Would the U.S. be better

[Marthe48]

If business and theological degree programs included required courses teaching compassion?

I can't help thinking of all of the cutthroat actions that have become the norm in American culture. Can't help seeing that food, shelter, health care, voting districts, the federal budget have all become weapons. We talk about Dems bringing knives to gunfights, but time was, these things were not weapons as a matter of course. Our elected leadership are humans, who I hope became politicians with noble aims. It took them awhile to realize they were wearing suits and the opposition was wearing combat gear. It is shameful that half the people in the U.S. think that it's okay to deny people basic decent living conditions, and find more and more ways to make living unbearable.

The influence has to come from somewhere. Business and theological models might be items that could do with a revamp, as it seems like venture capitalism and religion for profit have plowed the shining city on the hill into rubble.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

1. Put them in ICE detention for a month. Let them attend regular classes by video 5 hrs a day.

I think "classes" on compassion would require extraordinary teachers and curricula or they would have little to no effect.

[RandomNumbers]

2. Theological (well "Christian") programs SHOULD have compassion

at the CORE of their curriculum.

Except that apparently a broad swath of Christianity as been taken over by charlatans who want nothing to do with the teachings of Jesus.

"I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." - Mahatma Gandhi

[Marthe48]

3. Exactly

Years ago, I was invited to hear a visiting preacher my friend knew. His take was that God would reward us if we were part of his flock and pointed out several Bible verses that mentioned larger flocks of sheep or other signs of prosperity. It was the first time I had heard a 'man of God' promote religion for personal profit. I wasn't impressed.

But seems like he was ahead of the game. I imagine he prospered at the expense of the people who bought his line.

[mwmisses4289]

9. Yeah, that idiotic prosperity gospel nonsense.

Do they realize that they are the money changers whose tables Christ knocked over in a rage at them sullying a sacred space?

[Diamond_Dog]

4. I recently came across this meme that sums it up well.

[wnylib]

11. IN the "culture wars," some contributing factors to the loss of civility, compassion, and a sense of community

came from "reality TV" which has nothing to do with reality.

I'm thinking of programs like Survivor, where participants regard the people around them as opponents to scheme against, fostering a "me or you" mentality toward other people.

I'd love to see a show that requires a group of people to work together in order to achieve a necessary goal. They would have to overcome obstacles of any distrust, hostility, ethnic or cultural divisions among them in order to reach the goal.

I saw a video of a chimp study that showed a test setting where chimps had to cooperate in a task to get food. It was set up so that they would not reach the food unless they worked together. They were so competitive that, despite chimp intelligence, they did not figure out that overcoming selfish food grabs would benefit both of them.

[bucolic_frolic]

5. MBA programs are macho instruction in suits.

Refereed warfare is the most optimistic outcome.

[Marthe48]

6. Seems like just starting a business with no training got us further along

I have the idea that MBA candidates party and drink a lot, and hope to hit on an idea they can sell for a billion and then be rats forever.

[Ping Tung]

7. When it is a question of money, everybody is of the same religion. Voltaire

[Marthe48]

8. I think God/Jesus represents only good

IMO, Christianity is a dualistic religion. God offers the goodness and the devil offers evil. According to the Bible, humans need to beg God for relief. When enough people beg for change, we'll get it. Not ideal. Not omnipotent. Even so, I have faith God is there, even if I'm skeptical of organized religion.

We're on a dynamic planet. We must change and adapt and respect our physical reality. The majors religions rooted in the major crossroads of the ancient world. So they spread, at least religions I'm familiar with (Eurocentric) I was looking for information about Buddhism, and noticed that all of the major religions have guidelines for how to treat others. It made me think that religion is more like guidelines that help the human species survive, rather than kill itself off, and way back then, when the ideas were introduced, somebody noticed we had to up our game. Maybe God was added to the guidelines to make people more willing to follow the rules.

I don't know if humans have the capacity to keep trying to raise. We have nothing but bad examples for role models right now, and whatever we have within ourselves is going to have to sustain us.

[GaYellowDawg]

10. "It's not personal, it's business"

Until this phrase is widely viewed with scorn, the same old shit will keep happening.

[flvegan]

12. You can lead a person to compassion, but you can't make them feel. n/t

[Wounded Bear]

13. They used to teach ethics in business programs...

Don't see a lot of that these days.