Why am I here? What should I do? Where should I go? With whom? What will happen when I am gone? Why is there so much pain? What is the meaning of life?

We are fortunate to have become sentient life forms. Evolution allowed us to reach this point. However, the capacity to comprehend does not lend any more purpose to our existence than has an ant, a fish or a bird. Our purpose in life is, quite simply, procreation. Make more humans and we have accomplished our reason for being here.

Yet, we have the capacity to do more, to be more, and to act in ways that benefit others. We can appreciate our existence, manipulate our environment and improve the lives of others. We can be moral, compassionate and ethical. Some may describe this as egocentric nihilism. So, be it. It can be in our nature to enhance the condition of humanity and improve the quality of our environment.

Some of the most beautiful and gifted people perish at a young age. Some of the most terrible monsters enjoy long comfortable lives. There is no rhyme or reason to the symphony of life. It is tragic, electrifying, magnificent, and terrifying - all at the same time. Are we confined to the role of observant passenger throughout the passage of time? Can we act in ways that impact society, benefiting future generations? Can we impart this value to our progeny? Whether or not this is our destiny, the prospect exists and its meaning calls through the silence of time to all of us.

We do not exist to do something or to be someone. Although we have innate gifts, randomness plays a critical role. We are born into to wealth or poverty. Our parents love us or beat us. The randomness of our birth condemns us to poverty or places us in circumstances of great wealth; we receive superior guidance from a loving family, or we are thrown into the cold, dark world as orphans. Yet there are those who overcome such travesties of unfortunate circumstance. Some of the most depressed people are wealthy beyond avarice, as are many of the physically beautiful. Conversely, some of the most unattractive, deprived people are also the happiest. We strive to consume, to own and to possess. We learn, work and achieve. But, are we fulfilled?

Our destiny is created through decisions. It is the only true freedom that any of us have. The consequences of our decisions create or deny opportunities. We can overcome severe impediments by virtue of our ability to reason and act wisely. This is not our purpose. Rather, it is a gift. How we use this gift determines our legacy.

A metaphysical explanation for death, heaven, God, alternate dimensions or a parallel universe is not required for us to feel satisfied. Happiness has little to do with ideations of conscience or delusions of morality. The Torah teaches us that whoever saves a person saves the whole world in turn. If there is any meaning in life it is that we have the capacity to help others. We can touch lives and make them better. The context of this morality is compassion. Compassion ennobles humanity and enhances its significance. The human soul does not thrive on value (Nietzsche). It thrives on love and compassion. We have the capacity to grow beyond our self-centered ego. What we do with our lives echoes throughout eternity in those who remember us. The doorway to this reward is ethical behavior. Yes, it is subjective. But reason and logic alone leave us wanting.

The currency of life is empathy. The more we give, the more we receive. Anyone can be wealthy in this regard. Environmental conditions and strength of purpose allow someone with a short, miserable life in painful squalor to become happy and fulfilled. Accomplishment comes from the knowledge that one’s presence in life improved the world in some way. A search for further meaning is superfluous.

Time is the fire in which we slowly burn. Its flames prick our skin always. Time surrounds us in silent, smoldering malevolence, ever gaining upon our retreat. There is no escape. Death is liberation, not exoneration. The fact that we have only one shot at life makes each moment, each interaction, critical. There are no second chances.

Why do we fear death? Death is simply the normal end to life. It is a release for many and a desire for those who suffer. We mourn lost loved ones. The gaping emptiness is unbearable. Yet, through the sadness and mourning, despite the certainty that they are gone forever, we can rejoice in the way that they touched our life. We can remember their love and pass it along to others.

Humanity grasps an optimistic picture of existence after death. Captivated by a fabricated ideation of heaven, we blunder through life assuming that our ends will more than justify the means. We blindly assume that a “good” deity would always take us into his bosom, allowing us to partake of heavenly bliss. In reality, we are responsible for everything that we do or say. Our actions have consequences. We can help or hurt, assist or ignore, tolerate or hate. And, while it may appear that death is a brick wall upon whose edifice all of our lives must crash, our actions in life echo through eternity. Our behaviors resonate through time, reflecting and refracting across everyone that we encounter and those whom they meet. The resulting clarity becomes the character of our legacy. Good or bad, right or wrong, the remote memory of our existence will be defined by our past and current actions and attitudes.

