On the world

Laurie and I were talking about the Recession, the state of the world, the depravity of humankind, and so on. I must first ask the Calvinists in the crowd to stick with me through this first part. In one sense, we could make the world whatever we wish. We could have a Utopia. We could do whatever we choose.
Which is what we have done. We made it what we chose. We could have made the world whatever we wanted and what we have done is create... this. A mass of evil, depravity, isolation and greed. I fully believe that the hand of God is the only thing staying utter chaos and social Darwinism of the worst kind (remind me to post on Darwinism at some point. I don't subscribe wholesale to the party line Christian perspective on Darwinism except for when it is applied socially, politically or economically.) The state of the world shows the condition of the collective heart of the world.
I have been thinking about political hierarchies, peaceful and Utopian anarchy, Libertarianism, corrupt or at the very least morally reprehensible business practices in the free market, and so on. Also it has run past the back of my eyelids about who is to blame for me losing my job. In some sense, greedy mortgage brokers, irresponsible home buyers, credit lenders, timid consumers, those using deregulation for political purposes rather than... well across the board actually one could say those who did not consider the consequences of their greedy practices. Of course immediately it occurs to me that none of that matters. What has happened is what has happened. One needs to make the best of one's circumstances, even if those circumstances include losing everything after toiling and laboring to do everything right.
I have been thinking about that amazing scene from the end of Chaplin's The Great Dictator where the Jewish barber (played by Chaplin) is mistaken for the Hitler character (also played by Chaplin.) After great suffering at the hands of a tyrant, he gets up and delivers... okay, I know I keep leaving sentences unfinished like I do in real life. Needless to say I have been a bit emotional in the past few days and this is no exception. I know some people think I fall too much on the side of social justice in my Walk and I will concede that it is in my blood and heritage.
This world is harsh and you will suffer. As Albert Schweitzer said, "Seek always to do some good, somewhere. Every man has to seek in his own way to realize his true worth. You must give some time to your fellow man. For remember, you don't live in a world all your own. Your brothers are here too."
and "What really matters is that we should all of us realize that we are guilty of inhumanity. The horror of this realization should shake us out of our lethargy so that we can direct our hopes and our intentions to the coming of an era in which war will have no place."
and "Don't let your hearts grow numb. Stay alert. It is your soul which matters."
And as my brother so graciously texted me yesterday, "The cross, the cross, the cross! It is our all! Never lose sight of it, my friend."
I think what I want to do now is to be a blessing where ever I can and to glorify God in all that I do.