A simple question

[Handsome B. Wonderful]

Perhaps with a not so simple answer.

Why, as humans, are we so rotten to each other?

I don't know what brings this on, maybe I'm just getting world weary.

[thrulookingglass]

And to the teeth.

We are not raised well. Our vision of "God" is hideous, if there is one at all. Imposed on the human mind is the belief that violence is useful. We are punitive, retaliatory, hurtful.

No one here studies love. Have you ever met someone with a PhD in love?

Humanity's spirit is lost. Grotesque and poorly interpreted religious texts have polluted the minds of humanity thinking heartless retaliations shall set the world right. Vengeance is a rotten practice.

Economics. Complete shit. No man, woman, child has a right to covet the resources set upon this exceptionally beautiful planet for their own personal gain. We were meant to share in the glory of this creation, not pirate it for private gain.

War. Any society that believes some manner of progress can be obtained through acts of violence is insane. Bloodshed in anger is an atrocity beyond comprehension.

Rule through fear, violence, and terror is the worst error ever.

Kindness is the thread that weaves us all together. Witness much of this?

Fear. Ultimate control mechanism. Fear your God.

Why are we so rotten to one another? Competition. A want for superiority. "God" taught us superiority, now its all we seek. Time to listen to the voice of the levelers.

Don't many crave to be heralded as the great thinker of all time? I want to be adored. King of the hill syndrome. The pyramid scheme.

Best baseball player, best basketball player...I thought they were part of a team. Individual achievement or the health of the all?

"Happiness is meaningless unless it is shared." - McCandles

Ultimately and honestly...by choice.

We are not schooled well. Remember that class on controlling one's emotions as to not harm others in high school, grade school, college? *crickets*

Soldiers are heroes, right? Not paid assassins. Praise your flag. Praise your country. Mine is a blight on the landscape of Earth. A terrorist organization hell bent on world domination.

Domination. Hegemony.

We are lost right now. Driven from truth, love, compassion, the things that make life meaningful, or more importantly worth living.

Best fucking question I have ever heard asked on this board or elsewhere. Why? Why answer to cruelty when we know better?

Ego. Destroy the ego of the universe. Selfish. Self absorbed. A need to be right. A want to have one's perceived wants/needs validated.

To be honest though, most are grotesquely stupid and most by no fault of their own. A non-intelligent or mind-controlled population is easier to dominate.

Slave labour. Do my bidding. Best quote I heard recently was an enemy is someone who will not do your bidding. Narcissistic.

What should any one of us hope to become but loved?

Why are we so rotten to one another?

My Goddess is Grace. She's afraid of this place.

Why are we so rotten to one another?

Selfishness vs. Selflessness. I will tell you Gordon Gekko lives in the hearts of men and his voice must be constantly suppressed. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Do unto others...says the worshipper of a world drowner. Violence solves nothing.

We all have wants/needs. Its normal to want nice things. Its not normal to gather so many for one's own possession while others thirst for something as simple as potable water.

Share. We share in this world, though we do it extremely poorly.

Why are we so rotten to each other? Makes me weep my friend. Makes me weep.

Evil is an awful thing to put upon anyone. For I say to those who shall listen, make peace with your enemies, give freely to those in need and expect nothing in return. If a man shall ask for the shirt off your back, do not forget to give him you coat as well.

“Civil disobedience becomes a sacred duty when the state
becomes lawless or corrupt.”

“Non-cooperation with evil is as much a duty as cooperation with
good.”

“'Yajña' [sacrifice] means an act directed to the welfare of
others, done without desiring any return for it, whether of a
temporal or spiritual nature. 'Act' here must be taken in its
widest sense, and includes thoughts and word, as well as deed.
'Others' embraces not only humanity, but all life.” - Gandhi

It is never a sacrifice to help someone.

Build community, not adversaries. Heartless punitive measures destroy all love and grace in the world.

One by one we tumble
One by one we fall
If I had a solution, now, honey
I would fix us all
'Cause I believe in a world
Where we all belong
And I'm so tired of seein'
Every good man gone

Love myself, better than you, I know its wrong, So what should I do?

Peace is relative to the all, not the one.

*Fuck. The way to defeat evil is to not do it. Its that fucking simple. We got this.

[BenDhyan]

"Why, as humans, are we so rotten to each other?"