The noblest effort in our meager existence is to impart value to our progeny’s existence. We can teach our children to respect and honor humanity in all forms; and, to value the differences among us, not fear them. If we are successful, then our lives will be fulfilled. And, when we are gone, our children will rejoice in the way that we touched their lives. This is the meaning of our existence - to touch others in a positive way and to be remembered as a person who values life and improves the world.

Charles S. Weinblatt

Author, Jacob's Courage

As a Holocaust author and researcher, I appreciate a thorough examination of morality. Darkness, hatred and fear are common characteristics of human nature. Holocaust victims were faced with perfidious forces, deceit, brutality, cruelty, starvation, sickness and the death of loved-ones. Terror was the daily companion of concentration camp prisoners. What culture could allow this to happen to innocent men, women and children? How did so many people go along with this horrific plan to isolate and exterminate the Jews of Europe? How could millions more turn their backs to the immorality of using camps to exterminate an entire religious group? Some people were unaware of the nightmare on the other side of the fence. But, most Europeans (especially in Poland and Germany) could smell death regularly. The scent of burning flesh wafted over Eastern Europe for years, during the early–to-mid 1940’s. These people allowed Nazi Germany to exterminate the Jewish population – men, women and children. They lifted no finger to stand in the way. Many individuals saved Jews (especially Jewish children) at great risk to themselves. But they were the exception, not the rule. We learn nothing about ourselves if we do not examine this dark part of our psyche.

It is safe to say that large portions of the European population in the early 20th century disliked Jews. Pogroms were ubiquitous and largely ignored by society, the police and armed forces. In fact, in some pogroms the armed forces cooperated (Einsatzgruppen, Cossacks, etc.). Jews were significantly mistrusted, disliked and ostracized. They were the butt of jokes and the subject of innuendo. Yet, Jews represented no threat of any reasonable nature or definition to Europeans. At that time, Jews amounted to about 2% of the population in Europe; they possessed a very small percentage of the money, influenced no governments and had no armed forces or militia. They could not have been a threat to any potion of gentile Europe if they had wanted to. So, why did so many Europeans hate Jews? How could so many people find it easy to loathe millions whom they knew nothing about and that they had never met? Were they automatons, eagerly lapping up propaganda drivel proffered by Nazis? Or, were they intelligent humans, with the capacity to comprehend nuances of their society’s actions and still reach the conclusion that Jews were bad people who deserved to be rounded up, incarcerated and annihilated? Yes, these people acted in evil ways. But, what precipitated the hate? Was it a genetic predisposition or evil acquired later in life?

We are complex beings. I believe that there is a great deal more to us than the ubiquitous battleground of good versus evil. Most of us are not one or the other, but both. We are beautiful and ugly, soothing and terrifying, brutal and caring; we love and we despise. Unlike animals, humans are governed by principles and moral beliefs. We are not motivated by delusions of morality, as much as governed by them. So what brings a person to despise a stranger? Why do some people hate and fear those who are different in color, religion or ethnic origin? Why do so many people find it easier to hate than to tolerate?

My instinct tells me that some people acquire racism because they were taught at a young age to hate, by parents, siblings, relatives, friends or any other portion of their social network. At some point in their juvenile existence, they learned to despise minorities from people close to them. And, many of these racists continue to hate without questioning the veracity of their loathing. Being recognized as a bigot makes some individuals popular with desired social groups. Research reveals that a high percentage of racists are poorly educated. Yet, not all racists are ignorant or mentally slow. Some people with a postgraduate education delude themselves with manifestations of detestation towards minority groups. The dark side is filled with ignorance and deception. And, while many people are taught to be bigoted as children, some acquire it later in life, despite having a liberal, tolerant social network in their youth.

