What I want for my Kids and Grandkids

I think there are two kinds of people basically. Good ones and bad ones. I’m not sure why the bad ones exist. Maybe they are selfish and want power and riches for themselves. On the other hand, maybe the riches and power they want is to make them feel superior to others, or push other people down, enslave them? Perhaps their motivation is pure evil and we cannot imagine what that is or is about? Maybe. Who knows? 

Most of us see ourselves as good people. We want to eat when hungry, sleep when tired, drink fluids when thirsty. We want housing to protect us against the weather, and we want clothing to keep us protected from the elements and to hide our nakedness.

Of course we wish to experience physical joy (sex) and emotional joy (family). We may even wish aspirations of success or elevation over others. But of that I’m not certain.

And we want peace. Peace from war, physical attack, theft of property, and injury. Peace.  

What is peace? A simple definition: lack of hostility among one another, groups or nations. The reasons for hostilities usually encompass envy, need for what you have or extreme dislike between one or more people. 

To gain peace we need to even out needs and wants so most people have access to what they need to live life and gain a modicum of control over the wherewithal they need in life. That removes probably the largest cause of hostilities. 

Humans being human they will conceive more reasons for hostilities. But again we can help moderate these and build peace continually. It will take work but it can be done. Still we will need structures to monitor the peace and to take actions to preserve peace when it is threatened. These are efforts to keep hostilities at a minimum. So I guess we are admitting here that hostilities are inevitable. The severity may not be inevitable, but just the same….. 

Having said all that, here are the basics of what I want for my kids and their kids:

• Safe living environment; warm, space sufficient for family living
• Health and health care that is affordable and accessible
• Clothing that is adequate for covering the body and protecting it from the elements
• Food that is enjoyable and plentiful enough to maintain healthy bodies
• Social interactions that reward interpersonal relationships and personal growth
• Education that develops the mind to constant adaptation to changing information, lifestyles and employment
• Economy that is healthy, vibrant and filled with opportunities for individual achievement
• Peace now and in the future to reaffirm the value of each person and the dignity they merit

I hope this isn’t boring. I hope these elements of living are achievable and exciting to produce joy and meaning in the lives of my loved ones. And that they need not fear anything; that they need not fear in order to feel alive or more alive.  

The spice of life is what? Hopefully not fear or threat. It may not be possible, but I would like to banish fear from our lives. If we can I would feel better about the world’s prospects far into the far-flung future. 

Meanwhile, we have fear and threat. We live with it everyday. We live life managing all the negatives so we can enjoy the positives. That is the day-to-day struggle, isn’t it? Isn’t this what we toil at always? 

Along the way we deal with so many differences. Each of these is felt to be a threat by some. Too bad. They are only the accoutrements of living life. Like these: I am:

• Male
• Over 65
• White-Caucasian
• Christian, nominally
• Protestant (Congregational-United Church of Christ; Presbyterian; Lutheran ELCA)
• Raised in Christian tradition
• Doubt the divinity of Christ
• Distrust much of organized religion; they are human organizations with all the inherent flaws
• Worship and believe in God
• Am politically middle of the road; definitively not liberal or conservative
• Am well educated and respect the brain and what it is capable of; the good, bad and ugly; but mostly the good to overcome the other flaws
• Not rich but able to care for myself and family
• Struggling with elder cost of living issues
• Gay and OK with it; not a flaw but a good thing; just another perspective from which to view life and its mysteries and joys
• Believe in the power of people collaborating and improving our circumstances
• A native Californian, once lived in Massachusetts and Upstate New York; now a long-term resident of Illinois
• Still seeking happiness and accord with the world

This list provides many points of comparison for each reader. How many are the same as you? How many are different? Do the matches and differences provide you with interest or threat? Am I friend or foe to you?

How will you ever know without getting to know me.

And that’s what I want our society and world to contend with. It will mean much for my kids and theirs. And for you and yours, as well!

Peace?

March 29, 2012