Wrong question, you seem to be projecting, should be...Why are some humans so rotten to others?

[SonicG]

The original sin is separation from the eternal, leading to the separation of individuals into fragile illusionary "egos", forgetting they are a part of a glorious whole!

[Elvis]

We're predators. Until we get past that, that's who we are. I guess it's our challenge as a species.

[liminalOyster]

There's no we. I wasn't shitty to anyone today. Were you? I bear no particular direct responsibility for the current shits hows and nor do you, most likely. Only myth, historical or contemporary, is there to make it seem otherwise. Most people are really good most of the time, excellent to each other even. When they're not too stressed and tired. But there's just this really mean worldwide war machine that keeps trying to convince people it doesn't even exist and that they oughta focus on themselves and they can make the world a better place by doing an Amelie now and again and switching to LED lightbulbs.

[Handsome B. Wonderful]

I guess I've been watching too many true crime videos lately. The Sylvia Likens abuse story got to me. The poem on her memorial really made me emotional. Not to mention the Chris Watts homicides. I also heard that 3 second clip of Lawrence Bittaker and Roy Norris torturing that young girl. Of course I could ask myself the question of why do I watch, read and listen to such stuff in the first place?

I don't want to toot my own horn but back in January of 2016, my mom had triple by-pass surgery in Toronto. I was her medical escort. It was just me and my mom in a sea of strangers. A very stressful time for me and my siblings. During her recuperation, I would walk up and down Yonge street. I tried to give money to every beggar and person who asked me for change. I saw a blonde woman sitting outside a Shoppers Drug Mart asking for money so she could eat. I gave her a two-nie. A black man held a cup out asking for change, I gave him all the change I had in my pocket.
Point being, later I felt I could have done more, ya know? I should have bought that girl a lunch somewhere. I should've given that man $20, not just my change. Did it make a difference? I don't know. I guess I am feeling a call to action to do more. Something good. Anything good.

Y'all are beautiful. Be blessed.

[Pele'sDaughter]

I tend toward Ruiz interpretation in The Four Agreements. The problem is lies and that fact that we believe them. The ills we see are the result of the belief in lies which can be considered a virus that has infected the program "language" and, therefore, spread to all humanity. Integrity, not gold or any other "tangible" substance is the most precious resource and inoculates against the virus "lies". The natural energy frequency of creation is felt by us as the emotion "love" when we're not under the influence of the virus. In fact, love is a manifestation of our true nature as humans. We believe lies by agreement, so the way to free our integrity and live with peace and healthy purpose is to break those agreements that go against our true nature and begin living on the basis of integrity and, thereby, love.

Obviously that's a very simplistic overview that makes more sense when expanded, so if it sounds intriguing, read the book. I can verify that it completely changed my life for the better and rid my mind of the many conflicting voices engaged in endless circular arguments leading nowhere. I reclaimed my own real "self", and it was incredibly powerful experience with some kundalini awakening to seal the deal. When you are really looking for the truth and your true nature and you find it, it's indescribably beautiful and powerful to the point that one is forever changed. Of course, I have shared the book with quite a few folks and no one had the experience I had, so your mileage may vary.

[Cordelia]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnc0Q7OOYGE

Point being, later I felt I could have done more, ya know? I should have bought that girl a lunch somewhere. I should've given that man $20, not just my change. Did it make a difference? I don't know. I guess I am feeling a call to action to do more. Something good. Anything good.

Don't be too hard on yourself Handsome; can't Be Wonderful all the time!

What then must we do?:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSN__MSiqsM

[norton ash]

All I have is a voice
To undo the folded lie,
The romantic lie in the brain
Of the sensual man-in-the-street
And the lie of Authority
Whose buildings grope the sky:
There is no such thing as the State
And no one exists alone;
Hunger allows no choice
To the citizen or the police;
We must love one another or die.

From September 1, 1939 W.H. Auden

[Luther Blissett]

While I agree that humanity currently acts shitty to itself, I disagree that it’s in our nature.

I ascribe to Graeber’s theory of debt, currently expressed by capitalism. Anything related to resource scarcity (frankly, an exceedingly rare circumstance on earth) is an outlier on Andaman. Scarcity is a myth and it all ties back to fear-based, feedback-looping resource hoarding and the notion of debt that bring a with it.

[stickdog99]

The parable of Western "civilization":

For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods.