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I must begin by telling you that I am so disheartened and dissapointed that I don't know quite how to put it into words. A few days ago someone I know, someone who I consider a good and intelligent person, sent me the following email. Maybe some of you have seen this one going around, but maybe not-- thankfully I've only received it once:
This one is impossible
to believe.
Scroll down for the text.
If there is one thing you forward today......let it be this.
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of PanAm Flight 103!
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993!
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the Marine barracks in Lebanon!
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the military barracks in Saudi
Arabia!
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the American Embassies in Africa!
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the USS COLE!
REMEMBER the MUSLIM attack on the Twin Towers on 9/11/2001!
REMEMBER all the AMERICAN lives that were lost in those vicious
MUSLIM attacks!
Now the United States Postal Service REMEMBERS and HONORS the
EID MUSLIM
holiday season with a commemorative first class holiday postage
stamp.
REMEMBER to adamantly and vocally BOYCOTT this stamp when purchasing
your stamps at the post office. To use this stamp would be a
slap in the
face to all those AMERICANS who died at the hands of those whom
this
stamp honors.
REMEMBER to pass this along to every patriotic AMERICAN you know
GOD BLESS AMERICA
LONG MAY SHE WAVE |
I
was very upset upon receiving this, not simply because it was
going around the internet but because someone I actually knew
was forwarding it. I cannot object to this kind of rhetoric strongly
enough. It is, apart from untrue and prejudicial, extremely devisive
and inflammatory. Its only effect is the propagation of hate
and the suppression of kindness and empathy.
My
friend stated, in her own defense, that the email doesn't say
that ALL muslims are bad, and also she said that she didn't write
it, she only forwarded it. I would counter, on the first point,
that omitting such a caveat as the fact that the vast majority
of Muslims are peacfeul, loving persons is as bad as saying
that they're all bad, because it incites hatred and mistrust.
On the second point, if you forward something you endorse it--
you put your stamp of approval on it and claim it as your own.
That
said, all of the tragedies mentioned in the email were horrible
beyond description, and their perpetrators are sadly and dangerously
misguided. But our goal is to achieve a state of relative peace
and harmony in the world, not simply to exact retribution or
punishment. If we kill all of the terrorists responsible for
these crimes there will be a million more to step up to the plate.
And why? It isn't because Muslims are evil or because Arabs inherently
hate Westerners, it is because there are very complex social
problems and differences between us that are so poorly understood.
There are important issues that need our sober, civilized attention,
not our bombs and our soldiers. You cannot erase this extremist
hatred with death, you can only cure it with knowledge of the
conditions in which it grows. As long as those conditions remain,
this root contempt for the West, and ultimately the United States,
will flourish.
So,
to make a long story short, I responded with the following email.
The person in question was extremely offended, and accused me
of being high and mighty and hypocritical. I'll admit that I
was a bit heated when I wrote it, but my intentions were sincere
and good. I won't go into the minutiae of the debate, but I must
state for the record that I didn't mean to be preachy-- that's
the last thing in the world I want to be. I was speaking of ideals,
of the way we should be, behavior we should aspire
to. I never meant that I was perfect in my own views and behavior,
but simply that the only way to conquer our problems is to recognize
them. The first step to getting along with each other is to realize
that so much of our aggression is just knee-jerk reflex, instinctual
and evolutionary holdovers. If we could only understand this,
it would be the first step to controlling our tempers and approaching
the problems of the world with our hearts and our minds instead
of our fists.
I
wrote:
| Peaceful brotherhood
among humankind will only come when we stop hating each other.
By childishly attributing the acts of a few misguided individuals
onto an entire culture, we make the situation worse, not better.
It is like a fight between two children repeatedly slapping each
other again and again, both of them too ignorant and immature
to see that such tit-for-tat retaliation has no end. The only
solution is to stop, stand back, and try our best to understand
each other. No one does anything out of a desire to be "evil",
all actions by everyone (including ourselves) are performed out
of a desire to protect self, family, culture, etc. The fact that
the disparate parts of the human population put so little effort
into understanding each other's positions and so much energy
into separating, conquering and belittling is the reason that
the state of affairs is as dangerous as it is. In fact, you only
need to imagine the righteous thoughts of a terrorist as he is
killing himself and others to realize how intellectually isolated
we are from each other. Think about it-- suicide makes sense
to him! It isn't because he is evil, but because he has such
desperate issues which we refuse to try to understand. Only empathy
can help us to survive this stupid battle, not retaliation. To
gleefuly forward letters that take such perverse joy in the dissemination
of hatred and prejudice is the worst thing to do. The fact that
it comes so easily, though, and that so many people will eagerly
forward it, feeling strong and proud as they do so, shows exactly
why we are where we are. For all our society's talk of Christian
values, the true values that we practice are the values of the
rabid dog, quick to foam and eager to bite. Hatred is our passion,
bigotry our fuel. Love thy neighbor. Forward that. |
Apart
from all the other bits of hell I caught for this, she said to
me that I was being foolishly idealistic, that we will never
get along with each other. Can you imagine that? To believe that
peace and harmony for humankind is a futile wish, the stuff of
fairy tales? I disagree with that more strongly than just about
anything I've ever heard. That she believes that, though, is
so bleak, so sad... I just didn't know what to say to her.
I
believe that our most important goal, our only goal, is
for the whole of the Human race to put the heart before the sword.
If one truly and sincerely does this, then to swing the sword
would be unthinkable. All pain is our own pain, each death our
own death.
I'd
really like to hear from you all on this, to get your feedback
on this subject. Please follow the link below. Your views will
be greatly appreciated.
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(Material copyright
2003, all rights reserved. No portion of this text
may be used or reproduced without the express written consent
of the author.)
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