The Right to Live Humane Lives

We live in a society that is not compassionate. Maybe we should change that.

We humans have a right to a humane life. Humane is defined as branch of learning intended to civilize people. It’s also defined as having or showing compassion and/or benevolence.

When I say we all have a right to live humane lives, I am stating an ideal. We humans would thrive if we lived in a society that treated us compassionately – or humanely.

Life is hard enough. We have to find food, shelter and clothing and hopefully find a tribe to hang with and protect us from the elements and things that want to eat us or harm us.  Among those that want to harm us should not be our fellow humans.

And yet here we are, in America, enduring our 355th shooting of the year. We humans prey on our fellow humans. We have institutionalized violence against minorities in our country. The death rate arising from this violence is staggering.

And that doesn’t even include the non-death suffering we inflict on each other in the name of fear and profits. We live in a society that isn’t compassionate. Maybe we should change that.

All this death and suffering is avoidable because it is death and suffering we are inflicting on ourselves.  If instead of responding to our fellow humans with fear we could try responding to them with compassion. Maybe there would be fewer accidental shootings that way.

Maybe kids that are being ostracized for being different wouldn’t be. Maybe their classmates would embrace them and their weirdness and maybe one less kid would commit suicide.


I’m not a Pollyanna who thinks compassion can solve all the problems in the world. But I do think we do better when we are compassionate and humane with one another.

We live in a hostile world. We form tribes to help protect us from that hostile world.  Who are we if we don’t use that impulse to protect to actually protect, not just ourselves, but our fellow humans. We have the ability to feed the hungry. We have the ability to house the homeless. We have the ability to provide medical care for those in need. And yet, we don’t.

We live in a society that isn’t compassionate. Maybe we should change that.

Make it your responsibility

I wanted to share this video today because it has to do with responsibility.  In it, you will see adults ignore a child's pleas for help.  It's rather upsetting.

The problem is a well known phenomenon that occurs in groups, which is that the larger the group, the harder it is to get help because responsibility is so diffuse, no one is responsible.  The good news is that this phenomenon is easy to overcome. All it takes is for one person to stop and take responsibility to cause a cascade effect. Once people know someone is taking responsibility - they feel more comfortable stopping to help as well.

Obviously, most people would like to think they are the sort of person that if the situation called for it that they would be that one person who steps up, but the reality is, most aren't. The problem is though, that if we don't step up, we are part of the problem of what's wrong with society.

Here's how to ensure you aren't part of the problem.  MAKE IT YOUR RESPONSIBILITY!  This is something you have to choose for yourself as a matter of principle. If you haven't already decided that if a situation arose where you weren't sure if someone needed help or not that you were going to make it your responsibility to find out, decide that you will.  You have to decide in advance that you are willing to be late and to be inconvenienced when you see someone who needs help. And then, the next time you see someone who might need help, make it your responsibility to find out if they do or not.

I made that decision for myself immediately after learning about the group effect back when I was a young adult. I decided I didn't want to be part of the problem, and that I would make it my responsibility to be that one person who stops to help.  I have helped several complete strangers over the course of my life and I know in at least one instance I helped to save someone's life by stopping to help, it's entirely possible I saved a couple of others, though I don't know for sure because I left after professional aid arrived.

I know what sort of person I am, I'm the sort that stops to help even if I'm not completely sure help is even needed. The question is: are you the sort of person who makes it their responsibility to help others, or not?