The following are my personal values encompassing expressions of Love, not what Love is.  There are several different definitions of Love but the one I am focusing upon is an acknowledgment of all the Love and good I have experienced in life and my desire to enable Love to my fellow man throughout the world.  My Home page states four primary values of Love by which I try to live: “In doing no harm; in the right of all to pursue Happiness; in Compassion for those less fortunate; in Fairness and equal Rights and Opportunities for all; and that we are woefully deficient in Love and overly prolific in war….”  Love has little value unless expressed in actions.

For me Love is all about caring and being engaged and invested in making this a better world for all.  Much of my concept of Love comes from my Christian upbringing.  Though I am no longer a Christian I believe that the biblical Christ truly meant that love was his primary Law and that it should be expressed with compassion and without reservation.  It is all about caring, inclusion, and camaraderie.  I feel that many Christians mistakenly practice a religion of exclusion and vengeance, the antipathies of Love.

Love is about “doing no harm“ .  This is so important to me because often people do harm to others as a means to an end, for example going to war to achieve peace.  I cannot say that there are no circumstances that I will do no harm such as if being attacked and defending myself but that is a reaction to protect myself.  It has been my observation that doing harm begets an endless spiral of enmity and doing harm (Iraq?).  I would not deliberately do harm when planing a course of action unless convinced it is in defense of my life.  I Love my life and security so much that I feel Love should be extended to others so they may experience their own Love.

I believe in “the right of all to pursue happiness“.  This come directly from the Declaration of Independence.  This is the essence of responsible freedom and the enabler of Love.  I feel that what I am is largely a result of my right to pursuit and feel Love for both myself and others.  I have been fortunate to have lived in a society which has allowed me the ability to achieve and appreciate happiness in Love.  I wish to share with everyone my joy and happiness of living, peace, freedom, and Love.

Love is having “compassion for those less fortunate“.  This is also a Christian concept that is all too infrequently practiced.  Often compassion selectively expressed for those whom you like, not for people very different from you racially, economically or socially and especially not for your enemies.  I believe that Christ taught otherwise based upon his numerous examples of compassion for the poor, lepers (rejected by society), and even pagans (The Good Samaritan).  He especially taught to Love your enemies.  To him there were no enemies, only people in need of his grace.  That is the true test of Christ’s love.  I’m sounding too much like a Christian.  Compassion is empathy toward All less fortunate in some way or another than yourself and extending a helping hand to help them out of their predicament.

Love must encompass “fairness and equal rights and opportunities for all“.  The Bill of Rights is all about this though current lawmakers and justices have managed to distort and twist its original intend.  I believe that in order to pursue happiness all must have a fair chance in life.  I believe that sometimes the greatly disadvantaged should be extend an additional helping hand or advantage to equalize them with others.  For example I believe in a quota that so many Blacks could enter a university not strictly based upon academic grades or test scores which might exclude my Asian children from going to that college.  We must all treat our fellow human beings with equal respect and give them a chance at an equal footing.

Last of all “we are woefully deficient in Love and overly prolific in war.” War is the antithesis of Love.  It is the epitome of man’s evil portrait upon others.  Why a nations claiming to be a peace loving country has engaged in more wars than any other nation in the last 50 years mystifies me.  It must be a reflection of the American character.  I don’t rally understand this phenomenon.  But whatever the reason it is Wrong.