Philanthropy – Love of Humankind – Needed More Than Ever

We’re entering an era of uncertainty.

For many, this has been a gut-wrenching week. And not just in the United States. People around the world are struggling with how to make sense of global events. Not just the American elections (though this is a huge sea change), but also escalating, senseless violence across the planet, threats to freeedom of speech, religion and assembly, the spread of fake news, a deepening divide between classes, and a creeping sense of dread as events begin to seem out of our control.

And, to be honest, this may feel like just the tip of the iceberg.

The world can seem a cruel and barbaric place.

Philanthropy – love of humankind — can seem elusive.

Yet it’s right here. In each of us.

Love is connected to the things you believe in. The values you hold most dearly.  The dreams you have and cherish.

Now is the time to be more loyal to your values and dreams than to your fears.

Give yourself permission to trust your own dreams. Be open to them. Don’t critique them or tell yourself they cannot happen. Not now.

Be on your own side, and on the side of your family, friends, neighbors and the entire planet that needs you to restore balance. Don’t wait to nurture those dreams.

Make the internal commitment to come from a place of love.

Earlier this week I shared a poem from Tara Mohr. It began like this: “Today, I am more committed than ever to the things I believe in.”

I encourage you to think about what you believe, and what you’ll commit to doing — from today forward.

I do have some thoughts I’d like to share.

First, let me begin with what Tara Mohr wrote right after the 2016 American election:

“… remember that every cell in your body knows how to love and weave good deeds, to meet injustice with acts of service and everyday rebellion, right there with the people in front of you. Let’s stay connected to love and to each other.”

This is a time when we truly must stay connected.

• Through making a choice.
• Through paying attention to, rather than ignoring.
• Through listening.
• Through being curious.
• Through empathy.
• Through putting ourselves in each other’s shoes.

In the coming weeks, celebrate tolerance.

Celebrate the upcoming United Nation’s International Day for Tolerance. And take some inspiration from the 1996 Declaration of Principles of Tolerance. Among other things, the Declaration affirms that tolerance is neither indulgence nor indifference. It is respect and appreciation of the rich variety of our world’s cultures, our forms of expression and ways of being human. Tolerance recognizes the universal human rights and fundamental freedoms of others. People are naturally diverse; only tolerance can ensure the survival of mixed communities in every region of the globe.

Even when you feel you haven’t much to celebrate right now, the reverse is true.

We have each other.

Humanity has the will to survive — through caring.

Not just the will to survive but, in fact, the need.

For throughout history the civilizations that have survived have been those which banded together to care for their brethren.

Sure, we’ve all heard about “survival of the fittest.” But did you know that was not Darwin’s idea?  He never meant to imply that civilization would survive by the strongest killing off the weakest. Though the concept is attributed to him, it really comes from the philosopher Herbert Spencer. And it is widely misunderstood.

“Survival of the kindest” better captures Darwin’s thinking about his own kind.

In one-to-one battles the fittest may survive. But in the end, it’s not about individuals.

It’s about the behavior and empathic connection of groups. Tribes. Communities.

Empathy, per Anita Nowak of McGill University, is the only human emotion that expresses equality between humans. She notes:

“Society needs to undergo an empathic revolution if we are to survive as a species… we must engage with empathy; not as spectators, but as fully involved participants. [The state of society today makes] the moral imperative to act explicit. We are facing a set of social and environmental crises that are unprecedented… we are beset by wicked problems.”

The nonprofit sector is also called the “civil society.” And we have an important role to play in times like these. We must remind each other what survival really is about.

Civilizations that survive are the most empathic, cooperative and compassionate.

In the coming weeks, commit to cooperation and standing together.

Even in the wild it’s not every animal for itself.

Cooperation turns out to be the most successful survival strategy. Complex cells evolved from cooperating simple cells. Multicellular organisms are made up of cooperating complex cells. Superorganisms such as bee or ant colonies consist of cooperating individuals, in a condition bioligists call eusociality.

Individual selection tends to favor selfish behavior. In the eusocial group however, members perform altruistic acts, sometimes against their own personal interests, to benefit their group.

When cooperation breaks down, the results can be disastrous.

For example, when cells in our bodies turn rogue the result is cancer. A single cell can break free from the pack and create something monstrous. In my teen-age daughter’s lingo at the time, “letting the demons loose makes the world totally cray-cray.”

This is what makes the civil sector so important.

Nonprofit staff, volunteers and donors make a critically important choice. To act altruistically.

• To look at manifestations of cruelty, intolerance, injustice, and inhumanity and commit to stand united against hatred .
• To look at the world’s most pressing problems and commit to doing something to fix them.
• To look at our most cherished values and commit to doing something to uphold them.

As individuals, families and communities, we choose to act with compassion and honor.

This message from the former U.N. Secretary General has stuck with me:

“Let us not be provoked or play into the hands of those who thrive on hatred and instill fear in our societies.  Today’s global challenges should compel us to reject the failed mindset of “us” versus “them”.  Let us see the world and all its possibilities through the prism of “we the peoples”.

There can be no time like the present to begin to say “We’re going forward.”

In the coming weeks, commit to taking a step towards forward movement in repairing the world.

If nothing else, in your small corner of it.

Here are 10 ways to begin:

1. If you work in the social benefit sector, keep doing what you do!
2. If you are a philanthropist (a donor or volunteer), keep doing what you do!
3. Either way, dedicate yourself to doing more, with greater passion, deeper commitment and renewed zeal. Do it with the understanding that compassion makes a difference. Tolerance is powerful. Take a look at GoldenRuleism. Support organizations that walk this talk.
4. Learn about emotional intelligence and how you can practice this essential skill. Use it to broaden your circle and get to know and understand people who are different from you. Help them to better understand and appreciate you as well.
5. Talk with your loved ones this Thanksgiving about how you can build greater peace and understanding in your own community.
6. Reach out to communities who fear for their safety (e.g., immigrants, transgender people. the LGBTQ community, women wishing to get pregnant, women seeking abortions, Jews, Black Americans, and others who feel marginalized). You might even consider beginning an ‘accompany my neighbor’ movement in your community to escort those who are afraid to be out alone (this was started in New York after the 2016 election and might serve as a model).
7. Make new friends by listening closely to those who disagree with your beliefs, and trying to understand where those beliefs come from. Avoid knee-jerk condescension and hostility. Don’t be afraid to push back with truth, however; especially to stand up on behalf of rights you hold dear.  A bit of honest conflict among friends is okay.
8. Make your voice heard in government and express your opposition to curtailing basic human rights, access to healthcare, mass deportation or appointment of people who are unqualified to hold critical government positions that assure a functioning democracy.
9. Get involved locally to support measures that can benefit from your passion to ensure a minimum wage, clean up the environment, pass safer gun laws, help the homeless, and protect the vulnerable.
10. Subscribe to, and read, a newspaper to support freedom of the press and fact checking to avoid the dangerous spread of misinformation.

Whatever you do, don’t lose hope. Don’t isolate yourself. Join with your neighbors. Your co-workers. Your family and loved ones. Reflect. Discuss. Reflect some more. Figure out something you can do to make the world a better place – one person, one deed at a time.

It’s a good place to start.

Together, we shall overcome.

We are civil society — the protectors of the social norms vital for keeping our diverse society together.

Please share your thoughts and reflections in the comments below. Especially things people can do to be proactive, not helpless. May peace and strength be with you, and with us all.

Photo by Claire Axelrad of “Dancing in Love.” Heart sculpture as benefit for San Francisco General Hospital Foundation.