If Everyone Was More Like You, Would The World Be A Better Place??
I must be honest and admit that there have been many times when I've thought that if everyone in the world was more like me, it would be a better place.
I am well aware of how arrogant that may sound to some but I'm really not a bad guy. I have no desire to hurt you, control you or go to war with you. I have no real desire for material possessions, so I have no reason to steal from you or damage your property. So why wouldn't I think the world would be better if everyone was more like me?
You probably feel the same way about yourself. If everyone was more like you, the world would be a much better place for us all to live in, right? You're not a bad person, are you?
Well, despite the fact that I have no desire to kill or rob anyone, it turns out, after some careful reflection and introspection, that I actually possess many qualities and personality traits that probably wouldn't lead to any sort of utopia, if everyone else in the world shared them.
I can be grumpy, quick to anger and emotionally responsive often directing my anger at the wrong people. I can be selfish. I’ve been called lazy at times, though I’m not sure if this is a fault on my part or the result of being part of a society that seems to celebrate or even demand you be active at all times. I have even been known to lie now and then or even to use situations to my advantage.
A few days ago, I had the opportunity to be honest and moral in my actions but chose to ignore it and instead justified my actions to myself. I had been shopping at a very well known supermarket and when scanning my items, one was overlooked by the cashier. I realised what had happened and chose not to tell them. In doing so, I saved myself £14. The supermarket chain is a multi-national, billion dollar corporation 'who' make incredible profits and wouldn't notice a loss of £14, whereas I am a man to whom £14 is a fair amount of money. This isn't the first time something like this has happened to me and most of the time, I do what I feel is right and let the cashier know that they've made a mistake but on this occasion, for whatever reason, I chose not to. It isn't something I'm proud of but I won't beat myself up over it either although I will recognise the behaviour and try my best not to let it happen again.
Does that justify my actions?
I would say no.
So when I look at myself honestly, I must admit that I am not a perfect man, far from it in fact but I battle with myself on a daily basis to try and change the behaviour I demonstrate that is not positive for me or those I share my life with. It's a struggle indeed but it is a fight that I at least know I am in. For a lot of others, they don't even realise there is a fight to be fought.
We all look at the mess the world has become and struggle to understand just why our society is deteriorating as it is in terms of our moral and ethical values but perhaps we are all looking in the wrong direction. Rather than looking at others, we should perhaps look to ourselves and question whether we are in fact contributing to the decline in these values by our own actions in our own daily lives.
Should we justify our actions based on the prevailing societal opinion or sentiment or the need to survive in an unfair world or should we judge our own actions based on our own sense of what is and what isn’t?
Could we be living our lives in a better way?
Value systems these days seem to be gotten from TV and social media rather than from family and friends as they once were. But are these modern values the right ones for progressing humanity in the right direction?
Whether you believe in God and that we are special or you are an atheist who believes that life is no more than a game of random chance, we all need to have some sort of value system to give meaning and direction to our lives.***
I personally believe in God and humanity having a special purpose on this world we share but those of you who lean more towards the athiest view, I would ask you, what sort of values do you want to see popularised in the world? Can we improve on what we currently have and if so, why aren't we doing so?
And those of you who do believe we were created by God to spend our time on this earth for a purpose, are you living up to values you believe would please our creator? Forget organised religions and the values they propagandise, I’m talking about the connection you have to yourself and your own sense of right and wrong, your own conscience.
Do you have principals and do you stick to them?
Are they the right ones?
Have you double checked??
I know myself that I make bad or ignorant choices every day that may not be the best for myself or those I care about going forward but I try my best to think about my actions in every respect as well as the possible consequences and I don’t let my moral compass be guided by those who would stand to gain from me progressing in a certain direction and in certain behaviours. I don’t get my sense of moral judgement from the movies I watch or the from any other source other than my own ability to put myself in the shoes of another, which is an ability I am thankful for and always looking to improve.
I've also had experience growing up of being around others for long periods of time and have found myself mimicing or sharing some of their mannerisms or attitudes and they mine. It's a similar process when watching TV or movies, reading the newspaper or even watching videos on youtube where particular views can be transferred by emotional attachments to actors, singers or other such folk whose opinions, attitudes and lifestyles are celebrated by the masses and from whom they take their lead in life. This is acknowledged behaviour that is being subconsciously uploaded, downloaded and modified at all times by those with the ability to do so and it is having a substantial affect, in my opinion, on the morality of us all.
