Doctrine Discussion: Betterment of the World

On Betterment of the World:
First: I can see the value of starting with the man in the mirror, as a starting point. If you can't practice your own ideals then you can't inspire anyone else to follow them either.
Second: My biggest frustration with world politics is that Everyone seems to feel they have to re-invent the wheel. This isn't primary school where you have to do your own work! Let's copy the best ideas from where ever they come from and see how best to fit them into our system. If they don't fit, maybe be open to adjusting the system. Sadly I recognize that the Capitalistic model: Greed is Good,no longer works. The founding fathers were Brilliant in basing the economic system on a human vice (greed) rather than the communist approach based on a virtue ( self sacrifice for the common good). It worked when there was an underlying Moral Ethic but that is gone and deals are made for a fraction of a decimal point gain with no thought for how many people get burned in the process.
I realize how negative I sound writing this, but the fact we are all here talking about ideas to improve our world is very Hopeful.

Thank You all for your testimonees. It is always inspiring to read concrete examples of how to help. I have been thinking a lot lately about helping in an association as well but life is so fast and so packed these days that I barely manage to take care of my family, friends and work. To be completely honest I could probably help more if i didn't need any leisure time but I don't feel strong enough for that kind of life. My ego thinks it needs healing before taking care of others. I know it is an illusion but i still havent found how to get rid of it yet.

Legislation is the worse thing to use. Mostly because it doesn't solve the problem. It just brushes it under a rug... People will continue to exercise their rights even when the law seems to oppress them..

What happens when legislation violates rights, or property? Just to enforce some personal sense of morality against the will of others?

To me that's way more selfish and grandstanding than making the life of those around you brighter by sharing your light..

How good is the common good when destruction is needed to achieve it?...

Beware of the Evil One who comes in many faces..

To respect the human person to me is to respect their natural rights first and foremost.

It's tied in with seeing the inherent value in life..

Not saying we should hide our light. However, enlightenment cannot be enforced at the end of a barrel..

I apologize if there was saracism that wasn't my intention. But, I agree my thoughts were very narrow minded I didn't put into consideration animal cruelty which I should have...
but very good! Jake and Stephen.

For myself, I do this by trying not to waste food. Using what I own until it breaks and not when I'm bored of it, recycling or regifting what I can. When I go hunting I won't shoot what I won't eat. ( Baring finding out the animal has a diseased liver or the like ) and I recognize the sacrifice of the animal for my own sustenance. I also do not hunt deer because I am not good at hunting rabbits yet. I won't hunt big if I cant hunt small well.

For me, its being mindful of my impact on life around me and taking what steps I can to ensure I minimize the harm that I do. Its also being honest about things. I love my computers and books too much to give up the harmful industries that create the items I use daily. So I must be aware that nature suffers for my comfort. I look forward to the day when better tech mitigates this further.

Agreed with MadHatter.

I think its the first lesson of the IP (Myth) that goes into certain traditions where they thank the animal they've killed for sacrificing themselves so that they can feed their families. I do the same by not throwing out food. I finish whats on my plate, save leftovers, and composting whatever I can't eat before it goes bad so it can feed the earth.

I've yet to go hunting in my lifetime, something I plan to change one day soon...

Jaedon Adar-Barnaby wrote: How good is the common good when destruction is needed to achieve it?...

Beware of the Evil One who comes in many faces..

I wonder then, what do you eat? Where do you live? What do you wear? Food, housing, and clothing comes from the destruction of something. Even tilling the earth to grow your own veggies costs bugs their lives, and when you harvest said veggies you've destroyed them.

Destruction is part of life. From it comes life. After a forest fire comes new plants. After the death of a mother octopus comes her offspring. So long we we respect that which lost so we may have and give back when we can, everything can walk away better for it.

Stephen wrote: .....To be honest, the sarcasm and ridicule at the start of this discussion showed a lack of respect for other peoples ideals.

This is a pretty half-assed way to call something out Stephen. Youre letting us all know that you disapprove of one of us somewere in this topic, but you wont just come out and say, forthrightly, who or what exactly it is. Id like for you to learn from my example. At first was going to just keep my mouth shut and not say anything about it, but when i did decide to say something, i made absolutely sure that no one was confused about what i meant or who i was speaking to.

As the guy who really did post with deliberate sarcasm, i assumed it was me you didnt approve of. But frankly i dont care what you think lol. As someone who has an insatiable interest in a wide areay of topics, many of which fall into the category of "nature", i have an inkling of how savage the natural world is.... so i used my own particular style of humor to establish that base line: "the natural world is savage and brutal, thats just the intrinsic reality of life". Example:

So thats nature. Thats the baseline. Anyone think we can really make things better for those animals? Gonna convince them to stop eating each other alive? Lol

But I also contributed a handful of useful responses in the form of various, VERY GOOD links to relevant info resources and topics, which included direct actions people could take to potentially improve the lives of some animals to some degree. So did i contribute to the topic or did i just ridicule people?

Maybe it wasnt even me that you were talking about, who knows? You just left it in the air that SOMEONE didnt live up to your standards. Since i really was sarcastic and since i did express that i found the idea of "making life easier for animals" to be sort of ridiculous at a certain level (which it is) i figured it was me you were talking about. But im used to people not getting me and not approving of me so I was just going to ignore your disapproval.... until Sven apologized. Now im "triggered" lol because you just threw something out there at everyone in such a way that no one is really sure what youre saying and the result was that someone who i like seems to have been made to feel uncomfortable by it.

Sven is always nice to everyone. Theres no need for him to apologize, but he did anyway. He did it because he is a nice person. And you either made no reply to him to let him know he wasnt the one you meant OR you hid in PMs so that you could whisper your complaints in secret lol and not be held publicly accountable for the second half of a conversation that you initiated in public.

Stephen wrote: A Jedi is supposed to be humble and think of something more than themselves.
I refuse to congratulate or praise people that write things along the lines of
I make this world and everyone in it better because I have improved myself.
It sounds egotistical and arrogant to me.

And THAT sounds like ridicule to me. Like youre ridiculing the input of people who shared a view different from your own. Is that what you were doing? Should we feel offended or disapproving of you for being so judgmental?
Fyi theres something of a contradictory element to your message: on the one hand you say that a Jedi is supposed to think of something more than themselves, but then you could only see your your own frame of reference when drawing conclusions and casting judgments on the ideas of other members.

Anyway i hope you came here to grow and not just to lecture lol. And please understand you can choose to take this as a very serious act of hostility and ill will, OR you can stay cool and choose to see it as honest (and potentially useful) feedback. Im not trying to insult you as a person. I respect you as a person and im hopeful that we can all learn from each other. But i decided to express my reaction to some of the things youve said in the hopes that it can be useful.