[MrMcCall]

"I would never join a club that would have me as a member." --Groucho Marx

The pity is that most people are naive enough to believe that most other people are decent human beings. It took me nearly five decades to understand that I shouldn't project my basic sense of decency on others, which is a grave mistake as most people are just selfish, exclusionary morons who think they're on the 'expert' side of the Dunning-Kruger scale.

Selfless compassion in the small and in the large -- that's the solution to all Earth's problems.

[bryanlarsen]

Most people are both decent human beings and moderately selfish. It's just the nature of being human. Humans have flaws.

But some people definitely are not decent human beings. Just like if you have a couple apples in the barrel that are spoiled you have to treat the whole barrel as spoiled, we have enough evil human beings to spoil the whole barrelful.

[MrMcCall]

If most people were decent human beings and only moderately selfish, the world's governments and UN would work much, much differently than they do now. As well, America's recent election would have gone much differently. Ignorance is selfish, lying is selfish, letting the greedy become wealthier is selfish, and any and all oppression is selfish.

Global heating is caused by selfishness born of ignorance, and that ignorance is selfish for our currently untenable status quo, especially here in America.

[bryanlarsen]

IMO that is all explained by the second part of my comment.

A few people are not decent, and it only takes a small number of those to ruin it for everyone.

[MrMcCall]

What was just done in America is going to hurt people all across the world, and it was not a small number of people.

[bryanlarsen]

> it was not a small number of people.

Exactly. The laws of the mob apply.

Gather a large number of decent people. Seed that mob with a small number of evil people. Now that mob is evil.

[MrMcCall]

A large number of decent people do not become evil; they resist evil, denounce it. By definition, a good person cannot be swayed by evil people. Only the morally ignorant and callous can be swayed by evil. Yes, that is the majority; it always has been.

People who have no spiritual growth do not understand this fact. In fact, they deny it, even as it is happening right in front of their face.

Lack of spiritual growth prevents a person from comprehending the facts of evil. A person of worldly means usually has an even more difficult time apprehending such facts.

That a flat Earther has never looked through a telescope does not make their opinions fact, yet how they deny the truth, huh?

[JKCalhoun]

Are you suggesting we should be compassionate for the "selfish, exclusionary morons"?

Not quite following your gist.

I disagree with you to some degree. Maybe I'm a slow learner (I've had 6 decades to learn my lesson) but I still find that most people do in fact want to be and do good. I find this often when I travel on the road, make myself a stranger in strange parts.

To be sure, I have been called Pollyanna, but I do wonder sometimes if in fact it isn't cynicism that is the problem with the world.

[MrMcCall]

Being compassionate to selfish folks means demonstrating and teaching them the fundamental nature and utility of universal compassion. Each person has the free will to be as selfish or selfless as they wish. Maybe they've never been educated that it is selfishness that is dangerously heating our Earth, has caused all strife ever, fosters ignorance, and allows the poor and marginalized to be callously left to rot.

While we must work to establish a world society of compassionate service to one and all, we must also acknowledge the paradox of tolerance, and take that into consideration for how we manifest our compassion.

That a significant percent of America has just rejected truth and compassion in favor of lies, meanness, and bigotry is evidence enough of the stark truth, my friend.

[poincaredisk]

>The pity is that most people are naive enough to believe that most other people are decent human beings

If most means "over 50%", isn't that a contradiction? (people who assume others are good are probably good too)

In truth by far most people are good, but:

* we are held back by out human nature - tribalism, xenophobia, fear of things that are different

* there are indeed some bad actors who use this to their advantage

People are good by nature. Don't anyone let you convince you otherwise.

[MrMcCall]

People are capable of being good, by nature. Because of free will, however, they are also capable of being selfish, to the detriment of others.

We each sit upon the razor's edge, with the free will to be how we are, each day anew, to embrace selfishness or selflessness.

That most people embrace the selfishness of their tribe is evident by world events, my friend. How many tribes embrace selfless service to humanity and have power in this world? Not nearly enough.

[booleandilemma]

I used to believe the same thing. The covid era opened my eyes to how many selfish assholes there are.

[MrMcCall]

The intensity of world events is nature's way of separating the wheat from the chaff.

As Maya Angelou said, "When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time."

It is really difficult for us to see people who are very different from ourselves, and it is damn near impossible until we, ourselves, have leveled up our own personal ethics, morality, and understanding of what humanity entails.