Born in 1856, Shaw was an Irish playwright, essayist, novelist and short story writer. Nearly all his works & writings address prevailing social problems, doing so most often with a vein of comedy which made their stark themes a bit easier to contemplate. Among the issues upon which Shaw focused were education, animal rights, religion, government, health care, and class privilege.

Of all the campaigns available to him, he was most intensely disturbed & even angered by the exploitation of the masses, and he became an accomplished verbal defender in the furtherance of such causes, orating regularly for equal rights for men and women, equal rights for animals (what folks called “vegetarianism” in his day), the alleviation of abuses of the working class, the rescinding of private ownership of lands that should be public, and the promotion of healthier lifestyles.

“This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community, and as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live. Life is no brief candle to me; it is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.” ~ George Bernard Shaw

 

Filed under: In LOVE with Humanity by Scaughdt