A Way To Live, A Way To Understand

Over the weekend I’ve read several entries, one of them was Daniel Toro’s “Universal Community” in which I could see several similarities between his ideas and mine. I could clearly understand where he got those ideas about how Confucius addresses women in comparison to slaves, misogyny could even be seen today in the treatment received by Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton. It is amazing to see the reality that where most people talk about macho behavior, i.e. Latin America there are already two female presidents: Kirchner in Argentina and Bachelet in Chile. The U.S. has yet to create an even playing field for women. Also Europe has yet to give anyone from a different race or religion any top position of power.

As far as Toro’s insights on ‘the right path’: I think what Confucius is getting to, is the idea that we should learn from experience in order to not repeat the same mistake, in this way taking us to the right way through our day-to-day conscious and wise response to events. “To make a mistake and yet to not change your ways - this is what is called truly making a mistake.” (Pg. 45 15.30) Being able to apply each piece of newly found knowledge to our daily life is the way to not make of our mistakes habits.

I also saw connections with Thomas Wiesner’s “Never Too Late” entry which explains how the mentality of a group has and will always have greater effects over the individual’s as well as the important idea that the community’s benefit is of greater importance than that of the individual’s. “To avoid public service is to be without a sense of what is right… The gentleman takes office in order to do what is right even though he already knows that the way will not be realized (Pg. 53 18.7).” I also think Confucius is talking about how people have to be able to stand up for what they believe in and how we as a group have a responsibility of being able to work for our common goals even if they seem impossible. Education has to promote the idea of public selfless service in all countries as a necessity for creating a real healthy family out of society and linking us all together globally through our shared humanity and planet. There is also the fact that group mentality starts from an individual’s idea or rebellion from the large majority that then becomes a truth for many or the group majority. The idea that the brute majority always having the right or best idea because of quantity can be a mistake. For example: Hitler was voted for by overwhelming majorities in Germany and look what the price was for the whole world. I think there should be a world council of the wisest and brightest humans (not politicians) who create a think tank to solve world problems and that their work has the power to be implemented through strong world finance and cooperation. The United Nations is the closest living model we have but it is really run by the most powerful nations and is imbedded with political and economical agendas and twisted power plays.
We still have a lot of work to do.