“Compassion is not hereditable. It can and therefore must be taught. The teaching of compassion, the exercise of the soul, will open the heart. And then nothing will be impossible.” Rabbi Awraham Soetendorp
“Compassion is a organizing principle for business leaders, government leaders, arts and culture, humanitarians – you need a working principle, especially when the world is colliding into each other every day”. Salman Ahmad
“In a world where force is too often the response to differences of opinion, culture and ideas of the divine, compassion is its one universal antidote. These ideas give spiritual voices to the opportunity to unite in this most authentic cry for peace.” Sister Joan Chittister
What do we do with what seems like a continuous stream of anger provoking news? If we give into all the stories of violence that assault our senses every day, we would be in a continuous state of discord. Finding harmony among all this cacophony challenges our ability to remain calm and compassionate. In Frank Rogers book, Compassion in Practice he suggests the possibility for a new melody of “reconciled connectedness that extends to all without exception.” Rogers suggests creating a new song that enables us to dance through life with more love and peace, and grace in our life. He states that compassion is the essence of any religion. This essence enlivens our dance along the spiritual path.
Rogers cites the claims of Jesus that “dignity and power in the midst of forces that try to deaden and dehumanize could result in peace within the violence of an oppressive society.” Jesus taught a radical rising from established traditions and oppressive structures and systems. That compassion extends to ourselves as well as to others.
Embarking on a path of compassion means rooting ourselves in boundless love, recognizing the inherent dignity of all people, empathizing deeply with the struggles of others, paying attention to the vulnerable and marginalized, making ourselves vulnerable, addressing systemic injustice while promoting social justice, acknowledging our own flaws, and reflecting on the possibilities for redemption.
In this book, Rogers captures these elements of passion with the acronym PULSE:
He calls us to transformation through “tangible acts of healing, kindness, and care.” If I could add a bit of alliteration to his acronym, I might suggest that we tune into the pulse of people as we walk down the path of life on our way to a peaceful world. As Rogers says, “the way of radical compassion leads to embodied acts of restorative care.” Those acts of compassion are characterized by generosity, service, bearing witness, being in solidarity, and empowering others to pursue a path of peace – to find the dance in life. He implores us to “resist evil with the weapons of love and dignity and not with hate or submissive endurance.”
Rogers concludes: “In a world where abuse bleeds into our homes, our schools, and our sacred institutions; where violence and poverty ravage our cities and neighborhoods; where venom and vitriol permeate our public discourse – any act of kindness and care offers a wondrous assertion of humanity within the insidious encroachment of the inhumane.”
Just as we devised language to improve communication – which enabled us to create poetry – we now have a language of compassion to enable us to transcend our selfishness and build new capacities for our heart and soul. In Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life, Karen Armstrong, the best-selling author of the History of God, shares her belief that it is possible to develop that capacity both individually and collectively. In her book, she encourages us to understand the contexts in which people live in order to practice greater kindness. She suggests that we become more intentional about being present in the moment, connecting more deeply and empathically, and translating our feelings into actions that make a positive difference. This means taking responsibility for the well-being of our wider community. Armstrong advises us to pay close attention to our language and tone, ensuring we are respectful to everyone we encounter. Finally, she implores us to extend love to the people in our lives who may be difficult, or even hostile – recognizing their shared humanity and potential suffering.
For Armstrong, compassion is a calling for us to set ego aside in empathic consideration of others. She believes it is a critical value for transcending our typically self-centered existence. The question she poses is: can compassion heal the apparently intractable problems of our times? In 2009, in an attempt to answer that question, Armstrong helped to form the Council of Conscience, a group of religious thinkers and leaders from multiple traditions. The group created a Charter for Compassion to guide their work.
