Setting the world free

1 Votes - 8.00 average

I would like one thing from this life. For there to be an end to suffering.

I've been involved in hundreds of discussions on this topic. Everything has cropped up, from "it's in our nature to cause pain" to, "if we don't experience suffering, we cannot understand and thus eliminate it". I don't know how we as a race of humans will overcome these issues, but I believe that without doing so, existence itself might not be enough. Can there be any worthwhile meaning in our lives if we have to step on someone else's happiness to achieve ours.

So that last statement might make you think "hang on a moment, I don't intentionally cause any suffering or step on anyone's happiness". Well, I'll tell you what troubles me - it's the thought that pops into my head when I'm buying £70 shoes or tucking myself into my nice warm bed at night - why do I get these privileges when there are so many people that are going hungry or sleeping on the streets.

So now that you have a better idea of what spurred this post, I'll describe the kind of world that I'd like to live in. And before anyone mentions any of the flaws in my ideas, I just want to say that I've discussed most of these ideas over and over - all I want is a better world and I don't really mind how we get there, these ideas are just to get us thinking and talking.

Ok, I'll start off with the most important topic - Energy. It heats our homes, it even enables us to build our homes and it feeds us. Essentially, all we need is energy. It is the reason we need to go to work - so we can buy energy. Buying cars, watches and holidays are generally luxuries you can live without, but without food and shelter we cannot live. So I dream of an earth where energy is free on a mass scale - as in you can pick up a little box that can power your home for a 100 years.

Some will argue that if we no longer needed to work for energy, nothing would get done. Well, that is just an opinion. Just like my opinion that most great discoveries were made by people who are not in it for the money. Newton, Einstein, Galileo, Da Vinci, all of these great people loved what they did and in some cases risked their lives for it. So I'd like to believe that the people who want to watch tv all day can choose to do so, and the people who want to build rockets to the moon will choose to do so. There would be no need for theft or violence - why would anyone want to steal when they can just pick up their own for free. We'd be living in a world where you could choose to work in a cafe for the thrill of talking to new people rather than being frustrated by the low wages.

Given sufficient technology, I believe all problems can be solved. Think of one thing that won't work in this fairy tale society I'm picturing.... now just try to come up with a few ways that the problem can be solved - if you can't think of an answer ask a child. I'll bet you there will be solutions, and if we can think of one, then people much smarter than ourselves can come up with better ones.

I hope that we are living in the end times of suffering. That somehow, something will rescue mankind from this invisible bondage.

By  gav 07/01/2010 00:57:40