2. A Time to Pause

[17 January 2021]

In recent times we have learnt, to our cost, that the pillars of our ‘western’ world appear to be crumbling: Democracy, Freedom of Speech and Capitalism. People are fed up. Democracy never seems to give us a real choice and is quickly followed by a landscape of broken promises. Freedom of Speech has exploded through social media, but the voices of extremism and hate seem (of course) to shout the loudest. Capitalism, which promised so much, seems to work mostly as a tool for the Rich to achieve dominance over the Poor. Indeed, disillusionment with Capitalism was probably at the core of the anger which fuelled the crisis in Washington; for many the American Dream has become a nightmare.

It seems that Democracy has forgotten that it was meant to serve the People, not the Powerful. Freedom of Speech was meant to amplify the voice of the minority, the vulnerable, the weak, against the tyranny of the Strong. And Capitalism was meant to generate prosperity, but has forgotten the privilege of paying an honest wage. Instead, it favours a ‘winner takes all’ culture.

What are we to conclude? That it’s time for revolution? To throw it all up in the air? History (and Animal Farm) has shown us how well that often turns out. Sadly, Winston Churchill was perhaps right in his “Democracy is the worst form of government except for all the others”. The truth is, the same could probably be said of Freedom of Speech and Capitalism; riddled with problems and unpleasant consequences as they may be, are they still better than the alternatives?

It would seem we crave a new sense of purpose, a new direction, a new ‘moral compass’ to guide our nations and institutions, rather than the endless pursuit of Dominance that we currently see. Of course, Religion steps forward at the mention of ‘morality’ and shouts, “Yes, we can tell you what you should do”, but history also shows that religion, too closely linked to power, has not ended well for minorities and nonconformists.

So is that it? Is this the world we are to hand on to our children? A world where the forces of Dominance and Winner Takes All run free-range across our nations and institutions, with the inevitable consequences of planetary destruction and relative poverty for the masses?

Is there nothing we can all agree on as a guiding principle?

Well, I have enough Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Humanist, LGBTQIA+, European, African, Asian, American friends to know that actually there IS something. Chatting with my friends one on one, I find there actually IS one thing we all agree on. Each one of these friends hangs their heads in shame when extremist members of ‘their group’ are willing to marginalise, terrorise and even kill indiscriminately to enforce their ways. History has taught us that EVERY religious and non-religious system has had their dark moments.

What is this one thing then? Is there a single principle we can begin to work from in order to reshape our world and our collective futures? To hold up as Absolute Truth, together, as a moral compass? To shine a light into this planet’s ever-gloomier future?

There is one central theme in all of my discussions with friends, one thing we do actually nod our head in agreement on. One thing: that Love (Compassion) is Good.

I will argue (another time, perhaps) that Love is actually an ‘absolute truth’, I can feel the philosophers cringing! But, for now, perhaps we can just acknowledge that Love is (or has become) the highest principle that this universe contains. Whether by design or evolution, Love can be held up above all, it can give us the correct perspective to judge any leader, any manifesto, any philosophy, any interpretation of a ‘holy scripture’ and even, dare I say it, any interpretation of the character of a God.

Love, of course, is not NEUTRAL; it makes demands upon democracy, informs freedom of speech and restrains the excesses of Capitalism. It seeks justice for the oppressed, hope for the helpless, relief for the sick and so, so much more.

And so, my dear black Christian brother, my white Muslim sister, my atheist Asian brother, my Humanist sister, my gay Jewish brother, my bisexual sister, my straight white brother, my transgender Christian sister, I will say it again: I will not try to change you, I will not fight you. I will honour you, work with you, struggle through life with you. I will never be against you, if you commit to work with me, united, towards the triumph of Compassion and Love.

Apologies

1. To any historians, sociologists, philosophers for my simplistic summarising of things.

2. To any religious people who do not feel I have represented faith fairly.

3. To any non-religious people who think, ‘this really is all common sense and I don’t know what the big deal is’.

Bear with me! Jonathan