Armstrong writes about 9/11 and Compassion

Karen Armstrong, a former nun now religious historian/writer, has proposed a radical idea.  She says that we should all attempt to live by the Golden Rule.  That ideal was sealed in the Charter for Compassion to promote treating others as we wish to be treated.


On the anniversary of 9/11, Armstrong wrote an interesting article on 9/11 and compassion.  We have seen a resurgence of animosity towards all Muslims (and others) in the last few years.  However, the greatest weapons we have against terrorism and fundamentalism are love, peace and compassion.  She ends her article with a great line:

It is time to combat the ignorance that inspires hatred and fear. We have seen the harm religious chauvinism can do; now let us bear witness to the power of compassion.

Building an Empathic Civilization

Jeremy Rifkin explores the implications of empathy in our society as an artist animates his talk.  He discusses (very quickly) evolutionary psychology, mirror neurons, and Y-Chromosome Adam in this talk.  If we can feel what others are feeling, then we should remember such emotions when dealing with others.  Let's build an empathetic society- basing our behavior on the Golden Rule.