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"Poverty is the worst form of violence." -- Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
The increasing violence in the Middle East is evidence that human beings do not "control" violence, but rather that violence is a force that often spins humanity out of control. In these times, I believe that it is especially important that we look to the examples set by some of the enlightened human beings who have attempted to remind us of our humanity in times of violent crisis.
The violence against the children in the Middle East is a terrible thing. It should make no difference to us, as human beings, if those children come from families that live in Israel or an Arab state. It should not matter if their parents are Jewish or Isllamic. The violence that is destroying their lives should be unacceptable.
My goal in this thread is not to debate which side is more "right" or "wrong" in the conflict in the Middle East .... or on DU. A number of the posts from each side have reminded me of Gandhi's saying that "intolerance betrays a want of faith in one's cause." Or, as Albert Camus warned, "To justify himself, each relies on the other's crime."
Rather, I think it is more important to concentrate on a concept that Camus expressed in a quote that moved Senator Robert F. Kennedy: "We are faced with evil. I feel rather like Augustine did before becoming a Christian when he said, 'I tried to find the source of evil and I got nowhere. But it is true that I and a few others knew what must be done if not to reduce evil at least not to add to it.' Perhaps we cannot prevent this world from being a world in which children are tortured. But we can reduce the number of tortured children. And if you believers don't help us, who in the world can help us do this?"
In the wonderful movie "Gandhi" -- which I suggest that DUers watch this weekend -- there is a moving scene which addresses the struggle between hatred and Gandhi-consciousness. It is late in the movie, when the violence between Hindu and Muslim families leads to children suffering. A father comes to the Mahatma, burdened by the hatred that resulted from a Muslim killing his child. Gandhi tells the man to find an orphaned Muslim child the same age as his son had been, and to adopt him. And Gandhi instructs the man to raise the child as a Hindu.
The hatred between the Hindu and Muslim families in Gandhi's day is the exact same disease as the hatred between Jew and Muslim in the Middle East today. Gandhi, of course, was killed by a man who suffered from the moral rabies that caused him to hate Gandhi for his love of Muslims. It is the same disease that took Martin Luther King, Jr.'s life in this country. I have been taught that hatred and bitterness contaminate the vessels which contain it. It contaminates groups as well as individuals.
There has been discussion on Martin's views on Israel on several threads in the past 48 hours. It is, in my opinion, important that we never attempt to use Martin or the Mahatma to justify violence. It is equally important to recognize that Martin did not take a narrow, one-sided view of the conflict in the Middle East. Two quotes from Taylor Branch's 3rd book in his series on America in the King years (At Canaan's Edge) strike me as important:
{1} "On the Middle East, King thought a complex peace required security for Israel and development for the Arab Nations. 'The whole world and all people of good will must respect the territorial integrity of Israel,' he said, listing the vital ports and trade routes. He proposed also a 'Marshall Plan' to relieve desperate poverty among the mass of Arab citizens and refugees. 'So long as they find themselves on the outskirts of hope,' he said, 'they are going to make intemperate remarks. They are going to keep the war psychosis alive'." (page 624)
{2} "To answer a volley of protest from Jewish political leaders, and at least thirty letters from rabbis, King busily disclaimed the NCNP's unbalanced resolution against Israel. 'Israel's right to exist as a state in security is incontestable,' King wrote to Morris Abram, president of the American Jewish Committee. 'At the same time the great powers have the obligation to recognize that the Arab world is in a state of imposed poverty and backwardness that must threaten peace and harmony'." (page 639)
Those quotes are from the time of the Six Day War in the Middle East. The hatred and violence there would create a significant split in the Civil Rights movement in the US that we should be aware of. Branch's book documents how some Jewish Americans who had supported King's nonviolent approach in this country embraced the policies of violence taken by the Israeli leaders. These democrats would split from the Civil Rights movement, and begin what we know of as the neoconservative movement. Thus, what happened then is surely connected to events today.
Today we need to heal the growing divisions among the human family. I will end with a story from "The Soul of a Butterfly," Muhammad Ali's reflections on his life's journey. He told of his always wanting to meet the Dalai Lama. In 2003, he would get the opportunity at the opening of an interfaith temple near Bloomington, Indiana. "Leaders from sixteen religions and denominations were there to speak. The Dalai Lama wanted to impress upon everyone that 'all religions have the same potential and capacity to serve humanity.' He stressed that religious teachings should be a part of all of our lives. I understand that there are many paths to God, and I believe Islam is the correct path for me. Like the Dalai Lama, I respect people of different religious beliefs and agree that spirituality should be a central focus of our daily lives. Spirituality helps us achieve self-discipline, forgiveness, and love, which are so essential to a peaceful existence living among others."
Ali delivered a brief speech to those assembled: "We live in a world intoxicated by power and wealth. We have countries struggling against each other, nations taking advantage of weaker nations, men and women being killed, wounded, and uprooted by war.
"With all that we've accomplished through history, we have yet to master peace. It is easier for most people to fight fire with fire, hatred with hatred, and injustice with vengeance.
"There comes a time in everyone's life when he has to take a good look at himself and stop pointing the finger. We have to make an effort to be kind to others, even toward those we don't know. It is through selfless acts that we inspire change."
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