Ooops, I Did It Again
Ooooh, what ARE the odds? I said something outrageous. Again.
“Compassion is overrated.”
Could I really believe such a thing? Could anyone? Don’t we all agree that what the world needs now is compassion, sweet compassion? Could I really believe such a thing, especially in light of the fact that I have one of those little tear off daily calendars with “Insight from the Dalai Lama” ticking off the days of the year, the man who says his religion is kindness?
The answer is, of course, yes, I do believe and think and see every evidence of the truth of the statement “Compassion is overrated.” Because “compassion” gets defined so stupidly. “Compassion” gets equated with “warm and fuzzy” and that’s about all, nothing deeper.
Compassion is way harder than that. What is it that harms another? Is it really compassionate or harmful to reinforce someone’s delusions? In the end, we all have to make that call ourselves. You can point to the Bible (but I could point to another passage that says the opposite), or you could point to the Koran (same comment), or the Upanishads, the words of Martin Luther or the words of Martin Luther King, but in the end, it is our personal call. Each of us, individually. And in my worldview, I figure that anyone can live their lives however they choose (consenting adults, yada yada yada), but when they profess one thing and live another -- like when they protest the war but live only on the proceeds of that war, profiting from it every day, suckling at the breast of gain got from the business end of a gun -- well, I figure it is compassionate to point that out.
I figure they are speaking out of compassion themselves when they point out my self-righteousness. Ha ha, ho ho, he he.
4 comments:
You have me grinning again ;~)
What did I miss?
Oh, it was over on Dan's (payne hollow) blog. I really must give it up.
"Knowing" you, Jim, makes me grin.
You are so right! I know a few people who write about the wrongs of the world, etc. while siting on their bums all day blogging. They take in information and spit it out without actually learning and applying it to their own lives. They think because they write about what someone else has done, they have done that thing as well. That's just goofy.
Hello neighbor! Quite right about that compassion thing. Seems like most people need a proverbial slap in the face rather than a hug.
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