Love yourself as your neighbor
~Love your neighbor as yourself ( Mark 12:31) We applaud people who run out to save a child from an oncoming school bus, or rescue old ladies from thugs, or run into a burning building to save a dog or cat or a person. They risk their lives for others and we praise them for their altruism. We think of them as heros. But are they? Altruism comes from the word "alter" (other). Al truists are other-centered in their actions. But w hen asked what they were thinking and why they did what they did, the altruist invariably says something like, "I didn't even think; I just did what I had to". They felt compelled to do it. What exactly is so heroic about that? Isn't altruism just as compulsive and blind to potentially self-destructive consequences as self-centered acts like self-mutilation or drug addiction? Of course it is wonderful to help others avert disaster when we can. But w hy is it...