Changes

Until this week I would have argued to the end of my endurance that violence, war, environmental destruction, cruelty to animals and general ugliness were the result of individual error that could be corrected, in time, by individual love and individual example.

I believed that the choice of an individual to live an ethical, kind, creative life that did not place excess burden on others or the environment had a lasting, benefical effect that extended beyond that persons circle of influence. I actually believed that if enough people became ethical, kind, creative and tolerant that the mass of goodness would tip the overall scale to goodness and that it would become the norm worldwide.

I was wrong. No norm of goodness will stop a Saddam, a Bush, a Hitler. There is no personal error in their thinking. They simply want what they want, at any cost to other life. They are not acting to make a better world, but to make a world that is shaped to their image.

A better world is a place with low infant mortality, enough to eat, clean water and air, sovernity over our lives, equal access to reasonable health care and education for all. A better world is a place where the streets are safe and old people cherished. A better world is within reach, except for the wolves among us. They want power, and our "better world" is something they gladly forfiet to acquire it.

Still, an ethical, kind, creative life, allows us to achieve personal growth and to build families and communities that are peaceful and tolerant. But the sheep and goats among us must acknowledge that wolves do not belong in our midst, that no matter how tame we believe they are they will eat us to satisfy their hunger, and worse, they will kill us just because they want to.