"An eye for an eye, makes the whole world blind." --Mohatma Ghandi
Following September 11, 2001 there was much bitterness. A feeling of fear, a feeling that there were many bad and evil people in the world that were jealous of the way Americans live today. Also invoked was a feeling of the need for revenge. Without getting into the politics of the war the U.S. waged on Iraq, a majority of the people supported the notion that we should go to the Middle East and obliterate anything and everything. Myself included.
Thankfully it taught me a lot about politics and war, and it brought to light the fact that whoever commited the acts on Sept. 11, that so desperately changed the way people think, caused such great destruction because they themselves felt the need for revenge. Chances are, they felt that we had taken over the land, and caused it's despoil. That in our capitalistic system we made conditions as such that there was no hope of any country in the Middle East ever catching up to the rest of the world. When you suppress any animal from its natural instincts, it will fight to the bitter end. So instead of going into the Middle East for us to get our revenge, maybe theMuslims felt they were getting their revenge.
Add to that Americans belief that it is the Muslim religion that is our enemy. "The muslims are crazy, and they want to rule the world," you say. So forget freedom of religion, because this particular religion wants to kill us. Have you ever stopped to realize the hypocrisy that exists in the dominant religions in this country? Which is the most popular and richest religion in this country? Maybe there are two such religions. In fact you know so. Before I get off my topic, let's expose a religion that insists on pro-life. Except, it's only pro-life when it comes to new life. If this life that they so nobly saved from abortion enters the world then progresses to breed hatred and terror in the world, religion is not opposed to ending the life. In their eyes this life was sent from God and deserves to be alive. Yet when this life opposes everything that they stand for, it deserves to be executed. When a group of suchlives offend the religion, they deserve to be slaughtered in what is known as war. If God sent this life to live on this earth, why can't they realize that God may have been sending a message to them? Do the Catholics wish for more Jewish children and Muslim children to enter this world? If they do, is it not in hopes that they can convince them that everything their parents have taught them is wrong?
How would you feel if somebody tried to convince you everything that your parents taught you was wrong? Wouldn't you be stripped of all of the knowledge you possess today? Everything that was taught to you by people other than your parents is predicated on what your parents taught you. Even if your parents taught you the wrong thing, would you be able to understand it was wrong if they didn't teach it to you?
What it comes down to is that plenty of Muslims believe they are following the way of God, just as many Catholics, Jews, Hindus, and Buddhists do. If God put us all on earth, why would he turn us against each other? You may feel as if your father turned you against your siblings, but did he not learn this from the teachings of his religion? Or maybe he learned this from the teachings of our public schools. Maybe he was fooled as badly as his father was fooled.
So when you seek revenge, you are actually seeking revenge against your own family. Not the individual members of your family, but the fact that you learned everything you know from people who at some time in the past set forth the same hatred as the people you seek revenge against. It goes back and forth, like the McCoys and the Hatfields...but where does it get us? Doesn't it perpetuate the continuation of violence?
Human beings can conquer any land. From the richest soil to the barren deserts and the coldest tundras, we know how to defeat the fear of nature in those lands. Instead we crowd around a resource, around an oasis of importation and exportation. We fight each other for the right to be there. Blindly we accept the rat race and the need to push our fellow humans down in order to stay there. Would there be wars if we shipped materials to desert lands that had no resources, and built houses upon them? We ship spring water all over our country, why not ship water to the desert? Why not share oilwith each other, while inventing new ways to survive when the oil runs out? Are we so blind to believe that this country will be nothing without oil? What did we do before we got it? After we reduced oil consumption, giving way to the compact cars, we have returned to the gas guzzling SUV's. SUV's as a means of fun, or SUV's as a means of convenience for a large family is OK...But how many SUV's do we see with one man or woman driving into the city to work a job that doesn't help human beings survive? A job that involves pushing papers around and securing profits doesn't feed anybody, it doesn't shelter anybody, and it doesn't build all of the technology that we so enjoy today.
Think twice about where the revenge started before you involve yourself in it. Realize that working together will give us a much better life than stepping on each other, and stabbing each other in the backs ever did. Two men can jump and jump and jump and never reach the treasure that is 13 feet above their head. But if one man lifts the other up with his strength, and the other uses his balance, they can get the treasure and share it.
Life is a treasure to be shared, not fought over. We have achieved nothing in this world without joint effort, but for some reason the ones that put in the effort are amongst the lowest class of individuals. Even if we can strip away the power and respect that the profiteer commands, when all is said and done, he is a man as well. Lost in the system because he knows no other way. Power is respected by some, but not all...imagine the power of having the respect of everybody you know. The feeling would be enough to destroy the once powerful man's need to be admired greatly by a few. You can't please everybody, but mutual respect will allow you to be who you are, without fear of insecurity.
Please Join Me.
1 comment:
I have a friend that has a sister in law that married a millionaire and she asked me to babysit her children plus this one child of her sister in law, My friend was so frustrated and told me to let the child do what ever he wanted and not worry because after all his mom and dad were millionaires. I looked at my friend and i asked her if she thought they were better than her and she said of course they are, they are millionaires. I told her that each day they did exactly all the functions that we do to get ready for the day. I told her I would treat all the children the same and that is that. Well, the woman came in and introduced the young man to me and I said hello and told him to go out in the back and play with the other children and that I would be out in a minute. The mom was stuck up and thought she was something, but I remembered her from when she was a little girl and then she realized that I did know her and she knew me. But she never said one more word to me because I was benenth her class now. I laughed and My friend was so scared. they left and i went out and watch these children play and no one had any problems. He was a child playing with other children and having a great time. When they came back the mom never thanked me and took her boy and left.I told my friend that this woman was a fraud and that I knew her when she was in school and working as a waitress and she was so friendly then. Money had changed her. Oh! by the way! the husband was great, friendly and socialable. Just the woman who thought she was something. Funny how money changed a sweet young girl into a snob.
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