Altruism is irresistible

We need to discover if altruism can work for us, at first privately and then collectively. As individuals, we need to take the initiative without waiting around for others to go first. It’s up to us to bite the same bullet we accuse others of not biting. It’s up to us to find out if our initiatives are safe, then go ahead and enjoy them as we explore them. We have to be happy in taking on more than our fair share of responsibility. It’s not a matter of who does more or who is more culpable or, even, more capable. It’s simply a matter of going through the motion of repairing what we’ve all done, as best we can. Altruism shines brightly here because it is the one thing that can transform the violence of the past and give us a different type of motivation to take us into the future and help us gear up for a different type of world. By knowing it will happen and then acting as if it is a certainty, we can promote altruism as something to be taken seriously. However, if we are to mend the damage, we need an army of advocates.
For each advocate there must be an energy source and a motivational force in their lives, so that they can stand up to anything thrown at them. Each of us must agitate for the greater good and, at the same time, transform the way we function as individuals. As we think, so we act, and if we are altruistically motivated, we have the capacity to cause a certain type of chain reaction, inspiring people into being creative and optimistic. Altruism should be seen as irresistible because it is a force for transformation. Of course, the danger is that we get so carried away by the idea, we forget the principle at its heart - thinking of others before, not after, we think of ourselves.
If the idea is to work and be impressive enough to swing over other people, it must first ring true to us, ourselves. We must be comfortable enough with altruism to let it dissolve our value judgements of other people, to let us never get involved with violence, or to get pushy or to become righteous. If we act altruistically, the great reward is found in seeing others also acting altruistically.