Seeds of Wisdom: "As a general rule, if you want to get at the truth, hear both sides and believe neither. " -- Josh Billings
Over the last few weeks, a number of Blog folks have blogged about the situation in the Middle-East - in particular the escalating violence between the Israelis and the Palestinians. This is a situation that concerns me greatly - because it affects the world as a whole and also because of the terrible impact on the lives of the people living there.
So you know where I'm "coming from," I should explain that I am neither Jewish nor Palestinian. As I've mentioned before, I'm white, of Anglo-Saxon descent and an "ala carte" Catholic and have no emotional ties to either side of this conflict.
Meryl Yourish and Mike Golby had been cross-blogging rather heatedly on the subject, and I considered putting my two cents in, but I wasn't able to get all my thoughts down in any coherent manner. I also hesitated about jumping into the middle of a discussion where emotions were running strong. I've learned through experience that it's often a dangerous place to be - especially if you find yourself in the middle.
In responding to Meryl's thought-provoking essay on Daniel Pearl, Mike referred to bigots, racists and Anti-Semites as "idiots."
The word kind of jumped out at me. I thought Mike could have chosen a stronger word and more appropriate word to describe such people other than "idiots." Yes, they are ignorant, but in the US the word "idiot," has come to describe those who drive poorly, or those who spill something on you, or those who get your order wrong at a fast food restaurant. It seems too weak when placed next to the true ignorance, fear and hate that infuse any kind of bigotry.
As I further read through what Mike wrote on the subject, I remembered that Mike lives in South Africa - a world away from North Jersey where I live. Could the word have a different connotation there, I asked myself, then I tried to discount it so I could get at the core of what he was saying here.
Mike seems to take issue with Meryl's assertion that Anti-Semitism is different from other forms of bigotry and hatred. I'm not quite sure why, but I lean towards Meryl's opinion on this issue. Perhaps it's because it's roots go back so far in history and throughout that history, it seems that the Jewish people were constantly beset by the people of other nations - the Egyptians, the Babylonians, the Romans and into modern times, by the Russians, the Germans and now the Arabs. It just seems to me as I look back through history - and remembering that history is more often written by the victors - that the Jewish people have been persecuted more often and by more different groups than any others. I'm not quite sure I understand why, but it does seem to be the case.
My biggest objection to Mike's assertions is my disagreement with this statement:
"Those who hate are victims of self-abuse. I'd ask Meryl to follow the path she and her Polish friend took in their childhood, that most sensible time of our lives. Wait until they stop behaving like idiots, because, most of the time, and if South Africa is anything to go by, they eventually do."
Can the Jewish people afford to wait? Can the world afford to wait for this nebulous eventuality? I don't think so. I don't think we can take an ostrich approach to hatred, racism and bigotry of any kind. We can't merely stick our heads in the sand and hope it will pass. Nor can we just keep chopping at the parts we can see.
Deep hatred is like a Hydra or weed. You cut one head off a Hydra, it grows another. Cut the top off a weed it will sprout again from the root. We have to get to the roots of hatred. Learn where it comes from and why it is so persistent. Until we do, we can't hope to combat it let alone defeat it.
All too often we tend to simplify it. We don't want to look at the causes, because quite frequently examining the causes too closely forces us to look at ourselves and to question ourselves. In the interests of doing just that, I followed a link to Daniel Ord's Stereopticon piece.
Both Jonathon Delacour and Mike Golby found the piece disturbing because it "leaves little room to carve a middle path." I agree with that, but what also disturbs me is that the people in the photograph that Daniel Ord deconstructed seem so little disturbed by the deaths of thousands of fellow humans. They seem pleased with the destruction of the symbols of Western ways, but not at all concerned by the horrendous insult to humanity.
Those who hate or are consumed by racism and bigotry always forget - or refuse to remember - that the objects of their enmity are fellow human beings. They are not faceless objects - yet those who hate see them as such.
They don't see mothers and fathers. Sisters and brothers. Sons and daughters. They don't think the others feel pain. They forget that the others bleed when they are injured just as they themselves do. They fail to consider that the blood is always red, as it is when they themselves bleed.
How do we get around this? How do we open their eyes and our eyes to that fact? And how do we resolve differences when two groups lay claim to the same piece of land. Where do we draw the line when the rights of two people or two groups intersect? Who takes precedence?
I wish I knew the answers, but all I seem to have is heavy questions. Perhaps if we all put our heads to considering these questions without pointing fingers and assessing blame we could come up with the answers. Perhaps if we examine all we have in common instead of the differences, we could lay aside those differences that separate us into groups at odds with each other and find a way to bring about peace and harmony..
It's taken me awhile to get all this down - which is why you haven't heard from me in awhile. Also, I've been bloghopping - bopping around leaving comments on various blogs and following links to other blogs. Hopefully, I'll get back onto some sort of regular schedule in the coming weeks.
Posted by Cyberkat at March 24, 2002 1:32 PM | TrackBack