Should I ‘respect’ a person because they have the power to harm me? Or, Should I respect a person because they are able and willing to help me achieve my joy and happiness?
Attempting to harm my enemies did not bring me joy and happiness, did not bring me peace of mind; I made the enmity worse, I got myself into trouble; I was traumatised by the whole experience.
Now I defend myself against enemies, but I don’t try to harm them; I focus on achieving my own joy and happiness.
Living is like playing an instrument and the instrument is me: Soul, mind and body. My soul wields my mind-body to play notes (do activities) which harmonise (are adaptive) with the melodies (opportunities for joy and happiness) I discover within Destiny.
I have been a fool all my life, lacking the wisdom to achieve joy and happiness in my environment. But Destiny by confronting me with dangers and difficulties, hurts, harms and losses, is beating me into shape, impelling me towards wisdom.
In an ideal joy-and-happiness-society would government strive to achieve the joy and happiness of every citizen? Would leaders feel compassion for the joy and happiness of every citizen? Would every citizen feel compassion for the joy and happiness of every other citizen?