As humans, it is inherent in us to not take responsibility for our actions when they turn out awry or accept that we may have contributed to the deterioration of something in some way. If we did turn inwards at ourselves and assess our actions and the consequences thereof, and then look for better ways forward, we might as well live in a much better space and co-exist together as earthlings.
"The love of money is the root of all evil" is a quote that I think can be translated to provide a wider scope of how the selfishness of one can bring so much evil into the world. How much more, then, when the general populace chases their own selfish interests and chooses not to empathise with and be compassionate with other people around them?
"The love of anything other than oneself and one's neighbours is the root of all evil," if I may, would be the translation I would like to derive from the aforementioned age-old quote that we all know now. But, really, the definition of "loving oneself" and, consequentially, other people is subjective. And perhaps we should begin there before delving into connecting the dots to make the world a better place for me, for you, and for the entire human race.
One cannot give what one does not have. That is to say, if one doesn't have love for themselves, surely they cannot hand it to other people around them. Love for one's neighbours can only emanate from the love that one has for themselves. And what does it mean to love yourself?
In a nutshell, loving oneself means having a deep sense of self-acceptance, self-care, and self-compassion. It means to value and treat oneself with kindness, respect, and affection. In that light, one can truly spread love.
Imagine, therefore, how the world would turn out if only we had more and more people being empathetic and compassionate for themselves and one another, if not everyone on planet Earth. Surely, we wouldn't have as many hitches that we experience every now and then.
For example, knowing how students generally depend on their parents or guardians for their basic needs to live and go through school, I do think it is rather cruel to put exhorbitant prices on goods that students need, especially in school environments.
I generally never liked to buy anything around my school during my university days, even food items to cook. There was this appalling mentality that business owners that provided goods and services for students had that made them somehow assume that students have a lot of money and should be milked. It just never made much sense to me.
There are many ways we can be unkind to ourselves, making life generally hard for all of us. Another example was the time when cash, or physical fiat, became a scarce commodity for a long time over here, and then a certain group of people (that I really shouldn't call unfortunate) decided to put out unethical charges for people to get cash from them. That is far from empathy and compassion, really.
Should I proceed to illustrate many ways things go wrong in our world today, we may as well just turn this into a series of rants and talk about the human condition as it is.
In a nutshell, the world would be even a tad bit better place for us all to co-exist if we simply followed this simple quote: "Love your neighbour as thyself."