Compassion and love are the norm

In the wake of the tsunami disaster, people around the world have responded with concern, compassion and generosity. This, in and of itself, has somehow become newsworthy, as if there is something wrong with generosity. Cynics have been pondering: why such an outpouring for this one? They've heaped criticism on governments for being too slow, as though governments should have been instantly capable of assessing the scope of the tragedy and its aftermath. And then once generous aid was promised, the cynics criticized governments again for being moved by optics rather than loss of life.

What troubles me about this is that in our society reactions of generosity and compassion are not assumed. They're perceived as something unusual, out of the ordinary.

That perception has a lot to do with the prevailing messages of the last few decades. We keep being told over and over that human beings are motivated primarily by self-interest, that you cannot move people to action based, on the collective common good, but only on private gain. As Dalton Camp once mused, "We are a society that says it believes in God, but worships Mammon."

Politicians expect less and less from us, fashioning policies in anticipation of a "me-first" reaction from the electorate. The idea that people care profoundly for the whole human family, and moreover, for the planet itself and all life on earth, is out of fashion.

-- people are greedy; self-interest is the great motivator.

To believe that the primary impulse of humanity is love and caring is seen to be profoundly naive. So when it seems that millions of people are caught up in a genuine, selfless desire to help others, it needs to be explained and hopefully quelled. The question: "will people keep caring?" is posed as though things will--and even must

-- get back to normal.

But what if the me-firsters are wrong. What if the most satisfying and deeply felt moments of our lives have nothing to do with the GDP, or our own personal bottom line, but have everything to do with helping others

-- feeding our inner sense of well being. What if love and compassion are truly the norm and not the exception. How subversive would that be?

What kind of government policies would be fashioned if the assumptions of personal greed were replaced by ones of compassion? Would defeating child poverty rise to the top of every national agenda? Would reducing the conspicuous consumption of the few to meet the needs of the many become accepted? Would concern for future generations outweigh the quest for corporate profits?

For once, Canada, let's reject the cynicism. Embrace compassion. Expect the best of each other. Imagine where that could lead.

Elizabeth May is the executive director of the environmental group, the Sierra Club of Canada. This CBC commentary was aired on

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