Envisioning Our Future/Toward Compassion

—Unleashing the power of kindness

A full appreciation of the power of compassion allowed our future to unfold brightly. It could have gone very badly, but our understanding of the virtue of compassion, adopting the charter for compassion, our resolve to uphold human rights, and other manifestations of compassion have guided us into a magnificent future. It was difficult, but we worked to overcome the obstacles to practicing compassion, and the results have been spectacularly successful.

The Good Samaritan exercised compassion.

Our institutions proved to be resilient and prevailed over the chaos and dire predictions of the doomsayers.  Governments evolved, we chose humanity over dystopia, humans flourished, and our bright future emerged. Now compassion overcomes anger, hate, fear, revenge, cruelty, and violence. We cherish awe, and enjoy fun, joy, contentment, and gratification. Hope has displaced fear, trust prevails over mistrust, and we regularly choose flourishing over opulence. We worked carefully to clarify our values, and we choose pro-social values to guide us.

Many people began their personal transformation by practicing lovingkindness meditations and compassion meditations. As we learned to act for others instead of to others, and to choose humanity over humiliation, compassion was integrated into all aspects of our lives, including education, healthcare, business, and governance.

Several conditions came into place to allow this transition to happen. The most important was the remarkable increases in productivity that have been occurring over the past several hundred years and has continued to accelerate rapidly. We learned how to share the resulting productivity dividend. This has allowed many people to adopt an abundance mentality, rather than a scarcity mentality. We also recognized the cruelty of creating economies based on the principle that everyone must find work or starve. Because traditional economic theory is based on assumptions of scarcity, this caused fundamental rethinking of economic possibilities. We are now enjoying a post-scarcity economy. We extend compassion to the most vulnerable. We are able to focus on what matters.

Learning from the success of Commonwealth Fusion Systems, we quickly scaled nuclear fusion to become the dominant source of electric power generation, worldwide. This clean, safe, and economical energy source displaced the obsolete fossil fuel plants and helped to reduce global warming. Access to inexpensive electricity accelerated the electrification of homes, buildings, and transportation further reducing fossil fuel usage. Ending our reliance on fossil fuels helped to normalize international relationships and fostered peace.

Cultured meats, pioneered by companies such as upside foods, became an important food source. This eliminated the filth and cruelty of factory farms, and made healthy, tasty, and nutritious food available worldwide.

An international blockchain arose from the ashes of early cryptocurrency experiments. This blockchain is now the foundation of an international banking system that instantly reconciles transactions and creates a verifiable and secure record of each. The tax law is simplified and is now only 10 pages long. It is simple, understandable, fair, and international. Because it is implemented in the blockchain, it is transparent and automatic. The ReadyReturn model of return-free taxation eventually prevailed. Tax accountants, tax court, tax shelters, and tax fraud disappeared while tax revenues increased.

Air pollution trespassed on our clean air.

Because we recognize pollution as a form of trespass, financial accounting systems now account for externalities to increase their accuracy and reduce faults in our economies. Financial systems were restructured to normalize debt and eliminate the Ponzi schemes most were built on.

Because all humans need healthcare, it is now universally available, worldwide. Healthcare providers prioritize patient-centered care, and we prioritize mental health and well-being. We recognize that emotional and psychological health is just as important as physical health. This required reducing stigma around mental health issues, increasing access to mental health services, and promoting self-care practices.

Global communications eventually allowed us to connect and appreciate our deep common humanity rather than our superficial differences. This became beneficial only after another important change took place. We undertook the purification, development, and sharing of the knowledge commons. After overcoming difficulties created by fake news, propaganda, disinformation, destructive social media platforms, and a proliferation of falsehoods, people began to recognize that reality is our common ground. Clear thinking and accurate information became valued.  People recognized that we have a moral obligation to seek true beliefs and began to value intellectual honesty. As we became more skilled at knowing how we know, we were no longer divided by epistemology. People were able to align their worldviews with realty and find common ground.

We struggled through a transition from tribal cultures to attain a global culture.  Eventually we adopted a global perspective and progressed beyond theism. This reduced the many cultural and political schisms that had been sustained by tribal grasps on archaic belief systems and provided a real basis for hope.

Emotional competency became a priority. It was taught throughout the school years, and people developed the essential social skills to recognize, interpret, and respond constructively to emotions in themselves and others. Now people can resolve their anger peacefully, and overcome hate.

Individuals are encouraged to develop a strong sense of self-awareness and self-compassion, which allows them to navigate life's challenges with greater resilience and grace. This resulted in a decrease in stress, anxiety, and depression, and an increase in overall well-being and life satisfaction.

Because it is difficult to feel compassion for a jerk, we all worked to increase our personal responsibility and act civilly. We began to recognize that wisdom begins with our own responsibility, integrity, and basic competency. We recognized that civility creates the conditions required to advance civilization and prosper. With civility as a starting point, we began to study and practice other moral virtues. Each of us adopted well considered moral reasoning to guide our actions and resolve difficult moral issues. We worked hard to live wisely.

