To be sure, we are all individuals and deserve our own just rewards. And so shall we reap them often, and sometimes not.
We desire for ourselves and our kin and so we leave our neighbors with less. And we strive for riches and so leave the others poor. And in this unhealthy balance, so shall we capsize the vessel. You've overbalanced a canoe (well, some of us have, but you can imagine, or just view a YouTube of one... you get the picture). And yes, we're all in the same boat - Lifeboat Earth. But even in the rich countries, we see the symptoms of crumbling. There are always signs if wear and tear, as in any lived-in house. But statistically, the trend is clear. We're seeing the results of our systemic selfishness, and it's scary. Not for me, I'm always up for some huge trauma. But it seems like most Americans prefer a stable peace.
In my 7th Grade science class, I make it clear that the most important thing is kindness. "What wisdom is greater than kindness?" asks Rousseau. What anything is greater than kindness? After almost 57 years of watching the world from my TV screen and bare eyeballs and computer monitor, it gets clearer every day. We, as a species, are not that good at collective kindness on a global scale. One on one, lots of us do pretty well (and lots don't). But if we refocus our efforts, expand our vision of who and what is in "our world" (because even if we don't see it, the whole world is affected by us and our collective action), if we reward this and the next generations for kindness, we're going to all benefit from that in the same way we are suffering from our current lack thereof.
Buddhist meditation has many methods and objects of focus, one of which is to beam lovingkindness out into the universe. I don't for a minute believe that those mystical rays actually do emanate any more than God allows YOUR team to win the Superbowl over all the other people praying for THEIR teams. But I do believe that the practice affects the behavior of those who practice it, and the effect of their behavior does, indeed, emanate out into the world. Just as prayer and the belief in prayer and the belief that others are praying for you can bring peace and affect people's behavior and mindset in a way that results in divine outcomes. And in that way, practices that induce people to pray, meditate, spend time with the holy spirit that is in us all as sacred denizens of Earth (along with other animals and plants) is useful and makes a difference.
As we let those practices languish, as people leave their churches and benevolent orders, as they distance themselves from communities of all sorts, as we withdraw from in-person activities because it's SO DAMN EASY to sit at home and chill with the compelling entertainment of movies, games and TV, we weaken the communal fiber of the world. Back in the day when more of us needed each other for survival (think Pilgrims and settlers), we were able to progress rapidly in every measurable way. Yes, we often treated each other (the outgroups, like Native Americans or African slaves) horrendously, even as we succored our chosen brethren, and we were able to move past the most egregious of those behaviors. But we are still finding ways to "other" groups of us, and we suffer the results with unrest and higher levels of homelessness, certain types of crime, and a pandemic of deaths of despair. We even get to use those new groups (that we create through our lack of kindness) and blame them for our collective failure to love our neighbor.
When we fail to temper the benefits of capitalism with restrictions that check the dispassionate liabilities of capitalism, we end up where we are. In the first slumping stages of a true plummet of society. Like I said, no skin off my back. I'm an oldie with a broad and deep tolerance for discomfort. But if we can find a way to spread the riches of capitalism to the foundational workers that make it possible, we strengthen the whole system.
I know competitive politics is one of the driving forces of othering, finding a common scapegoat, and this flies directly in the face of lovingkindness. What's the real solution? The trait that allows people to think it's OK to amass enough wealth for thousands of people, and not use it to buoy up the working class needs to be directly addressed. If you believe selfishness is Gordon Gecko Good, you're normal, and you're morally bankrupt. Justify it any which way you want (legally, economically, existentially), but there's part of you that knows it's one of the root causes of crime, addiction, and poverty. And it eats your soul. You can tell yourself, "Who needs a soul when you get another Lambo?" But you'll die without the golden fleece, without drinking from the Holy Grail, and of course, you'll not make it through that eye of the needle. Not that you need to, but of all the goals to strive for in life, looks like you picked the wrong one.