Could we be little different from the final vestiges of our primordial ancestors? Like many animals, humans originally had to fight and control others in order to maintain territorial superiority. Perhaps the need to be superior is an innate mental mechanism, acquired biologically. This Darwinian factor could be a reason for bigotry, although it may be difficult to prove. Evolution teaches us that we are governed by the principle of survival of the fittest. Is human behavior dominated by an inborn fear of others? Is social responsibility, tolerance and compassion simply an aberrant acquired social behavior, employed most often by liberals and religionists? Are the better angels of our conscience nothing more than bizarre adaptations to our dark and “natural” survival instinct?

I believe that people find it easy to hate because tolerance requires effort. Haters live with haters, in a community of malevolence. The more they hate, the more they are approved by their social group. Toleration would require analyzing each individual, based upon his or her merits, rather than despising every member of a race, color or religion. But, it is easier to hate. We despise those different from ourselves. And, we teach our descendants to do the same. This creates an endless, vicious cycle, guaranteed to generate bigoted progeny. Ironically, we hate in order to be valued by our peers.

But, we outsiders, who value tolerance, can break the bonds of bigotry one person at a time, with education, conversation and engagement across all media. We can use the Internet’s social networking and web sites to our advantage. We can fight the innate fear and bigotry of others by generating compassion for the individual, regardless of milieu. We can promote the significance of each person as a unique entity, with unlimited potential, rather than a member of a religious or social class, with preconceived expectations. We can promote tolerance of each individual’s soul. Only when we make an effort to understand and value the differences among us will racism and bigotry end. Only when we accept the value of each person, regardless of background, will our culture be meaningful and rewarding.

Fear may be at the heart of racism and bigotry. We fear that which we do not understand. We fear anyone who might be perceived as better than we are. We therefore use the tools of bigotry to become superior to others. Our fear drives us to prove that we are better than the “others” are. It feels good to be superior. Yet, in order for one person to feel superior, another must be subjugated. In order to feel better, we must dominate someone. The easiest way to dominate is to hate those who are not a threat. We use an innocent and defenseless group as our target for scapegoat. And, it feels good to make them live in fear. We rationalize the minimization of our fear by inflicting greater fear on the victim. If they are inferior, we must be better. We climb upon their social cadaver in order to feel superior.

Racism, hatred, intolerance and bigotry are the artifacts of fear. Eliminate fear and there will no longer be a need for the tools of bigotry. This is our challenge. We must convince the haters that they have no reason to fear minorities. This is the greatest and most noble challenge of our generation. The reward for success is tolerance, respect and mutual recognition. We can share our planet together as equals. This will be our legacy.

But, if we fail, our children will inherit a world dominated by the dark angels of our nature. If we fail, our progeny will be doomed to a life surrounded by fear, suspicion, hatred and death. We cannot end our generation sharing the same values as our early 20^th century European ancestors had. We can and must be better than that. We must evolve into a tolerant society. Our children’s future depends upon it.

Each Passover, Jews retell the story of the exodus from Egypt. This is a story of a people who emerged from slavery to freedom and from oppression to liberty. The Passover story gives us pause to reflect upon a spiritual adventure that began with Moses and ended in the promised land of Israel. It fabricates the basis of contemporary Judaism and Christianity. The Passover story describes the Jews’ seemingly insurmountable victory over a vastly superior enemy, a tale of wandering in the wilderness and of redemption with God’s Ten Commandments. Those Ten Commandments lie at the heart of contemporary Judeo-Christian beliefs. They are the groundwork of our morality and the foundation of desired ethical behavior. And, when the Jews wandered for forty years in the wilderness – when they became idolaters and lost their moral compass, it was the Ten Commandments that brought them back, figuratively and literally.

