Dear David:

This if what you wrote that I agree with as being true to reality: “I see so many people who are mean, abusive and cruel to people around them… they have things I don’t have.. like a secure income.. the things.. home, time off.. resources to do things that at least seem to bring them pleasure…the world is very unjust.. many people who are using others not seem to face any consequences for those actions”.

In the movie Unforgiven, the young man told the character played by Clint Eastwood, after killing a man for cutting the face of a woman, “I guess he had it coming”. Clint Eastwood replied: “Kid, we all got it coming” (quotes may not be exact). What Eastwood’s character was saying is that all humans die, the good and the bad. I add to it that every human, however rich, however powerful, knows that he (or she) will die. And he knows that there is nothing he can do about it. How does it feel, I wonder, to go to bed in a mansion, knowing he has billions of dollars, and yet he cannot guarantee that he will live the next day, that he will not get sick the next day or get injured. How do you think it feels?

That “safe home” you suggested rich people can afford, it is never safe, however expensive. Yet we would  like to live in one, I understand that.

Most people don’t get away with everything, a man can get away with mistreating an employee, like it happened repeatedly in your case, but his personal relationships are likely to suffer because of his cruelty, his mental health is likely to suffer. (I don’t know about those with no conscience whatsoever. I don’t know if they are able to experience well being. I don’t think I communicated with one, so I never got to know such a person).

Here is a very important sentence that you wrote, very revealing to me: “I often get into relationships (personal and professional) where I am lead to believe that I am in a Win-Win only to find out I am being mislead“-

it is not a good thing to be lead, not unless you know with certainty that the person you are following is qualified to lead you, and so, you allow that person to lead you only in the area he or she is qualified to lead you. Not otherwise.

You wrote about a society that used to be, where good behavior was rewarded and bad behavior punished and so, people were encouraged to do good. Thing is I suppose there were pockets of such society here and there, but society as a whole was never like that. Cruelty was rampant all through history. Justice, compassion, kindness was never the rule, but the exception, as I understand it.

You bring up heavy duty topics in your thread. I didn’t address everything that you wrote, didn’t address the last few lines of your recent post. But I would like to when I am back to the computer in about 15 hours. Feel free to respond further and I will read and reply to you tomorrow.

anita