THE WORLD WILL SAVE ITSELF

The world we find ourselves in today is one giant unhappy family. Our collective conscience has been a silent witness to countless disheartening stories of human estrangement. This brutal truth is sometimes veiled by our pride in the fact that our overall standard of living has elevated remarkably in the past few centuries. We feel like there are better and more things in the world to strive towards than ever before. Even better than surrounding ourselves with people who love us for who we are. Where does the evolutionary need to nurture relationships with members of our tribe, or to take good care of our environment, map on today's increasingly insulating desires of “a better life”? 

This is not a criticism of our desire to be happy, of course. We wouldn't exist if we didn't want to be happy. But at what point do we question the negotiations we make every day in reconciling our needs with those of the supposed strangers who surround us? Should I look into my neighbor's bowl to see if he has more than my family does or, to see if he has enough? No matter how we approach these questions in the course our daily lives, our denial of any responsibility we have towards the well-being of the "outsider" has lead us to this state of indifference. In the modern society, this selfish tendency has also engendered the notion that charity and selfless service is for those who are absurdly rich and are now looking for something to fill their time with. As if it is inconsequential how you treat others while you pursue your individual happiness; and once you finally achieve it, you are free to contribute to the enterprise of making the world a better place in your spare time.

It couldn't be more lucid how a general lack of compassion and partisanship has contributed towards driving the project of building a truly inclusive society into ground. The only reliable way to make amends is by starting on an individual level, wherever you are and however you are. We have to develop our sense of empathy to see the misery of those living in abject poverty, to hear the wails of those who are denied justice at every turn on the road and to feel the emptiness of those who are subjugated for being different. You don't have to think about the entire world to save it. Just have the courage to see the humanity of that one person in need in front of you and do the right thing for the sake of it. The world will eventually save itself.

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