Pledge to Love One Another

Did you know that we are born with certain traits ?
These traits lead us to have either a Liberal or a Conservative outlook in life.

These same traits are seen all over the world - in the US, The Middle East, Asia and in Africa.

See this Ted Talk from Jonathan Haidt which illustrate this beautifully
http://www.ted.com/talks/jonathan_haidt_on_the_moral_mind.html

According to Prof Haidt, we are born with a basic set of values.


Conservatives seem to emphasize five Values :

• Avoid Harm and Protect the weak 
• Be Fair
• Respect Authority - this is a good trait as long as the folks in a position of Authority are good people.  Otherwise Conservatives can be mislead by a person they respect.
• Group Loyalty - This may lead a person to abandon right and wrong in order to safe guard the interest of the group - just now gun control comes to mind
• Purity - in the eyes of a conservative this is why they find it hard to accept issues like Gay rights and abortions

Liberals seem to Emphasize Five Values :

• Avoid Harm and Protect the weak  
• Be fair
• Instead of authority, they believe in equal power
• Instead of Group Loyalty, they are willing to invite others in - Immigration policies come into mind
• Purity - just now this is manifested as a purity of the food we eat - issues with GMO foods come to mind

This has been the moral truth for centuries.


Each individual looks at life through their own set of values.
And each individual ALWAYS thinks that THEY are right and the other person is wrong - that is our default.

So, why does it feel like there is more anger and hatred among us now ?

Well, that is because something HAS changed...


What HAS changed is that a lot of organizations mostly in the US have tried and (in my opinion) succeeded in defining folks with a different ideology as 'THE ENEMY'


This has created an anger and a hatred that is destroying ALL of us
Both as Individuals
And as a Nation


We are not able to make good decisions if our main emotion is anger.
As most religions state, the best decisions are made when we are calm and neutral


So what should we do ?
How can we resolve this issue ?

The SOLUTION  is Simple

First we have to ACCEPT the fact that a person with a different ideology is NOT our enemy. He / She is just another individual with a different point of view.

Next we have to relearn to ACCEPT people as they are.

Practically speaking this will only happen if we shut off the TV and Radio and start LISTENING to one another again.

Once we realize that a person with a different ideology is NOT our enemy,  we can start focusing on Eliminating the Hate and Anger within us.

Please help me to get as many people as you can to sign this Pledge



Please Click here for our Face Book page to take the Pledge today

Or if you do not have a face book page please Click here to take the pledge



As Hate turns to Love and Understanding, We will and CAN make this world a better place ...

Thank you

Iresha Goonesinghe MD FACP FACC MACPE
California