Day 3 of Digest Super Week: meet the super-humane professor

I am super humane Gandhi once said, "All humanity is one undivided and indivisible family." Studies of those who risked their lives to rescue Jews during the Holocaust found they shared Gandhi’s deep sense of the "oneness with all humanity." That oneness transcended their sense of oneness with members of one’s nationality, race, or religion.  For reasons my self-examination does not reveal, I have agreed with Gandhi’s sentiment, both intellectually and emotionally, since late childhood. Reared in luxury, I am certainly not a Gandhi, and can only guess whether I would have had the courage of the rescuers. Still, I think my life has shown this "oneness with all humanity." At age 14, my parents sent me to a military school, where I quickly declared myself a conscientious objector. I somehow knew it morally wrong to let your nation decide for you if and when it is right to kill fellow human beings. I was hazed for that unpopular view, but also gained the respect of more thoughtful faculty and students. Although living in the South, I was a firm supporter of desegregation in the 50s and a frequent civil rights marcher and anti-war activist in the 60s. In all of these, my sense of our common humanity anchored my decisions and actions. Today my causes are humanitarian and human rights. I have long supported Amnesty International, and give lots of money to Oxfam, Human Rights Watch and similar organisations. These organisations are the main recipients in my wil...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: Source Type: blogs