I see most of the world is far from the Musar approach.
[That is the idea that to gain good character is by learning Musar (Ethics of the Middle Ages).]
That is sad because I see a lot of other approaches and systems being tried. Israel Salanter's the original idea was that the main aspects of Torah are good character, Fear of God and Trust in God. Many other systems are being tried --the USA Constitution, communism etc. Personally I see that Reb Israel Salanter was right. That the main thing about Torah is character and the way to gain good character is by learning Musar.
[That is-- some think the fundamental aspects of religion are rituals, and meta-magical thinking, and a shaman or guru. Israel Salanter saw that Torah is something else entirely. It is about being a mensch.]
If possible I would like to suggest this approach on a wide scale. That is I suggest the ideas of Reb Israel are universally applicable. To everyone for all time.
That is the main thing is to have good character and the way to gain that is by learning works of Ethics of the Middle Ages. People with different aspects of character that need correcting might try different books. The main set is well known. That is Obligations of the Heart and others.
