Dear Editor,

I believe that to meet the challenges of our times, human beings will have to develop a greater sense of universal responsibility. Each of us must learn to work not just for one self, one’s own family or one’s nation, but for the benefit of all humankind. Universal responsibility is the key to human survival, it is the foundation for world peace.

The Dalai Lama’s statement​ sounds like the social gospel of Jesus Christ, who advocated taking good care of the poorest, sickest, and even the criminals among us (Matthew 25). He does not at all sound like the values of a political party that does not want health care for all Americans or higher taxes on those who can most afford to pay to help the unfortunate.

James Obertino
Associate Professor of English