Protection Racket?

What is the nature of protection? How do I know who or what needs protecting? Who / what am I personally responsible for protecting? I think we as individuals are defined by who / what we are prepared to put ourselves out to protect.

At the simplest level I protect those who are nearest & dearest to me - my small family. I try to protect them from feeling responsible for me now that I am on my own. I would do a lot to protect them from harm & shield them from unhappiness if I could.

At an intermediate level I aim not to harm people I come into contact with by my words or actions. I try to treat other people as I would wish to be treated. I try to be truthful in my dealings with people, but recognise that absolute truth isn't always helpful or caring.

At the macro level I am responsible for any detremental habits and actions that endanger or spoil the environment & the world I live in. In order to really fulfill that responsibility I need to be fully aware and educated about the impact my life has on fragile ecosystems and do something positive to avoid contaminating and damaging the environment & actively protect it

If I care about freedom I need to protect the political systems which have the rights of individuals, fairness & some form of democracy at their heart. That means more than just exercising my hard fought for right to vote. Which brings me to the current protests around the world about the capitalist system. I admire people who are so passionate about an issue they will endure hardship & negativity in order to put that issue at the forefront of peoples minds. I don't protest - I'm not sure why, but I am really glad that there are people who do.

It is so easy to talk over the coffee cups or dinner plate about the complex issues that our world faces. I think we are actually at a tipping point where our world & it's systems have become so complex that very few understand them. Do we actually even have a real democracy? How powerful are the politicians, the lobbyists, the multinational corporations & the dictators of the world?

How powerful is the voice of the people? Hopefully more powerful than we might think.