All the great religious philosophers claim there is no happiness to be found in material possessions. If this is true, why do so many people continue to seek happiness through material wealth. It is a form of mental dis-ease that brings misery to the world in many forms. One of the main symptoms of this dis-ease is a feeling that other people are getting something they do not deserve or should belong to somebody else. Among the results of this dis-ease are greedy business policies, corrupt politicians and even wars. These actions perpetuate the dis-ease generation by generation.
Business is not inherently evil. It is natural and necessary since we are no longer a hunter/gatherer people. Business turns evil when it is used as a scorecard to keep track of how smart somebody is. Of course how much money somebody makes is not a measure of how valuable they are to society. Sports figures make millions and do not contribute significantly to society. Many people who have so many possessions they need to get storage space to keep it all but still are upset that someone on welfare gets food stamps and welfare check. Are food stamps and welfare really hurting these people? That sort of thinking is a form of mental dis-ease.
Politicians do not start out corrupt. They become that way after many years in office. They begin to serve the people who are making donations to their re-election coffers instead of the majority of people . Eventually they serve the special interests at the expense of working people. Once they are in this mind set they will do and say anything to keep that lifestyle even justifying their actions by making up complicated explanations about how things will help the working class. For example: lowering taxes for people who create jobs will create more jobs. We can see from experience that this is not true but the politicians will come up with more reasons for business not hiring like the minimum wage is too high and the EPA needs to be abolished. When somebody wants to keep all the good air, water and land for themselves and let the rest of the people breath polluted air, drink water with poison in it, and land that has carcinogenic components in it this is surely a form of mental dis-ease.
War is the most severe form of mental dis-ease. It perpetuates itself generation by generation. Children learn the horrors of war and believe that is a normal lifestyle. The basis of all war is that somebody has something one group of people want or groups of people think the other group is wrong about something. This is normally about religion. Most religions consider themselves peaceful but when they find themselves in contact with somebody who differs in opinion there will not be any peace. Many times people would rather die than share some water or other wealth. This goes against our basic humanity and is a cause of much of the sadness in the world.
Someday the human race will discover that material things do not make them happy. When that day comes we will have plenty of food to share. People will be able to sleep at night knowing they are safe. Mental health is the ticket. Even simple things like road rage or a political argument are results of mental dis-ease. We can all hope that day comes soon. The best way to accomplish it is to excuse other people for what we think are transgressions instead of accepting their behavior. Maybe they will excuse us as well. When we reach that level of maturity the world will be a better place.
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