We became much better at coming together, agreeing on matters of fact, practicing dialogue to resolve controversies, and making sound collective decisions. We became skillful at finding common ground. These skills improved the governance of our organizations, and we continued to evolve our governments to better serve the people.

We recognized that advancing human rights, worldwide, could be the most important work we could do to improve our world.

We recognized that human rights violations are a direct assault on human dignity. Furthermore, human rights violations are at the root of many of the world’s greatest challenges. These include war, refugee displacements, immigration issues, oppression, torture, jehad, terrorism, poverty, access to education, systemic inequality, endemic diseases, and many more.

Fortunately, we discovered a simple solution. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights provides a clear and widely accepted standard for assessing human rights. We held Human Rights exhibitions where each country reported their own progress toward achieving the human rights protections described by each of the 30 articles of the declaration. These reports were judged, and the scores made available. Countries scoring high in some area served as models for others to learn from. Human rights continued to improve, worldwide.

Compassionate leadership became a key aspect of our future, with leaders who prioritize the well-being of their constituents and make decisions based on compassion and empathy, rather than personal gain or power. This required a shift in our current political and economic systems towards more inclusive and participatory models of governance.

Eventually we were able to advance human rights, worldwide. War became obsolete and we now recognize tyrants and belligerents as bullies, and not as leaders or heroes. We now enjoy the peace dividend, and all the benefits of a world that protects human rights.

As human rights protections advanced worldwide, it became increasingly clear that nation state boundaries are arbitrary social constructs and obsolete artifacts. It was recognized that the only basis for land ownership is conquest, and it was unjust to memorialize such violence. Money and goods flow freely across national borders, why shouldn’t workers and all people be able to migrate freely? The benefits of alliances such as NATO and the European Union became clear, and these models were replicated. As governments evolved every nation became a member of a regional alliance that fostered cooperation and trade both within and between alliances. Porous borders became the norm. Experiments with virtual nations soon led the way toward the waning of national governance in favor of stronger regional and international governments. We are now proud to call ourselves world citizens.

Justice systems evolved so that restorative justice has now displaced retributive justice. Crimes are largely prevented, and violators are effectively rehabilitated. Violence has decreased dramatically, and public safety has increased, as imprisonment rates plummeted.

Plato and Aristotle at the Lyceum.

Learning became the future of education. As information became widely available, a wide variety of learning modes now allow students to learn what they need to know, when they need to know it. Certification systems allow others to verify students’ educational achievements.

We came to value prepared parenting as our way of extending compassion to children. Sex education is universal, comprehensive, and accurate. Birth control is readily available and widely practiced. Aspiring parents wait until they are mentally mature, emotionally competent, and financially secure before conceiving children. Effective parenting skills, parenting resources, and child development practices are widely shared and practiced. This has resulted in a decrease in population, a great increase in well-being, and reduced crime rates.

We recognize the dignity of candor. Language is now straightforward and accurate. Politically correct euphemisms have yielded to authentic communication that is direct, accurate, specific, and respectful. We realized that it’s acceptable to feel bad temporarily if that is what it takes to notice suffering, and exercise compassion.

The strength of compassion.

Compassion is not a weakness; in fact, we recognize it as a sign of strength. Compassion involves being aware of others' suffering and taking action to alleviate it. It requires empathy, understanding, and a willingness to help others. Compassionate individuals are often able to connect with others on a deeper level and build strong relationships based on mutual respect and understanding. We understand the compassion in expecting people to do their best, even when reaching out for helping hands.

Compassion can also be challenging. It can require us to step out of our own comfort zones and confront difficult situations. It may require us to make sacrifices or take risks to help others. However, these challenges can also be opportunities for growth and personal development. Fortunately, we found the courage to be compassionate.

Compassion can also have physical and mental health benefits. Studies have shown that practicing compassion can lower stress levels, decrease feelings of anxiety and depression, and increase overall well-being. It can also improve relationships and increase feelings of social connectedness.

In addition, compassion has had a positive impact on the workplace. Leaders who show compassion to their employees often have more engaged and motivated teams. Compassionate leaders are also more likely to create a positive work culture where employees feel supported and valued.

It's important to note that compassion does not mean being a pushover or allowing others to take advantage of you. Compassionate individuals set boundaries and assert themselves, when necessary, while still being kind and understanding towards others.

By practicing compassion, we have created a more beautiful, peaceful, just, and connected world. We enjoy a deep sense of community, belonging, and well-being for all. Because we prioritize the common good over individual gain, we foster a world where people feel seen, heard, and valued for who they are.

Imagine, love is all you need. Hallelujah!

Other than making speculative claims about the future, this essay is factually accurate. Because  most of these possibilities depend only on our will to redesign various existing social constructs we can choose to make this happen. We can do this!