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Do you subsribe to the "every man for himself" mantra, believing that each of us is responsible for ourself, or do you think that we should support each other through life? Narcissism is the love of self and, unfortunately, there is evidence that the principle of self interest pervades today.

Where has social conscience gone? Human values seem to be eroding faster than the polar icecaps and equality of opportunity has been placed by gross inequality. Those who "make it" live in another world of better health care, education and luxury which their money allows them to buy, caring little for those who cannot afford to join them. Are the Thatcher years responsible for these double standards? Was Margaret Thatcher right when she said that society does not exist? Is success down to the individual? Is it just downright bad luck if we fail?

Aspirations today lie with celebrity status and the money that it brings. Love of materialism and self-gratifcation has become the new religion and we have become slaves to it. Socrates' teaching of wisdom lies ignored as we all fall into the trap. Like the prisoners in the cave we remain shackled and mesmerized by the shadows on the wall and refuse to move towards the enlightenment of truth. Why do the voices of reason seem to have gone silent and ignored by the masses? Buddha taught that the answer to true satisfaction in life lies not in riches nor in self-deprivation but in the Middle Way, the opposite of all extremes. Jesus taught that the most important commandment to live by was to love our fellow humans beings as we love ourselves yet we are living in a society of inequality, where the chasm between the haves and the have not has never been wider.

How can we shake the world awake to challenge this injustice? Some of the filthy rich assuage their conscience by adopting unwanted children or funding projects in places of need but is it morally acceptable that the world's wealth lies in the pockets of people who can hand it out as and when they see fit? How can we sleep peacefully in our beds when there is so much need in our world?

Love of money for all of us is a mistake. It cannot bring true satisfaction to our human existence and any person who believes that it does is living an illusion. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer but neither group is really happy. The gap between the two groups widens and, in turn, self-esteem and social conscience decline as dishonesty and crime increases. Both groups are motivated by greed, ignorance and envy.
Society does indeed seem to be in decline and there is no doubt that self-interest and narcissism is playing its part in this downfall. Living in the dark night of falsehood where spin rules and smoke and mirrors obscure reality, we have no choice but to soldier on, committed to our own values and living in hope that the human race will one day soon wake up to the truth.

Learn more about this author, Catherine Morris.
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