Compassion it is.

I know it's super cheesy and second grade, but what better song is there to illustrate comradeship and compassion?



In my mind, between ‘Survival of the fittest’ and ‘Compassion,’ there is no competition as to which is the clear winner. But then, there are also many definitions and concepts of what winning encompasses. To me, winning does not necessarily mean “pushing [your] way to the front”(Hardy 254). Winning is a battle of the individual. It is a struggle to see how far one can push themselves, how much can be learned. It is a battle of self-improvement, because in the end, I think that is what really matters. Winning is a measure of compassion. Therefore, it is imperative to look at competition and survival in the life scheme.

Don’t get me wrong: I’m not saying winning awards and competitions is a bad thing. But it should not be life-crushing, as it was to Jude when he could not study at the University, if it was “not [your] will that consented to be beaten” (Hardy 254). If you worked diligently, according to good morals and gave your best effort, there is much knowledge that you gained which can be used constructively in your life. Going through the pains of learning, perfecting and competing teaches strength. Isn’t it strength that is necessary to win? One of my – and the whole world’s – idol’s Mahatma Ghandi illustrated this to everybody. Ghandiji acted in complete ahimsa (non-violence). He competed against no one, not even the British occupying his country. Ghandiji boycotted salt and marched barefoot hundreds of miles to get native salt. After he went on a food strike, he had no physical strength at all – he was probably very near death. However, because he lived according to what he believed in, Ghandiji was able to lead a country to independence. He had moral strength and gained the strength of a country. Thus, they could together be productive in a distressing situation. Similarly, I believe Jude could have made lemonade out of his lemons, had he not been so caught up in his goal of being the disadvantaged man who was going to make it to the University. He himself says, “It takes two or three generation to do what I tried to do in one” (Hardy 256). Jude should have realized that his goal was slightly unrealistic, but that he could still live by his values of loving learning. He could have started passing on his torch of knowledge to young Jude (or Father Time?) who would have been advantaged by being brought up in such an environment of learning. Therefore, if only Jude had had enough compassion, he would have eventually won.

There was a sweet little story (yes, there are plenty of loopholes in it) we were always told at my Sunday School to “illustrate a moral story” (Hardy 256) of compassion: There are people gathered around a dinner table upon which is a feast, piled high. However,
because of (insert silly reason..maybe their funny bones were broken?) none of the people could bend their arms, and thus could not eat. Try as they might, there was nothing they could do to make the savory food sudden teleport to their mouths. They dejectedly sat, ravenously eyeing the food, most of them on the verge of tears. This was how they were to eat for the whole next week: it was a question of survival. However, as the dinner party was beginning to explode in hysteria, a young child had a bright idea. They could all feed each other!

This story demonstrates the many advantages to compassion. Even in a question of survival – everybody needs food and is looking out for themselves – the only way to win is by helping another. If you don’t feed anybody, nobody is going to feed you.