The Meanness of People

Dismiss, dehumanize, insult or just ignore, all in a typical day. We have our own motives for acting the way we do, usually looking out for ourselves, or protecting the "world" we have constructed around ourselves (real or imaginative), but the cruelty, heartlessness and vicious way that some people treat others who disturb them, get in their way, slow them down, disagree with them or upset their blissfully imaginative connection to their own reality is beyond frightening. It can leave a deep sadness on our overall impression of the limits to the heights that humanity may ever achieve.

The pride in themselves, the feeling that they deserve to be treated in a way close to Royalty, that their time is more valuable than anyone else's. Stomping on the necks of others is just a normal way of "doing business".

Yes, they may have some justification, with some people out there being just incompetent, careless and thoughtless, not buying into the concept that doing a "good" job has some value to society and to themselves. These people can frustrate others, but still do not excuse the kind of human behavior that pervades society and extends beyond assertive into the realm of abusive.

Perhaps the Buddhist philosophy has some of this right, insisting that control of our "wild" thoughts will be to the benefit of ourselves and eventually everyone around us. We have to live with others, we are not isolated from other people (we can not live that way and survive for long). Determining a way to live, where we do not leave the crushed and broken bodies of others in our wake, will be a better way in the long run. Consider the words we use, before they are spoken. Always try to transpose ourselves with those we come in contact with, in order to feel the effect of what we do or say has on them. This perspective would allow us to realize that the feeling we have may not be a pleasant one and may encourage the softening of our words to others.

Is This Game Rigged?

Try as many may to "get ahead", we find that we are fighting a loosing battle. Is this the way that modern society is structured? Yes, we all get older (some faster than others), and try to do things basically the "right" way, put away something for a rainy day or retirement, work for the things we would like in our lives, try to treat others decently, and hope for the best in our and our loved ones lives. Things do happen beyond our control to knock us off of our planned path, like illness, accident or worse. But it is the things that we think we have some control or say-so in that can hit us from out of the blue. Sometimes it is just our own unrealistic expectations, but many times it is the "system" itself that drives these things. Laws, rules, whims of politicians, appointees or people in positions of "power", and their "friends".

Why is it that the poorest people are paying the highest interest rates on loans? Why is it that the term "usury" has conveniently fell out of the English language? Why are people so concerned about "illegal" aliens violating immigration laws and not so concerned about violations in minimum wage laws, work-time laws, work-safety laws or social security laws? Why is it that Banks can hold your money and find ways to steal it from you? Why is it that your home can be taken from you by Government entities and handed over to for-profit companies? Why is it that Credit Card companies are allowed to disembowel the population and no-one lifts a finger to stop them? Why can companies dump toxic wastes, making whole populations ill, and no-one does anything about it?

Is getting ahead, accumulating wealth and making a good life for yourself and your decendents just a myth created by other people with their own agenda?