when both of the buildings collapsed. I could not imagine the pain and suffering experienced by those inside, on the ground or families watching the tragedy at home.
There is so much hatred in the world, and for the most part, it has always been that way. There have always been wars, border skirmishes, as well as animosity and discrimination toward other races.
Sadly, that kind of hatred seems to be on the rise; maybe due in part to the 24/7 media, but for the most part can be traced to misguided ideological policies worldwide.
One would have thought with a 16th century renaissance, the enlightenment of the 18th century, the great awakening, the loss of human life during World Wars I and II, and the technology age, which includes the development of nuclear weapons, that we humans would have figured out by now that building strong, positive relationships is much better than power struggles and negativity.
I am currently re-reading a biography of Adolf Hitler by John Toland, and it is amazing how many opportunities the world had to stop the megalomaniacs rise to power, both from within Germany and without.
Powerful people stood by watching him destroy the fabric of their government and society and did nothing.
He used propaganda and lies, lies and more lies to gain the support of the people. He replaced judges in their court system with party loyalists.
He eliminated all checks and balances.
He used every opportunity to downplay the worth of human life and with each new step he took, he created a new bogeyman. It started with the Russians and Jews, then it was the Czechs, the Poles, French, British, intellectuals, homosexuals, people with disabilities, and so on.
He demanded loyalty and his decisions were not to be questioned. Only he could save Germany from the world that had been suppressing it.
He demanded more resources for the military at the expense of the other needs of the country. He had alliances with and admired other dictators. It was obvious what he was doing, he even spelled it out in his book Mein Kampf.
The rise of nationalism, fascism, racism and dictatorships around the world has me concerned.
Not once have they been successful, and the suppression of personal freedoms should be enough to startle us into reality, but they continue to exist in ever growing numbers.
My biggest fear is we will return to a time where people with disabilities were not considered human, placed in state institutions, mocked and abused.
Strict political correctness is silly, but we also dont need to resort to name calling and hatefulness based upon our biases.
