A Human Vision

What I know for sure is that people just want to be happy.  The obstruction to happiness is greed.  These are two simple statements that I see as the past, present and future crisis of humanity.

Why am I talking about this today?  In Alberta we are in the throes of our provincial election campaigning and after last week’s Federal Budget we can see it as the kickoff of the campaign for the fall federal election.  One of the interesting things about campaigning is how candidates will lie right to the public’s face about promises, the past and about their opponents.  It is very rare to feel empathy for any politician no matter what their political stripe because at the end of the day, I for one, know that I am going to be disappointed.  It is a curious fact about human nature, we inevitable vote in the most greedy, corrupt characters possible.  Even those who go into a race with seemingly the best intentions end up buttering their own bread before that of their constituents.

Reflecting on history we can see the rise and fall of brilliant societies such as Athens, Rome or even the United States.  The premise of these republics was benign government but it didn’t take very long before those who wanted just a little more than anybody else got their greedy little fingers in the pie.  It seems inevitable that human nature has this despicable characteristic lurking in our souls.

I have wracked my brain for many hours over the years trying to discover some solution to squelching this “inevitability” because, as I have said many times before, humanity is very disappointing.

Here’s one of the concerns that make me want to strive for a solution.  As I said in my first sentence, no matter what culture or religion a person is from the basic desire of a human being is simply to be happy.  How can any nation achieve happiness for their citizens?  People need basic necessities of life, meaningful work and a safe environment and these things are achievable everywhere – if it wasn’t for greed.  No one really believes that these fundamental Islamic terrorists are perpetrating their horrors because of their own twisted belief in religion.  Of course it is about money, it always is.

How can we prevent greed?

Greed ≠  Happiness