In a world driven by commerce and profit, what does it take to keep an eye on taking care of people?

The question was asked first on LinkedIn where other answers can be found. My answer was:

“Ray, A big question.

Please consider another way of looking at it.

When the world appears to be driven by commerce and profit, the world may well seem to be flat (as the new buzzwords suggest) or horizontal, like some big mother board for us to electrify and run our programs. And for those operating on the horizontal plane, it surely feels that way. No amount of tower building will elevate some over others over the long hall. And yet, many more people were devastated to the point of despair in their views of the world than were killed in the collapse of the World Trade Center buildings.

What's going on?

We are in the middle of a world transformation. Cultures are at war, not necessarily in combat, but at least in propaganda. Those of us who prefer to stay grounded are simply common men and women. We do help other people. As those of us who raise questions and give answers do here on LinkedIn. But for a variety of reasons, some people like to have their own world views reinforced every day with negative news, fact or fiction. Those who can make money accommodating them do.

But if you take a break from your newspaper and your TV for a week, you'll experience some relief from the commercial bombardment. The issue embedded in this horizontal perspective is whether we want to consider any vertical dimensions that have always been and are presently available. The level of anxiety we feel represents the volume of the call we are being asked to heed. For above the horizontal plane of pleasure and pain, is not only the ethical perspective, but two others as well.

The cultural wars we are experiencing now swallow the ethical perspectives as people come out of their fox holes and realize their differences in matters of ethics and morals. Modern Western ethics, anyway, require considerations of evidence and reasoning. Not all cultures share the same commitments to these building blocks. Regardless, people may be seen as objects, not as subjects. Or worse, they are seen as subjects who must be governed, because they can't do it themselves effectively.

So, we must seek the higher ground of philosophies and religions to sort out what ethics cannot address alone, a perennial problem, no doubt. And here again the culture wars are currently taking over center stage, with money, power, and sex having their hay day.

Given this situation, no wonder we can only afford one eye on taking care of people when people are ravaging each other right before our eyes in such pursuits of "happiness."

In my own approach to these levels of questions, I have found it most helpful to address the underlying issues this way. Here's what it takes to keep an eye on taking care of people in a world driven by commerce and profit:

Focus both eyes, not one, on the people I love. Love my neighbors as myself. Love my God (certainly not commerce and profit as the idols they are) with all of my mind, prioritizing my values with people in mind); with all of my heart, making the love of people my mission; with all my soul, uniting with those I love for purposes that are not simply utilitarian; and with all of my spirit, seeing God's mark of the Tree of Life in the eyes of those I look on with my own.

Once you do this, your world, like mine, will be driven by other forms of "commerce" where true communication with our loved ones is more highly valued and the "profit" we experience will be the fulfillment of prophets we encounter anew.

Hopefully, with this much said, we will see eye to eye and take good care of each other in ways that make common sense.”

What do you think?

Please include your comment here or contact me to discuss.

Thanks.

John Darrouzet