This I believe

This I believe…

I believe that we are truly all created equal in that we all have the capacity to lead a good and fruitful life.  I believe that (to paraphrase Rawls) the roll of the dice that is the position in which we are born should not determine our lives.  The guarantee of this should be the primary goal of government.  This is likely best addressed through access to quality education for all, to health care for all and for a commitment to support the ambitions of our children to be better than their parents and their grandparents before them.

I believe those that have benefited the most in society have the most to give back to society.  This is not about redistribution of wealth, it is about supporting the system that has allowed for their individual success.  No man is an island and nothing is accomplished in a vacuum.  The idea that someone can succeed without the support of the society they live in is nothing less than a delusion.  At a minimum, the safety and security required to succeed in life is a debt that cannot be overvalued.  That says nothing of the rule of law and civil society that are requirements for even considering pursuing anything above simple self-sustenance.  Without the support of the society life would be simple, cruel and short (channeling Hobbes.)

I believe that the great questions address by the various religions of the world are, in fact, more important than the answers they try to provide.  Religious freedom requires not just the acceptance of those that believe differently from you but a deep acceptance that they may, in fact, be right.  Too often we give lip service to the acceptance of others while still harboring the notion that they are somehow less than us because their beliefs are inherently wrong.  True religious acceptance requires a very high bill be paid.  One that can only be satisfied by the relinquishing of any claim to predominance and the power that goes with it.  That is a high hurtle that few can clear but one that we must strive to.

I believe the world would be a considerably better place if people could accept living by the creed of “Do onto others as you wish them to do onto you.”  This simple, elegant notion will seldom lead us astray of the best path.  If one is looking for true religion, something to believe in above everything else, it can be found in that simple mantra.  While a simple call to arms, it is not always a battle easily won.  It requires you to simultaneously to be able to empathize with your fellow man and be truly introspective for what is right.  Do onto others, requires that we view ourselves as not just individuals but rather part of a community.  A community with no boarders or arbitrary separations.  There is no qualification in the “others.”  It stands for all people of all beliefs and backgrounds.  There is no geography embedded in “others.”  “Others” makes no distinction for sex, appearance or affections.  “Others” is unequivocally everyone.  Do on to everyone as you would have them do on to you… what a wonderful world it would be.

This I believe…