Charter for Compassion

I know I'm supposed to feel that the World Cup is a wonderful event and that it brings people together from around the world. Actually, it probably does, but I am just not a soccer, or football, fan. Why is it that these incredibly fit athletes can't get that little ball into that great big net more often? I think it must be some sort of conspiracy to keep fans in bars for hours on end, only to console themselves with drink when the game ends in an nil nil draw.

I did see former archbishop Desmond Tutu in the crowd for the opening ceremony in Johannesburg, shakin' his groove thing. What an amazing man. Tutu is currently promoting what is called the Charter for Compassion, which calls on people from various religions around the world to support and live by basic common principles of compassion. http://charterforcompassion.org/

While this sounds like a rather simple call to action, religious people often fail miserably at this. The charter is the brain child of author Karen Armstrong who writes about world religions and believes we do have common ground. One of the reasons Tutu supports the charter is because of continuing tensions between blacks and whites in post-apartheid South Africa, as well as growing conflict with the four million Zimbabwean refugees who have flooded into a country with an unemployment rate of 25 percent.

My reason for writing is to seek your reaction to the charter but feel free to scold me about my churlish, ignorant attitude toward soccer! My own bairns did play, bye the way.