Like the victory of the Hebrew Maccabi, the exodus from Egypt seemed impossible. Yet, somehow the Jews survived. In every generation, the enemies of the Hebrew nation have attempted to annihilate them. Time after time, the Jews have been defeated, evicted and enslaved. Yet, each time, they manage to survive as a people. Each time, they return to Israel from the Diaspora. The rallying cry at each Passover Seder is, “Next Year in Jerusalem.” Every Jew is bound to retell the Passover story each year as though it was happening to them. And the physical focus for this goal is always the land of Israel. Despite the fact that Jews are less than 2% of the global religious community, they somehow manage to survive and maintain their hold upon this tiny fragment of land. Today, surrounded by enemies, the Hebrew nation is in the same predicament. How do they survive? How does their spirit continue through pogroms and genocide? And, what is the true meaning of Passover?

Persecution is intensely malevolent and pervasive. Humans are particularly wicked with each other. Three thousand years ago, Moses pleaded with Pharaoh to free his people from persecution and slavery. The ten plagues that followed forced him to release the Jews. Yet even after the worst plague of all, the destruction of the firstborn of Egypt, Pharaoh pursued the Jews into the Red Sea, where his soldiers were swept away. Evil can be just as powerful a motivator as love is. During the Spanish Inquisition, anyone suspected of being a Jew was imprisoned, tortured and put to death. Nazi Germany systematically annihilated millions of Jews. What purpose is served by inflicting pain and suffering upon innocent people? What promotes such evil hatred? Why is animosity aimed at the Jewish people? And, how do the Jews manage to survive repeated attempts to destroy them?

Like Easter, Passover occurs each year in the springtime. The concept of renaissance is ubiquitous. From sacrificial lambs to the presence of an egg on the Seder plate, the symbolism of devotion and rebirth is palpable. While the overriding message of Passover is freedom, gratitude and spiritual devotion, the concept of renewal allows each of us to observe the holiday by perform acts of kindness. From generation to generation, Jews retell the Passover story and revel in the miracles that led to their redemption as a people. The Passover Seder requires that each Jew place himself or herself in the position of being a slave in Egypt. Every Jew must experience the plagues and walk through the wilderness. The Seder brims with imagery and metaphors. But what does this mean for us today? Can we identify with our three thousand year old ancestors?

Good and evil exist in the world. We don’t need to look very far to see it or feel it. The exodus of the Jews from Egypt is an example for us to follow forever. Yet, humanity continues to enslave, maltreat and murder the innocent. One might have guessed that the Holocaust would put such immorality to an end. Surely humankind should be repelled by the vast horror and the murder of millions of innocent people. Yet, holocausts continue unabated. Since the Nazi Holocaust, we have experienced holocausts in Cambodia, Bosnia, Rwanda and Darfur. Anti-Semitism is again growing throughout the world. Why don’t we learn? When will it end? Why do the Jewish people play a significant historical role as victims in genocides? And, what can be done to stop it? What can any of us do to reduce religious persecution?

Prejudice, bigotry and racism create an environment in which persecution thrives. This Easter and Passover, each of us can vow to promote goodwill and acceptance. The foundation of freedom lies in our value for liberty and unity in the face of hatred and intolerance. Instead of waiting for a miracle, let us create our own. Let each of us retell the story of the Passover as though we were personally a part of it. Moreover, as we retell the Passover story and celebrate Easter, we can place ourselves in the minds of current victims of genocide, slavery and intolerance. We have the power to defy fanaticism. We have the courage to fight for freedom. This is the meaning of Passover. We can make our own miracles by fighting to free the oppressed.

Humans are not God. But we have the power of choice. We can use it to enslave or to liberate. We can persecute or accept others. This Easter and Passover, let us vow to use our power of choice to fight for mercy, justice and liberty. If the meaning of Passover is spiritual redemption and rebirth, then let us be reborn to stop prejudice. Let us promote tolerance and encourage everyone to value the differences among us. In this way, the spirit of Passover will live on through our progeny. As we enjoy Passover and Easter this spring with our families, let us pause for a moment to ask what each of us can do to eradicate the evil that surrounds us. The rebirth of this spirit is the true meaning of Passover.

Charles S. Weinblatt

Author, “Jacob's Courage: A Holocaust Love Story”

http://jacobscourage.wordpress.com/