Thanks to society and our voracious drive for instant gratification, our relationships with each other are becoming a mess. We have learned to treat one another as disposable diapers and trash bags and we as a society are becoming so self absorbed in our own frail images, that we have forgot, other people do matter.
Friends are an essential part of our lives but in our 'Me, Myself & I Generation' we have choked off the virtues of building lasting relationships with one another and often wonder why that nearly 50% of all marriages end in divorce in our nation.
Women tend to have relationships with other Women but Men have fewer confidants outside the family and according to an online study in 'Mens Health' (5-18-07) "Men mask their pain and men experience more depression, distress and anxiety after a break-up of a relationship...then Women do as Women tend to cry after a break up..."
Not maintaining friendships poses the same risks to ones health as high blood pressure, obesity and smoking. During the last 20 years both sexes have established fewer confidants, "Women & Men of every race and educational level report fewer intimate friends and this can lead to more mental and physical problems..." according to a study co-authored by Lynn Smith-Lovin, a Socialogist at Duke University.
We are not connecting to one another, we lead sheltered lives and are isolated from our neighbors. On March 31, 2007 the 'LA Times' reported that in South Hampton, NY "...a blind man died alone in front of his television set in a lounge chair...a neighbor called Police only after she noticed a pipe had burst at his house..." Authorities concluded that they man had been deceased for at least 13 months.
Is it any wonder why crime accounts for more deaths, injuries and loss of property than all natural disasters according to FBI crime statistics.
Likewise suicide in the USA is at epidemic rates and much of this is attributed to loneliness of society with over 30,000 suicides annually, with males completing suicide 4 times more often than females and suicides are highest among divorced and separated than married individuals.
Do people really care about other's than themselves? In our isolated and self-indulgent society do we really want to know other people?
According to a study by the 'Institute of Social Research at the University of Michigan' over 50% of Americans consider religion to be very important in their lives and according to the '2005 Year Book of American & Canadian Churches' the Catholic church in the USA with 67.2 million members is the largest group of all other religious bodies. Does church teaching really affect peoples everyday lives?
The scriptures teach us "To Love the Lord our God and to Love our Neighbor..." Mark 12:28-31 and to "Love one another..." John 13:34-35
Too many Americans appear to have little to no interest in their neighbors next door or in our global neighborhood. Many in our society do not speak kindly about our Brethren across the boarder in Mexico, or neighbors across the ocean in China, Japan or in the many other nations on our tiny planet that we call earth. Many persons choose to selectively interpret the scriptures to mean something other than what the 'Good Rabbi Jesus' taught.
How will society ever be able to see others as equal if one continues to teach divisions? "Jiao ge peng you duo tiao lu shu ge di ren duo du qiang." (A friend made is a road paved an enemy created is a wall built.) Chinese Proverb
"The more people meet, the more they understand one another and the more they are exposed to other cultures and diversity, people become friends and trade as friends and welcome one another as partners." Chen Simeng, CRI News, China, Shanghai
