THERE'S ME & THEN THERE'S YOU

Who would have thought...? doing good is mistrusted...? Worse than that, according to a new study at Washington State University, do-gooders are often dismissed by their peers as "trying to make me looK bad" or "having ulterior motives" or even "being deviant rule-breakers."

Wow! That may help explain why Socrates made Athens angry, Jesus was crucified, and Obama's attempts at calm are dismissed as cold.

The University was using video games to test their subjects, but we don't have to look any further than the daily news to see this phenomena playing out. Charity and altruism may be smiled upon, but competition and ambition are really much better understood. Take this morning's New York Times front page: "Japan Retreats in Test of Wills with the Chinese: Sign of Beijing's Rise."

This storyline is repeated every day in every way. The "other" is understood mainly in terms of different...danger... challenge... competition...rivalry. Anthropologists tell us this began with the very first tribes where the "other" tribe across the river or the mountain was understood largely in terms of fear. There has been -- and is now -- the insistent sense that "we" and "they" are essentially different. And, more often than not, different is dangerous!

Prophets and messiahs, philosophers and poets, usually see it otherwise. And yet, throughout the recorded history of humanity, the overwhelming evidence is that being "other" than me is cause for concern. If you come from some "other" place or race, country or nationality, class or religion, well chances are this isn't going to work.

Here's the question...

How in the name of all things tranquil does a vicious circle ever get broken....??