We live in a world where life seems to pass us by at the best of times. We're so busy keeping up with the Jones' or simply trying to keep up with the incoming bills that we have little time as a society to reflect on what we have and where we truly want to go. We have been kept so busy that we have decided that it's easier to let others decide what is 'good', 'bad' or acceptable behaviour and it is impacting our own ability to determine right from wrong, which I feel is leading us down a path from which there may be no return.
I think we all need to take a little time every once in a while to reflect on who we are and what we represent, both as individuals and as a community of equal men and women.
History has been one of a million paths chosen and a trillion paths foresaken. Had we chosen to go down any of the paths we chose not to in the past, our present may be a lot different, granted, for the positive OR negative. But we stand at a crossroads today as any other day with the choice of future more clear in our eyes and our ability to choose much greater.
We can choose who we want to be and what we represent in our future, not the future that others want and are attempting to lead us into. If we take a look at ourselves and question the man or woman we've become and compare this to the child we once were, to the innocent and resolved view of a better world in future, we might actually have a chance of achieving it.
The world would likely not be a better place if everyone was like you or me, because it would lack diversity. Imagine a world where everyone agrees with you and likes the same activities, hobbies, etc! How incredibly boring!
But seriously, you've demonstrated introspection and a sense of empathy in this post, and both are things I think the world could use a lot more of. Imagine if we all spent some time putting ourselves in each others shoes! Then the world would maintain diversity, but reduce conflict. Best of both worlds.
I'm not an atheist, but rather an agnostic. However I think we all (atheists, agnostics, Christians, and those of most other belief systems) share a lot of values, and most of us can agree that certain basic principles like 'treat others the way you want to be treated' are a solid basis for a functional society.
I think we are somewhat hindered in making forward progress by the capitalist ideal of 'lookout for number 1'. There seems to be a general sense that when we've made it, we can start looking out for others. But most of us keep struggling along and never get that far, or do make it but can never quite decide that we have enough yet.
Thanks for an interesting and thought-provoking post!
A really interesting piece.
I thoroughly agree that we all need to take a look at the path we're on and make sure, not only that it's leading us to a desirable place but also that it's not strewn with the bodies of the fallen whose heads we've had to clamber over just to reach that little bit higher.
As to your question; being a semi-reclusive misanthropic pedant, I can't say the world would be a better place if everyone were like me.
A world full of deirdyweirdy's might not be a perfect world but I'm sure it would be an improvement on what we currently have. :)
Thanks for your time, my friend. My thoughts are mixed up and confused to say the least but it helps to get them out and pleasing that others take the time to read them. :)
I really appreciate your reflections. As someone who is also striving to lead a life different than the mainstream (but who has also let a cash register item slip too! Oh!), I also realize that there is much in me that reflects on a micro scale the same kinds of things I wish to change in the world.
It goes back, in many ways, to the idea that working on ourselves actually does ripple and change the world- for we are holisms of the world. I find war and peace in myself and conflict and peace in my relationships too. To be a truly happy clear person with a transparent consciousness always strikes me as a goal and when I meet genuine open people it is refreshing and inspiring.
Thanks again for your thoughtful post. Following you now!
If everyone were more like me would the world be a better place?
That's impossibly tough to answer, I'd say. A world full of imperfect people has to better than a bland world full of perfect people, I'd imagine. So, yes, there.
I must say I have no time for religion and think it's only there, ultimately, to manipulate people. So, maybe the world would be better if everyone was atheist. With a love of life and a great insatiable curiosity.
Another attraction of a world full of atheists has to be that these people don't really need to be instructed on how to act to be 'good'. They work out good ethical conduct themselves, generally. I pretty much follow the ten commandments because they make sense NOT just because an invisible 'supreme being' orders it of me. And I'm probably less hypocritical through not being religious so that could improve humankind, I'd say.
I like to think I'm a pacifist (an end to war?) but is war not perfectly natural and dare-I-say essential to the smooth-running of the planet? Animals are territorial by nature and are we not just the supreme animal on this planet?
Maybe there'd be less frauds if everyone were like me. But then maybe there wouldn't? ;)
Can't say for other, but I'm pretty it would turn to be a shit hole if everyone on this planet was like me. From a natural selection perspective, I wouldn't evolve. Whether that is physically or mentally, having people who are different from me helps me become better. If life is like World of Warcraft, then I'm chaotic good or lawful evil, lol, and I don't even know for sure.