Bertrand says some nice things. I prefer "compassion" to his word "pity" regarding the suffering in the history of Planet Earth. Sadly, we are facing a period of great change brought about by runaway population growth, global warming and the breakdown of the social structure in powerful countries in America and Europe. The East is on the rise as we become more desperate to manage our economies and share the wealth of our nations. The staggering amount of wealth in few hands can only create more problems. People are sick of "Socialism for the rich and capitalism for the people" which has gutted the Middle Class of many Western Economies. Where will it all end? Utopia is decidedly unlikely.
"Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind.
These passions, like great winds, have blown me hither and thither, in a wayward course, over a deep ocean of anguish, reaching to the very verge of despair..Children in famine, victims tortured by oppressors, helpless old people..the whole world of loneliness, poverty, and pain make a mockery of what human life should be. I long to alleviate this evil, but I cannot, and I too suffer.
This has been my life. I have found it worth living, and would gladly live it again if the chance were offered me."
Betrand Russell - Prologue: "What I Have Lived For"
I prefer the words of the Dalai Lama:
A mission statement of sorts:
“He frequently states that his life is guided by three major commitments: the promotion of basic human values or secular ethics in the interest of human happiness, the fostering of inter-religious harmony and the welfare of the Tibetan people, focusing on the survival of their identity, culture and religion.”
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