This is my first dairy, ever. I am new to the blogosphere, an old coot of 61 who has just about figured out the meaning of life. In a nutshell, we are on this earth to discover who we are. Ultimately we must decide if we are going to lean towards being selfish or selfless.
At the polar extremes of selfishness and selflessness we have people like Adolph Hitler and Mother Theresa. Most of us are in between the poles, but we tend to be oriented in one direction or the other. The self serving among us like to "look out for number one" while the selflessly oriented make it a priority to help others. Many in the middle of the spectrum exhibit both traits - they'll give a dollar to a homeless person but drive home aggressively later on. Eventually it dawns on the soul that it is indeed more blessed to give than to receive (or more profitable to bolster ones income at the expense of the welfare of others), and over time our orientation becomes clear.
Our political classifications reflect this view.
Liberal is defined by the dictionary as "open minded". Liberals tend to care more about the belief systems of others and to be more tolerant of divergent views. Economically, Democrats tend to place the tax burden on the wealthiest to care for those among us who are not so blessed.
Conservatives believe in lassaiz-faire and the status quo. Every man for himself. They espouse "trickle-down" economics, in which the wealthiest are rewarded and their extravagant spending powers the economy (or so they thought!)
In a sense then, conservativism is organized selfishness, and liberalism is organized selflessness.
We need both orientations in this world. I don't mean to paint this concept in black and white terms as there are many shades of gray. A totally selfless society would likely die out ("Go ahead and eat me, Lion, for you are hungry") and a totally selfish society would fall apart with crime and murder. It's good, at this point in our evolution, to have a middle ground. We do need to stand up for ourselves, to fight for our freedoms as well as our existence. But once we are secure, it is even more vital for us to care for each other.
An important concept is Sacrifice. It is the essence of serving others. The value of sacrifice is driven home to us daily, as we must eat to survive. Life eats life, and if we are aware that lives are sacrificed for our very survival, it is a humbling realization. Another important concept is Compassion. Once we realize that all people of this earth desire happiness as we do, we can put away the illusion that we are all so different from each other.
As R. D. Laing noted, "We are not able even to think adequately about the behaviour that is at the annihilating edge. But what we think is less than what we know: what we know is less than what we love: what we love is so much less than what there is. And to that precise extent we are so much less than what we are." (from "The Politics of Experience", 1967)
Every major religion exhorts us to selflessness. From the Golden Rule to the Law of Karma, the nut of religion is that service to others is the pathway to heaven. Forget all the dogma, the main message is clear. The truth is, God does not help those who help themselves. God helps those who help each other.