Each and every person has to change from the quality of selfishness to the quality of bestowal/love of others/altruism. We have to seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.
People Have To Change
Our very nature, our internal programming has to change. We're running on a program called selfishness, where everyone is seeking to benefit themselves.
We need to change our internal programming from selfishness to concern for others, where we seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.
The quality of selfishness has created the society we currently live in - crime, corruption, inequality, depression, loneliness, unhappiness etc.
If we focus our attention on changing society, then we'll be focusing on the symptoms instead of the root problem. The root problem is the quality of selfishness.
If our internal qualities change from selfishness to concern for others, then all the symptoms and problems in society will disappear.
Society is governed by people and it can't change unless we change. Once we change, then society will change because the way we govern it will change.
Everybody Has To Change
Everybody has to change - rich, poor, blacks, whites, tall, short, men, women, adults, children, everyone has to change. We all have to return to the quality of bestowal and seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.
As it is written, "... for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them ..." (Jeremiah 31:34, NKJV). It is also written, "For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD (YHVH) ..." (Habakkuk 2:14. NKJV)
Today there's a major discrepancy between the rich and the poor, and there's an expectation that rich people should do more to help poor people. And rightfully so.
However, we're all immersed in selfishness, rich people and poor people, everyone's seeking to benefit themselves. Internal qualities don't change once you become rich. People get rich by being selfish and they stay rich by being selfish.
The selfish behaviour that you see in rich people today exists in all of society. It's just more apparent in rich people because it's so obvious that they have the means to give.
However, even poor people are selfish because they wont' share a piece of bread with their neighbour.
We can't expect rich people to be in the quality of bestowal while the rest of us remain in the quality of selfishness. We all have to change our internal qualities and seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.
Once our internal qualities change from selfishness to concern for others, and we seek to benefit others instead of ourselves, then we'll become a part of a single family that's based on mutually responsibility. In this way, society will change.
Governments, businesses, organizations, schools and families don't run themselves, they're run by people. If people change, then these systems will change.
No Coercion
This change is about our internal qualities and nobody can force you to change. You have to want to change. There is no coercion.
Communism
Communism failed for a number of reasons.
First, the system (though altruistic), was imposed on the people. People have to be willing participants in any system.
Second, the people themselves didn't change, they remained in the quality of selfishness. So there was a disconnect between the quality of the system and the internal quality of the people.
Lastly, the people who implemented and ran the system were rooted in the quality of selfishness and the consequences of selfishness manifested in the system - greed, corruption, unfairness, inequality, etc.
Capitalism
Capitalism is based on people's free willing participation in the system. However, capitalism doesn't work for a number of reasons.
First, people are motivated by money and because they're entrenched in the quality of selfishness, they seek personal profit and gain at any cost, even if it means engaging in unethical and immoral behaviour that harms others.
Second, capitalism benefits the people who have the traits necessary to succeed in an environment that's motivated by money. The people who don't have those right traits live in poverty, which is why you see a huge discrepancy between the rich and the poor.
Lastly, capitalism reinforces individualism, which makes people feel isolated and alone and leads to unhappiness and depression. We're social creatures and we need to feel that we're a part of a family and a community.
Summary
We all have to change, each and every one of us. We have to change our internal qualities from selfishness (seeking to benefit ourselves) to bestowal (seeking to benefit others).
In this way we'll connect with each other in mutual concern and responsibility. This will make us feel like a cohesive family because we'll look after each other.
We're social creatures and connection makes us happy. We thrive in a safe, trusting environment. Let's create this new society for each other so we can all live in harmony.
Copyright © 2013, Carter Kagume. All Rights Reserved.
