KAREN ARMSTRONG - CHARTER FOR COMPASSION

Those of you who know me well or have spent a few minutes looking at my links will realise that I am an atheist. I have been so for as long as I can remember. Since the age of about 4, the idea of there being a personal god has seemed so absurd to me that I cannot even consider it for more than a few seconds. That is not to say I wouldn't quite like to believe there is a god. I live a pretty clean, honest and good life and I think that Old Beardy would look down on me pretty favourably if he existed. However, the idea is as ridiculous to me as if someone told me there are invisible fairies dancing on my keyboard causing the frequent typing errors.

I do, however, live with a sofa elf. He is real.

I recently posted to my Facebook profile a video from the TED Talks website, featuring a speech by author Karen Armstrong following an award she received at TED.

You can see the video here.



I consider the message that Karen puts across to be a crucial one for our time and although Karen's talk is largely in the context of religion, I think the message about compassion is an extremely important one for every single member of our species to grasp, whether they feel a need for religion in their life or not.

My single overriding motivation is my daughters. I want them to grow up in a world where love is in the ascendancy. This is by no means certain in a volatile world in which resources are running out. We face a stark choice: between cooperation with all our fellow humans to find new ways to sustain the species or bitter violent struggle over the dwindling resources we use now. There cannot be the cooperation without an understanding that we are all one. People need to stop thinking about stupid petty and arbitrary divisions such as nationality or religious disagreements otherwise there will quickly be no nationalities or religions because everyone will be dead.

Every one of us has to stand up and be counted. Stand up and say 'I choose love.' Then to do something. Whatever feels natural. To foster love and friendship with other members of our species. To show small minded people that there is another way, a better way. The only way in which we can all survive.The divisions must be removed or there will be nothing left to argue over as we either completely destroy ourselves or plunge back into another Dark Age.

Other prominent authors such as Dawkins, Hitchens and Harris have suggested that doing away with religion altogether is the way forward for the Human Race if we want to survive on this planet.

However, even if I often find their arguments compelling, I don't think that is going to happen any time soon.

The essence of Karen's talk is a message that can appeal to the religious and non-religious alike. That we should stop having stupid petty squabbles about who is right and who is wrong (fun as they can be ;-) ) and find the common message that lies at the centre of all the major religions as well as non-religious moral codes.

That is compassion for all our fellow humans and The Golden Rule.

She argues that it is when religious followers move away from this common central tenet and start focusing on their differences that human ego inevitably takes them down the road to conflict, war and death.

My personal message is this: that we should always look for the things that are common between us. The things that make us 'human and humane'. Compassion for others' suffering, the love of our children and other close ones, a love of laughter, music, art, sport and dancing like an idiot.

It is fun to debate issues, to argue one's point of view. I do it a lot and often annoy the fictitious underground kingdom out of my friends when I do so, as some of them will probably confirm. But I try very hard not to get personal about it. It is usually just an intellectual sport for me and a very stimulating one. I maintain very good friendships with some people with strongly opposing viewpoints on a number of topics.

I maintain them because the common things that we share are so much more powerful and important to me and because their differences are what makes this life interesting.

For the sake of my daughters' and all our children's future, I hope we can all learn to celebrate our differences and cherish our common humanity before it is too late.



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