Another month begins with news of yet another suicide bombing in Israel. Every time you open a paper you read about more dead civilians. Israelis kill Arabs. Arabs kill Israelis. We help Israelis kill Arabs. It's childish, really. It's terrorist hokey pokey. The Arabs put their right foot in. The Israelis blow their right foot off. Then a bullet hits someone's spine and they start shaking all about. I wonder if it will ever end? I don't see how.
I don't experience it in my own life, so it's just me watching it or reading about it and shaking my head and wondering, "what's the matter with those people?" What's the matter with human beings? What is the solution? How can we teach love and togetherness and recognition? I bet if I got Charlton Heston to put a snub-nosed .38 in the mouth of the ignorant hate-mongers they'd listen to me talk about love, and respect, and togetherness, but that might kind of defeat the point, no?
How can we teach people that we are all pieces cut from the same fabric of humanity? How can I teach what Confucius, Buddha, Jesus, Mohammad, Mother Theresa, Gandhi, MLK, and Einstein were unable to teach? These people were almost as big as John Lennon, and they couldn't make things right. They tried to show us the way, and we didn't learn. Will it ever happen? I really don't see how. I don't see how we can rid the world of "evil doers." (Let's pray the solution doesn't have anything to do with grammar.) The problem persists. I wonder: How can I rid the world of evil, when I can't even conquer the evil within?
I want to change myself, and the planet I live on for the better. Yet in my daily life I don't feel myself, or the world changing. I'm constantly catching myself feeling superior to others. (And not just politicians who use phrases like "evil doers".) I get angry with people around me. I don't really, genuinely care about what they go through unless it directly affects my life and what I am reaching towards. I pray less and less. I meditate very infrequently. I connect only so often. I become frustrated. I wonder: Why do so many prayers go unanswered?
Why does coverage of the world focus on the negatives? The cover of the USA Today shouts at me about the worst in humans. "Bombing in Israel Kills Seven," "Russian Charged With Olympic Skating Fix," and a small blurb about the Pope in Mexico City. Why isn't the front page screaming about the good in the world? Couldn't they subtly encourage the rest of us to follow suit? Why are there no stories about the saintly among us? The one's who struggle daily to leave their corner of the world a better place than they found it? I flip the page, "Chicago Beating Deaths Investigated," "Manhunt for Serial Killer in Louisiana," "Young Adults Fear Nuclear War," and way down on the bottom, "Dog Rescues Man from Burning Building." The lesson these stories teach us are that humans are evil, that we are self- destructive. That we kill. And, that if you're ever in a fire, it's nice to have a Golden Retriever around. But mostly it's that we're evil.
Fear your neighbor. That is what is pounded into our head by our culture. Fear your neighbor. Over and over that is what we are taught. The Bible says to, "love thy neighbor." I carry a book of quotations with me wherever I go. Five of the quotations I took the time to write down stress the same thing as the golden rule: Love your neighbor. You are your neighbor. But our culture teaches us just the opposite continually. Fear your neighbor. Don't talk to strangers. Lock your car doors. Beware of dogs that aren't pulling you out of burning buildings. Fear your neighbor. Fear your neighbor and his glory-mongering dog.
As that negativity becomes a part of who we are, we slowly separate from one another. We become scared individuals rather than the social creatures we were born to be. We lock ourselves in our little abodes. We watch the world through a box. The box sends us images that encourage us to fear and to separate further. Unless you have Cinemax, in which case you can get some pretty descent soft-core pornography. Otherwise, it's mostly fear.
Your fear benefits the box. The more time you spend sitting in your home, afraid to move, to try to reconnect, the more money it generates for the few who control it. The goal is to keep you there. The thing is, it's an illusion. The vast majority of us should not be feared. (A list of people who should be feared will be provided upon request; it's not as long as you might think.) The more we separate, the more we fear. It is a self-perpetuating cycle. The more you separate from your neighbor, the less you understand him or her, the less you understand, the more you fear, the more you fear, the more you separate. You put your right foot in…they blow your right foot off.
The hate is all around us. This is the road it leads to: I read and watch that my neighbor hates me. The box tells me he is evil. That he thinks differently than I do, so I talk to him less. I care about him, not at all. I grow insecure. I disconnect from the world. I become as inhuman as the box.
The saddest part of this cycle is that we are our neighbors, but an illusion prevents us from seeing this. The illusion feeds the fear. I fear my neighbor. I wonder: If I fear my neighbor long enough, will I begin to fear myself? Somehow, I see others as selfish, ignorant, and totally wrapped up in their own lives. Caring minimally for the needs of those around them. Is that really everyone else? Or, is it really just the reflection of who I am? Sadly and honestly... I think it is.
When I drive to the store, I don't think about you or where you might need to be. You may be late for an important meeting, or trying to get to your daughters school play on time. I don't care. You are just the person in my way. You are just the one making it inconvenient for me to get to the restaurant quicker. You are the stupid redneck in a supped-up Trans Am. You are the stupid, inconsiderate, asshole who only cares about yourself. Now get off my ass so I can get where I'm trying to go. Wow, I think I just caught a glimpse of myself in the rearview mirror... I am you.
