Contributions

The Cambridge English Dictionary defines contribution as, “something that you?contribute?(defining a term by the same term actually does nothing to clarify its meaning), or do to?help?produce?or?achieve?something together with other?people, or to?help?make something?successful.”

If you really think about it, our incipient contribution to the world is when we are born which automatically increases the world population by one, and by extension, introduces another biological organism to the individual challenges of survival. At a minimum, sustaining that life will require a number of the basic elements including: food, water, clothing, and shelter. Food and water are necessary to sustain energy and to promote continued growth. Clothing is designed to protect a fragile human body from the natural elements and seasonal changes in the weather. Humans are not equipped with a protective outer cover to endure survival from the harsh natural energy exchange processes of the planetary environment. Some form of shelter is desired, either a naturally formed cave or other enclosure. Early Homo sapiens began designing various forms of shelter which gradually evolved into more complex and efficient domiciles created to sustain and protect themselves from wild animals, changes in weather, and annual climate changes. It would seem the earliest human hominids were most certainly more concerned with acquiring basic survival skills rather than making any significant contributions to anyone beyond their immediate family. So, at what point do we begin to recognize a desire to initiate a contribution as a means of repaying a world society for the rewards we have earned and benefited from throughout our lives? Does everyone ultimately develop this desire for benevolence? If not, why?

Advancing the timeline to more present-day civilizations, and beginning with the formative years of our development (let us say on average from birth up to an age of eighteen), each of us are principally dependent upon our parents or designated guardians for providing the basic needs to initially grow and ultimately sustain and advance our lives. Our contributions, if anything, begin as typically small gestures; perhaps picking up a few toys and clothes off the floor, advancing to cleaning one’s bedroom, doing basic chores around the house such as washing the dishes, shoveling snow, mowing the lawn, raking leaves, washing the family car, etc. By the time one reaches their teenage years, many young adults are taking on added responsibilities working part time jobs to earn spending money for various needs and personal wants. Some folks opt to become involved in volunteer work with their church or other civic group. Through these experiences it often becomes apparent that even within one’s small circle of friends and associations, not everyone lives the same lifestyle, and that there is often a significant variance in the distribution of the basic items necessary to live a quality life. We observe this in the material values exhibited as personal wealth; the home we reside within, the vehicle we drive, and the clothes we wear. Even our personal mannerisms are on display and captured for everyone to witness through observations by the circle of friends we associate with, the way we communicate, our likes/dislikes, and how we interact with others outside our personal sphere of daily life.

This revelation of inequality often results in the birth of an incipient desire to contribute to society by coming to the aid of those who are not as fortunate. Most folks are brought up to believe it is an assumed social construct to exhibit an egalitarian behavior that is characterized by a belief in social equality and equal rights for all people. These actions promote good will among the residents of a society, and are necessary to advance a peaceful existence for the human condition. Although these gestures demonstrate an optimal behavior for an advanced, civil population, there are numerous reasons why the human species will likely never reach this goal.

A Digression

As stated throughout many previous occasions, a very small proportion of our species has this propensity to seek to control a behavior of the masses by crafting rules and laws that serve the rich, famous, and those who possess the largest share of monetary wealth throughout the world. The planet is rich with practically everything necessary to sustain a healthy and productive life for its entire inhabitants; however, the distribution of these resources is not uniform, nor are they infinite in measure. Armed with the knowledge and understanding for the limited distribution of such natural and man-made resources, mega corporations, governments, powerful lobby groups, and people with tremendous wealth are able to either buy, deceive, or steal their way into governing the affairs of the world by controlling these resources. They seek to control water rights, land acquisitions, mining and mineral rights, food sources, supply and distribution networks, transport costs, the availability and cost of goods and supplies; even the air we breathe is becoming subject to control. The basic premise of this small percentage of the total world’s population is to dominate the supply, cost, and distribution of resources so that they can dictate policy and manipulate human behavior to suit their personal needs and desires.

If you care to check, when these factions of self-serving control freaks do not get their way by reasoned means and legal processes, they inflict chaos disrupting a country’s economic system through loans to build infrastructures that carry grossly inflated interest rates (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26593431-the-new-confessions-of-an-economic-hit-man). They distort the truth to suit their desires, and lie to promote enhanced social/societal disturbances pitting one group of people against their neighbor’s, thus creating hate, dissension, violence, and destruction within the masses. A divide and conquer directive will weaken protesters, discouraging dissention, when they can establish infighting among the masses. If these insidious actions do not result in satisfactory results, then the powers that be will fabricate reasons for armed conflict as a means to obtain what they want (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljIVuQdQnRk). They will often argue these actions will contribute to a safer, prosperous, better adjusted society; or another flawed argument is, ‘for the protection of national defense, national security, or to enhance national interests abroad.’ What are in the interest of the citizens of the country and those in decision-making positions are too often mutually inclusive, and favor those pulling the purse strings, at the expense of blatantly lying to an ignorant, poorly informed, or misinformed general public (https://www.academia.edu/94719495/Source_Credibility_Revised_12172020). ?When the contributions are designed to serve a select population of individuals, large corporations, contractors, lobbyists, and others in positions of authority or power, then the basic premise of ‘a belief in social equality and equal rights for all people’ is tarnished.

When we see someone homeless, disheveled in appearance, clothes torn, dirty, shoes clearly worn beyond their useful life, their entire worldly possessions stuffed in a shopping cart or a few bags, clearly living on the street; rather than turn our heads and walking away feeling angry, disgusted, or embarrassed, perhaps we should recognize them as yet another soul who for whatever reasons needs help. They were someone’s child at one time, perhaps a brother, sister, husband, or wife. Taking the time to stop to say hello in their eyes would be a contribution worthy of a smile, and a gesture that could very well make their day a bit brighter.

? Imagine the impact on society as a whole if each day we set forth to express a simple contribution of kindness towards our fellow inhabitants.

? Imagine what the ultra-wealthy folks with unimaginable means could contribute to the world, rather than continuing on with a lavish lifestyle that is generally selfish, self-gratifying, and completely out of touch with the majority of the world’s population.

? Imagine a world at peace with itself, rather than in infinite conflict. Imagine an intelligent species dedicated to ensuring the health and vitality of the planet and all of its inhabitants.

? Imagine a species that recognizes and contributes to the fundamental principle that in nature, everything is connected, everything is interwoven, everything changes with everything, everything merges from one into another.

On a grander scale, our most significant contribution to the world community should be in understanding, appreciating, and practicing a symbiotic form of the Gaia hypothesis, also known as the Gaia theory, Gaia paradigm, or the Gaia principle which proposes that living organisms interact with their inorganic surroundings on Earth to form a synergistic and self-regulating, complex system that helps to maintain and perpetuate the conditions for all life on the planet.?