it is up to us to envision and enact a new standard for society, to deeply realize the value of human life so that the compassionate treatment of all people becomes the guiding principle that dictates how we design our communities, institutions, and nations.
our world has fallen into extremes. greed, competition, individualism, and short-sighted decision-making have created a world of plenty for some and a world of struggle for most. we are out of balance. we live within systems that push against each other and easily cause direct and indirect forms of harm. we do not yet know how to win together or how to live well without damaging our earth.
fortunately, humanity is in the process of maturing, we are young, but we are more open to learning, growing, and reorganizing our world than ever before. it is up to us to make compassion structural. to create an inclusive society in which people are not left behind because of their differences but embraced and centered so that all can flourish.
it is undeniable that we can improve our current global situation. to get to a better tomorrow, we must understand the complexity of today. the deeper our understanding, the clearer our actions. we must come to terms with history; face it directly without turning away. we must examine where the shadows of history produce present-day human experience, we can better position ourselves to undo structures that do not serve the common good.
the forces of racism and heteropatriarchy exist on the interpersonal and structural level. they impact our institutions and insidiously slow down the flow of compassion in our minds. we need to question our current economic system and support a greater distribution of material prosperity. none of our systems will last forever, nothing does. starvation, poverty, lack of access to good schooling and healthcare are structural problems that we can overcome – raising the standard so that people no longer suffer on the material level is not an impossibility; it is just a matter of will. collectively, we have the wealth and knowledge to accomplish this. what we are missing is a greater sense of unconditional compassion. society will never be perfect, but that should not stop us from making our shared reality more humane. when we commit to ending harm and supporting one another’s thriving, all individuals benefit.
our task is to think and act more collectively, while supporting the freedom of the individual. to standardize the human treatment of all people. to expand our idea of human rights to include economic empowerment. to dream and act big. to be the leaders we wish existed.
we have the power to reorganize the world and make compassion structural.