So, here's one of the thing that bothers me most about the world in which I live: there is an overarching assumption that I should take care of myself, and you should take care of yourself...and...that's it.

To me, it's not problematic to say that I should care for myself--I should!  And, it's not problematic to say that you should care for yourself--you should, too!  The problem is that that notion, in my mind, is truncated.  It leaves off the very important part about helping and supporting others in whatever capacity we are able.  It sends a message that we are to be individuals who live in a sort of isolation, instead of acknowledging that we can--and ought to be--a community that shares and gives and helps and loves.  Now, I'm not planning to live on a kibbutz or anything (though I already did, for nearly six weeks, when I went on a dig in Israel in 2005).  But, I think it's ludicrous to envision a society that is healthy (in all aspects of the word) who is also a society that is unwilling to  extend compassion and love and support.  But, I also believe that, in keeping with this sort of harmonious la la land, that that same society, in order to be healthy, needs to be honest.  There are hard questions to be asked, and even harder answers to offer.  People get hurt when we answer questions one way or another, but if we're united in our goal to live in a way that reflects our understanding of Truth, and how it manifests itself as love, hope, care, aid, and the like, then we also need to understand that not everyone can get their way, all of the time.  Does this necessarily assume the end justifies the means?  I don't know--I guess I would hope that the means would be done to reflect the ethics and morals of the group, and would thus be done in a way that is justifiable.

At any rate, I'm not a big political nut, because I don't see any real value in being bogged down with what the world says about this or that.  But, the things that I do watch/read about/hear about/discuss are things that could often be settled if we could just collectively adhere to the principles and values that are so carefully laid out for us.  I mean, yes, we in the U.S. have our Constitution (which, by the way, can be interpreted about 2 bajillion ways), and lots of other countries have similar documents, but I think that, much more importantly, we have the Bible.  I know, I know, not everyone reads--or believes--in what the Bible has to say.  But, I trust what it has to say, first of all and, secondly, I think it's a very helpful resource for anyone when it comes to living in community, whether or not you buy into anything else (though I think you should, and I hope you will...it's good stuff).  There are chapters and chapters that talk about how to formulate a healthy society, and about how to help people find the ways in which they will be most productive and helpful within their corner of the world.  There are, likewise, many chapters that talk about how to take a society that is corrupt and just a giant mess, and make it into something new and workable, again.  There are bits about finding strong leadership, bits about supporting people who are in pain, bits about giving to people that are hungry/poor/widowed/orphaned/oppressed/etc., even if it inconveniences us a little bit...or a lot!  And, really, it always comes back to that fact that we're selfish and work hard to be "individuals", when we would do much better to be selfless and to acknowledge, happily, our place in community.

And now, I will step off of my soapbox.