samsaric equillibrium

It is not that I've lost hope, per se. Good things are always possible. We never know what twists and turns the future holds. The entire planet could be wiped out by a massive gamma ray burst tomorrow. I try not to get my hopes up, though.

Life is suffering. That's the first thing in Buddhism's very first list of things. They focus heavily on the suffering of sickness, aging, death and decay. The suffering of wanting it to be otherwise. It occurred to me that what's almost conspicuously absent is the suffering of abuse; those with power brutalizing those without, from people, to chimps, to bacteria. All of existence is rife with greed, selfishness, and malice.

A major aspect of suffering, often the most upsetting of all, being that which we inflict on each other. I can think of a variety of reasons for Buddhism to shift focus in this way. Abuse is mainly covered from the opposite angle, discouraged by promoting compassion. Positive reinforcement. Basic psychology. Avoid the situation wherein people denounce you for suggesting we do any less than demand those with power stop abusing it, while those in power murder you for accusing them of things. We can accept the inevitability of aging, sickness and death, but what of the inevitability of organisms being shit to each other?

I'm just wondering what's actually true. Oppression and brutality, all sorts of ugliness may be a huge part of the equation. We can move the fractions around, but this is just the way it is. What if every step forward we've ever made has also been a step back? We ended slavery in the US, who would dare dispute the progress in that? Even as US imperialism creates more slavery around the world, while impoverishing, lynching, and imprisoning our citizens instead. Maybe this is just the macabre shuffle dance of samsara. 

There are layers upon layers of structural reasons things never change, except to always end up the same. The widespread altruism required to shift the balance isn't possible. Evolutionary pressures for kindness and compassion are such that it's the exception, at best. There are no beings to liberate. Just this grand equation.

I'm not even sure I consider myself a leftist anymore. It implies a belief that things can get better. I'm starting to think that fundamentally, and in brutally tangible ways, no.. they can't. It's just not how it works. The best we can do is try to take care of ourselves, those in our lives, and contribute to the suffering as little possible.