The values of society as seen from the outside are mostly determined by those who are most visible to all. People like politicians, captains of industry, famous artists, journalists.
But in order to reach a position of power you need to possess a certain mindset(excepting artists I suppose). That mindset seems to correlate in reverse with the attributes of love and compassion.
Its one of those funny quirks of evolution. Its like that crazy tail of a peacock that evolution has given him but that must undoubtedly be a liability when he is chased by a predator. Yet, it evolved nonetheless.
I can clearly see this process at work in political parties. The people who percolate to the top are a special breed. There is two kinds, the idealists/world improvers/fighters for the cause and the ambitious ones. Normally the ambitious ones rely on their skills needed to rise fast while the idealists have to rely on their idealism to get them to the top.
The point is that ambitious people vastly outnumber idealist people. And when I see the personalities of many of those amibitious leaders I often observe a distinct lack of love and compassion for others.
Furthermore, what love and compassion there was is usually quickly unlearned in the political battlefield.
But its those leaders that present the public face of a country and it is by their actions that the nation is measured. Outsiders do not see the man in the street. They see the people in charge, who are not a representative subset of the population.
But in order to reach a position of power you need to possess a certain mindset(excepting artists I suppose). That mindset seems to correlate in reverse with the attributes of love and compassion.
Its one of those funny quirks of evolution. Its like that crazy tail of a peacock that evolution has given him but that must undoubtedly be a liability when he is chased by a predator. Yet, it evolved nonetheless.
I can clearly see this process at work in political parties. The people who percolate to the top are a special breed. There is two kinds, the idealists/world improvers/fighters for the cause and the ambitious ones. Normally the ambitious ones rely on their skills needed to rise fast while the idealists have to rely on their idealism to get them to the top.
The point is that ambitious people vastly outnumber idealist people. And when I see the personalities of many of those amibitious leaders I often observe a distinct lack of love and compassion for others.
Furthermore, what love and compassion there was is usually quickly unlearned in the political battlefield.
But its those leaders that present the public face of a country and it is by their actions that the nation is measured. Outsiders do not see the man in the street. They see the people in charge, who are not a representative subset of the population.
