What Would You Have Done?
https://intellectualtakeout.org/2023/11/tocquevilles-self-interest-rightly-understood-the-profound-value-of-compassion-in-the-west/?oly_enc_id=5790E9360467C6Y
When reading such stories, these questions arise. Do we answer it truthfully to our selves? Do we ask others what they would have done? Do we do the right thing when nobody else is watching? Do we tell others of our good deed?
I enjoy reading stories like this because it gets me to take a hard and critical look at myself and ask these questions.
Of course, we would open the door. Now, if it was someone we had never seen before, we would hesitate and shout some questions through the locked door to try to ascertain the person's legitimacy. That's where the "self-interest" part of the equation comes in! On a personal note, I have lived in the country where we never locked our house and in certain areas of Los Angeles where all the doors and windows are locked virtually all the time. This provides me with a broad view of "self-interest rightly understood" in such a circumstance!
I recall that when I moved to L.A., a new friend of Persian descent was encouraging me to *up* my safety regimen, saying, "There is an old Arab adage that says, 'Trust in Allah, but tie your camel's leg.'"
A very worthy read and stand at this point in our evolution. Compassion is a result of the human moral compass, IMHO, and yet this most human characteristic has been hijacked by evil and used against us. One doesn’t have to look far to see its corruptive, manipulative force alive and thriving in our society. And if one peeks behind the curtain of the exploiters, there’s not an ounce of compassion in those puppet masters. Those who scream that we must be concerned for all wouldn’t lift their finger or toss a quarter to the homeless indigent subsiding just outside their walled mansion, in the city they’ve destroyed with their ruthless political games to ensure chaos among the masses. We, who still employ our moral compass, must connect to each other and restore the basis for our humanness, whatever we individually call that force, as it’s the only thing that will save humanity.