Email me your opinion: Tom@TomSimmons.net
I don't experience it in my own life, so it's just me watching it or reading about it and shaking my head and wondering, "what's the matter with those people?" What's the matter with human beings? What is the solution? How can we teach love and togetherness and recognition? I bet if I got Charlton Heston to put a snub-nosed .38 in the mouth of the ignorant hate-mongers they'd listen to me talk about love, and respect, and togetherness, but that might kind of defeat the point, no?
How can we teach people that we are all pieces cut from the same fabric of humanity? How can I teach what Confucius, Buddha, Jesus, Mohammad, Mother Theresa, Gandhi, MLK, and Einstein were unable to teach? These people were almost as big as John Lennon, and they couldn't make things right. They tried to show us the way, and we didn't learn. Will it ever happen? I really don't see how. I don't see how we can rid the world of "evil doers." (Let's pray the solution doesn't have anything to do with grammar.) The problem persists. I wonder: How can I rid the world of evil, when I can't even conquer the evil within?
I want to change myself, and the planet I live on for the better. Yet in my daily life I don't feel myself, or the world changing. I'm constantly catching myself feeling superior to others. (And not just politicians who use phrases like "evil doers".) I get angry with people around me. I don't really, genuinely care about what they go through unless it directly affects my life and what I am reaching towards. I pray less and less. I meditate very infrequently. I connect only so often. I become frustrated. I wonder: Why do so many prayers go unanswered?
Why does coverage of the world focus on the negatives? The cover of the USA Today shouts at me about the worst in humans. "Bombing in Israel Kills Seven," "Russian Charged With Olympic Skating Fix," and a small blurb about the Pope in Mexico City. Why isn't the front page screaming about the good in the world? Couldn't they subtly encourage the rest of us to follow suit? Why are there no stories about the saintly among us? The one's who struggle daily to leave their corner of the world a better place than they found it? I flip the page, "Chicago Beating Deaths Investigated," "Manhunt for Serial Killer in Louisiana," "Young Adults Fear Nuclear War," and way down on the bottom, "Dog Rescues Man from Burning Building." The lesson these stories teach us are that humans are evil, that we are self- destructive. That we kill. And, that if you're ever in a fire, it's nice to have a Golden Retriever around. But mostly it's that we're evil.
Fear your neighbor. That is what is pounded into our head by our culture. Fear your neighbor. Over and over that is what we are taught. The Bible says to, "love thy neighbor." I carry a book of quotations with me wherever I go. Five of the quotations I took the time to write down stress the same thing as the golden rule: Love your neighbor. You are your neighbor. But our culture teaches us just the opposite continually. Fear your neighbor. Don't talk to strangers. Lock your car doors. Beware of dogs that aren't pulling you out of burning buildings. Fear your neighbor. Fear your neighbor and his glory-mongering dog.
As that negativity becomes a part of who we are, we slowly separate from one another. We become scared individuals rather than the social creatures we were born to be. We lock ourselves in our little abodes. We watch the world through a box. The box sends us images that encourage us to fear and to separate further. Unless you have Cinemax, in which case you can get some pretty descent soft-core pornography. Otherwise, it's mostly fear.
Your fear benefits the box. The more time you spend sitting in your home, afraid to move, to try to reconnect, the more money it generates for the few who control it. The goal is to keep you there. The thing is, it's an illusion. The vast majority of us should not be feared. (A list of people who should be feared will be provided upon request; it's not as long as you might think.) The more we separate, the more we fear. It is a self-perpetuating cycle. The more you separate from your neighbor, the less you understand him or her, the less you understand, the more you fear, the more you fear, the more you separate. You put your right foot in…they blow your right foot off.
The hate is all around us. This is the road it leads to: I read and watch that my neighbor hates me. The box tells me he is evil. That he thinks differently than I do, so I talk to him less. I care about him, not at all. I grow insecure. I disconnect from the world. I become as inhuman as the box.
The saddest part of this cycle is that we are our neighbors, but an illusion prevents us from seeing this. The illusion feeds the fear. I fear my neighbor. I wonder: If I fear my neighbor long enough, will I begin to fear myself? Somehow, I see others as selfish, ignorant, and totally wrapped up in their own lives. Caring minimally for the needs of those around them. Is that really everyone else? Or, is it really just the reflection of who I am? Sadly and honestly... I think it is.
When I drive to the store, I don't think about you or where you might need to be. You may be late for an important meeting, or trying to get to your daughters school play on time. I don't care. You are just the person in my way. You are just the one making it inconvenient for me to get to the restaurant quicker. You are the stupid redneck in a supped-up Trans Am. You are the stupid, inconsiderate, asshole who only cares about yourself. Now get off my ass so I can get where I'm trying to go. Wow, I think I just caught a glimpse of myself in the rearview mirror... I am you.
Email me your opinion: Tom@TomSimmons.net
by Tom Simmons and Eric Shouse
No comments:
Post a Comment