The Charter for Compassion emphasizes compassion as a core value and calls for its restoration in morality and religion. This council promotes freedom of thought, conscience, and religion as fundamental rights in a diverse world, and encourages compassionate action. The collective was formed to provide a framework for people to engage in collaborative partnerships for compassion worldwide. Over the last 15 years, the Charter for Compassion has grown from an idea into a global movement with close to 600 compassionate community initiatives and 3000 global partners, It has inspired countless individuals and communities to embrace compassion as a guiding principle. Its accomplishments reflect a deep commitment to fostering a more just, peaceful, and compassionate world, making it a true leader in the global effort to promote humanity and solidarity. These recent highlights demonstrate the Charter for Compassion’s sustained impact and its continued relevance in addressing the most pressing issues of our time:
As a religious historian, Armstrong is well grounded in the early roots of compassion. She reminds us that as early as the ninth century BCE, priests began to transform our aggressive instincts into more peaceful habits. They began to examine the inner workings of their minds – a “luxury that had not been possible before humans were freed from the all-absorbing struggle for subsistence.” This organization not only offers hope for what might be possible with a shift from aggression to compassion, but also provides evidence for a growing movement toward a more peaceful path than we are on.
Now let’s contrast that shift with the shift the Trump administration is making in the opposite direction. In this administration we are seeing radical aggression instead of radical compassion. For example, there has been a noticeable shift in focus away from “soft power” (compassionate) initiatives, with corresponding impacts on certain agencies. Here’s a breakdown:
Soft Power Reductions:
- Widely successful, USAID programs credited with containing outbreaks of Ebola and other threats and saving more than 20 million lives in Africa through HIV and AIDS treatment are among those still cut off from agency funds.
- There were attempts to significantly cut USAID’s budget and restructure its operations. This included efforts to consolidate it within the State Department, leading to concerns about reduced effectiveness.
- Reports indicate significant reductions in USAID contracts and staff.
- This agency oversees entities like the Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA).
- The Trump administration took actions that resulted in funding cuts and changes in leadership, raising concerns about the independence and effectiveness of these media outlets.
- There were concerns that the purpose of these organizations would be changed into propaganda outlets.
- The State Department underwent a restructuring aimed at reducing its size and scope. This included cuts to various bureaus and offices, particularly those focused on democracy, human rights, and diplomacy.
- Offices that were focused on global woman’s issues, and diversity and inclusion efforts where reduced.
• U.S. Institute of Peace:
- There where attempts to close down the U.S. Institute of Peace, and to remove its leadership.
At the same time that this administration is reducing soft power, it has shifted resources into hard power which relies on military and economic coercion. This shift involves investments in weapons systems, military personnel, and defense infrastructure. For example:
- The administration has prioritized military spending and a more “America First” foreign policy.
- Military budgets have been increased with a focus on bilateral deals, sometimes at the expense of multilateral agreements.
- The attacks on Yemen Houthis cost an estimated $8 billion.
The consequences are not trivial. These decisions have created a vacuum that could be filled by other global actors, such as China, which has been actively expanding its own soft power initiatives. Trust in the United States has eroded. And the ability to influence global events through diplomatic means has declined.
The proposed big, billionaire, budget resolution in the House of Representatives targets $880 billion in Medicaid cuts and $230 billion in SNAP cuts over a decade. These aggressive cuts are part of a broader budget plan aimed at raising the debt limit and potentially enacting $4.5 trillion in tax cuts. The proposed cuts would result in a $95 billion loss in federal funding for states in 2026 alone most of which would be allocated to services providing compassionate care. Budget deficits will exceed $2Trillion per year, and the overall debt will exceed total GDP.
More importantly, the costs of increasing hard power and lowering taxes far exceed any perceived savings from cuts in soft power. To me, the most defining characteristic of this administration has been reckless aggression and reduced compassion. In addition, the administration is enabling the aggression of other nations by sending them or selling them surveillance technology, nuclear know-how, and military hardware. Think Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Qatar for starters.
It seems to me our existential choice is between compassion and aggression. At this point in history, it appears that aggession is winning. Only time will tell if more of us choose compassion to define who we are.
I’m hoping we will start exercising our hearts and souls instead of our military muscle. I am hoping leaders throughout the world will establish compassion as an organizing principle in their organizational cultures. I’m hoping we will start amplifying spiritual voices in a unified call for peace. Finally, I’m hoping that the work of Rogers and Armstrong continues to grow. May it be so.
Also published on Medium.
One can only hope…thank you my friend.