(and how we fix it)

Right now, the world is a mess - and I think few people would be willing to argue that.  For how long it has been a mess, well, that's difficult to say.   Perhaps it's been a few years, or perhaps it extends into centuries.  However, regardless, this isn't anything close to what we're capable of - and sad enough to say, that ranges both in good and bad directions.

What is wrong with the world today is a very simple thing - individualism.

Right now, individuals believe that their "rights" are more important than anything else.  While our individual rights are important, what is more important are the sacrifices - the mutual sacrifices - we make as citizens of the world.  One person's right to listen to loud music infringes upon another's right to sleep in silence.    One person's right to "freedom of expression" interferes with another person's right to be spared from the shock of indeceny.  And this is where the problem lies - no one is willing to sacrifice.

No one likes to sacrifice.  Sacrifice is, however, a necessity.   I sacrifice time in exchange for money.  I sacrifice money in exchange for comforts.  I sacrifice comforts in exchange for solitude.  By now, everyone should be able to see that sacrifice is not a bad thing - it's something that each of us does every day.

At some point, we must sacrifice some of our "rights."  We do this so that our fellow man can live an enjoyable life.  We must sacrifice things that are not necessity to us so that others may have things that are more of a necessity to them.  We must sacrifice self-importance.

So how do we, as willing participants of trying to make the world a better place, determine what we should sacrifice?

To me, this question seems incredibly simple.  We must be willing to sacrifice those things which do not radically better our existence or the existence of our fellow man.

Let's take loud music.  I like some loud music - some I don't.   Does music so loud that it interferes with my neighbor's sleep so enrich our lives on this planet that it cannot be done without?  NO.  So therefore, I should be willing to sacrifice it.  Does loud music at an early evening party so interefere with my neighbor's life that he should demand it stop?  Will the ceasing of the music change his life that much?  NO.  So he should sacrifice.  This give-and-take relationship, based upon mutual respect, is the only solution that will fix the problems of the world.

Does intolerance enrich any of our lives?  Can we claim that hatred of another has made us a better citizen of the world?  Do we honestly feel that the suffering of another person makes the world a better place?  Now granted, we may benefit from some of these things:  racial, ethnic, or religious hatreds may advantage some while disadvantaging others, and we may be the ones who reap the benefit.   But is this something we need?  No.  So we must be willing to sacrifice it.

I'm not saying that we should automatically approve of everything - far from that.  We must tolerate things we don't agree with, but we MUST oppose those things that hurt the good of mankind.  I believe that religion - most religions, anyway - give us a good view of which things we must oppose and which we must tolerate.   We must, especially in terms of religion, remember that God doesn't want martyrs as much as he wants EXAMPLES, and doesn't want sacrifices of unbelievers as much as he wants converted followers.  We are to guide, and teach, and witness - not to kill needlessly.  Trust me, if God wanted someone dead, he doesn't need us human beings to do it for him - so these suicide bombings and terrorism can't possibly be what God intends.

The Bible teaches that we were cast out of the garden of Eden.  It says that now we must work for what we have.  Well, I don't know about you, but I prefer to work for something that I'll enjoy - it makes the work easier.  We may not be allowed to return to Eden - where we DIDN'T have to work for paradise, but nowhere does it say that we cannot WORK to build paradise.  I believe that mankind, by sacrificing self-importance, selfishness, and intolerance, can build a new paradise.  Personally, I think God would WANT us to be working toward that - as a sign of respect to him for the wonderful world he has given us.

However, I put this challenge toward you:  the ideal can never happen unless people are willing to work toward it.  If you don't concentrate your efforts toward the ideal, you will not achieve the ideal.  You must be willing to do your part.

What is your part?  It's caring enough to be a part of a community.   It's caring enough to say, "I'm willing to make sacrifices."  It's caring enough to say, "I want to be a part of this, and am willing to do my part in making it happen."  It's saying, "Count me in," and following through on that commitment.

I believe we have to start small - with groups of friends forming communities, and those communities joining together to form larger entities, and those entities joining together, etc.  Whether those communities are groups of friends from a bulletin board system, or just guys who play basketball together, it must start somewhere.

My best friend is a Muslim - I'm a Christian.  We could - and sometimes do - argue religious beliefs.  But I will gladly sacrifice any sort of hatred if it keeps my friend alive for just one more moment - just that one chance that might be the moment God uses to change his heart - that one chance that we'll end up together in Heaven when our lives on Earth are over.  I pray for that more than anything else, and I truly believe that my friend prays for the same thing.  Yet we have Christians and Muslims and Jews and who knows what else that are killing each other - have they not listened to the call of their own God?  Has hatred so blinded them that they no longer see the other person as a soul who will perish?

We must give up our self-importance.  We must be a citizen of the world - a citizen with responsibilities rather than rights.

When you have the right to do something, it's time to look and see if you have the RESPONSIBILITY *NOT* to.

The problem we face is when individuals consider themselves and their rights more important than their responsibilities.  This is one of my biggest gripes with President Clinton.  He tried, somewhat successfully, mind you, to use his "right to privacy" to hide an affair which was ordered to be disclosed in the Paula Jones case.  When the truth came out, he then tried to say, "It's between me and my family."  All the while, he kept digging us deeper and deeper into the hole that is individualism.  My thought?  Clinton had the RIGHT to have an affair, but the RESPONSIBILITY - to his wife and to some extent to the people of the country who look to him as a role model - to remain faithful.  He chose the right over the responsibility, and that's where things went wrong.

We must temper our freedoms with wisdom, our individuality with concern, and our uniqueness with brotherhood.  This change can only come from within our hearts.  We can be better than we have been.  We can live in a better world than we do.  We can care more than we do.  And that's the challenge before us, both as individuals and communities.

This page last updated 11/13/2006 .