Ecclesiastes 4:1 says, So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter.  Oppression is nothing new in the world.  Solomon began to look beyond his own life to those around him, and he saw many living in oppression without any comforter.  The oppressors had the power, and still do today.  We, as followers of Christ, are called on to help the oppressed, not to look to keep them in oppression.  If we, as His followers, lose our compassion for others, where will they find compassion?  Verse two says, Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead more than the living which are yet alive.  Solomon said those oppressed who had died were better off than those still living.  If we look at life from a purely physical point of view, then death would indeed bring relief from oppression.  If we look at life from a spiritual point of view, then if we are God's people, the same is true.  This does not mean we are to end our lives to end oppression.  We just know that this life with all its problems is but temporary.  Verse three says, Yea, better is he than both they, which hath not yet been, who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.  Solomon said it was better to have never been born than to have to live in this evil world.  There are people today who have the same attitude since they only see life from a material perspective.  It can be applied to their own life with the thought that they would have been better off to have never been born, or to the bringing of another life into this world.  We, as followers of Christ, can never allow this to be our attitude.  We are born with a purpose and life is a gift from God.  As long as there is life, no matter how bad the world may be, there is hope and our purpose is to live to glorify God.