The wars won't stop till we have a 'we-they' mentality. The hate won't stop as long as we are pointing fingers at each other.
I admire Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy of non-violence as a means to put one's point across.
A beautiful story that I want to share is shown in the movie 'Gandhi'.
A man whose small child was killed in riots came to Gandhi and said they killed my son, now I am going to kill them. Gandhiji said - I'd suggest that you find from them a child like yours whose parents have been killed in the riots. Bring him up like you would have, your child.
Now, that to me is the way people should be thinking today.
It's a choice all of us are making every day.
Some of us are going to be feeding our kids by selling wars, arms and ammunition. And some of us are going to earn our daily bread by going to the front lines - not to fight but to rescue the wounded and provide relief to the refugees.
Some of us are going to stand up and say - I don't just want to help the war-affected, I want to STOP the war, any war that is unjust, that murders innocent people.
I wish there are lots of us who want to do that.
Coming back to where I started, wars will not stop till we stop pointing fingers at each other.
We need to reach across to people like us around the world, to establish personal relations, to have cultural exchanges, student exchanges, tours and visits - let the soldiers on either side see where their bombs have fallen and how many children have been blown to bits just thanks to a few triggers they clicked from the cockpit.
We need to stop seeing each other as East, West, Muslim, Christian - we need to see each other as human beings, as sons and daughters of Adam and Eve, or if one is a Darwinist, then as products of a common gene pool.
Then, things will change and borders will melt.
To make this happen, we have our thoughts, we have our words, we have the internet. That's enough material to begin with...
God bless us all humans, and give us the wisdom to come through all of this together - as one race and nation. Amen.
farrukh
8 comments:
Amen, indeed, Farrukh! Once again a brilliant, thought-provoking post.
Well, after i read that piece, i was impressed. That really is the way us humans should act. I believe our world would be better off without wars. We need peace.
Reality is that there's always an aggressor that will undermine your life and worth as a human being in one way or another. Do you stand aside and be whipped? Or do you desperately try to reclaim your self worht and dignity?
Thats a very impressive way of thinking.. and I do hope there are lots more people thinking like u r right now.
Good thoughts, Farrukh. This world needs Gandhi's wisdom, Mandela's compassion, and Abraham Lincoln's political vision.
It is quite interesting how you have wound it all up by writing, "God bless us all humans, and give us the wisdom to come through all of this together - as one race and nation."
Don't mistake me, it is a slightly different version of this one race and nation theory -- the Nazis believed in. When I read about a Muslim World, a Hindu India, I wonder what people really want to do with this world of humanity. It is scary.
The idea of humanity as one race and the whole world as one nation is a noble one. The problem starts when a certain group of people decide that they should be the only race that represents humanity and the nation that represents this world has to be theirs.
Of course, if we leave it to God's decision to bless us with the wisdom... then you will find a George Bush going to war because he was answering to *his* God. Same rule apples with bin Laden and his fellow gangsters. They are all waging a holy war to unite the world -- as one race and nation!
Aren't you then presented with this wicked situation: whose God is more right? bin Laden's or Georgie Porgie's?
The more we talk about one race (indirectly we are admitting that race difference exists and matters to people)and one nation (we are also admitting that the world is assembled of many fragmented nations)-- we are only going to bring more misery to this world.
All major religions have the desire to build an empire that spreads through the entire world. If you are backed by a revelation - a holy word - like how George Bush is inspired with... who are we to say Bush is a liar and someone else is telling me the truth?
Soviets wanted to make communism the religion of the poor. Americans have succeeded in making Money the religion of many.
So much nonsense has been talked about the Johnnie Walker campaign in Lebanon. The violence if Darfur - the silent killing of Africans -- untelevised, fails to capture the imagination of a capitalist - profiteering population in the Middle East who uses charity as a means to wash their guilty conscience.
You are a good man Farrukh.
MeeAThanks for your comment. All good things start with ideas and thoughts.
AnonymousMost of us don't want wars. But a few of us profit from wars. That is the problem.
HishamMy brother - the way I see it, no one can take away your self worth and dignity, as long as you haven't lost faith in yourself. Most great men that I know of, religious men, leaders, social workers, face aggressors with their head held high, and they aren't cowards. Even when they are whipped, imprisoned or killed - their cause gets more and more momentum. Also, I think people who get up and do things despite all odds usually have risen above the victim mentality.
How do we knowMany are thinking like me, but most are throwing their hands up in despair and not doing anything about it. The peacemakers need to act, now.
sansYou write well, sans. Thanks for taking the time to share your insights. One of the meanings of 'race' according to the Oxford dictionary is "a group of persons, animals or plants connected by common descent". In my post above, I meant that and pointed out my belief that all humans trace their roots to a common parentage, to one mother and father - same blood in our veins, same building blocks, same cell structures. So when I say one race - I am emphasizing our common descent. For me 'one nation' means a world without man-made boundaries, not a world under one ruling empire. As far as religion goes, I do not take my Christianity lessons from George Bush nor do I learn Islam from Osama bin Laden. To me, they are clearly not God's messengers. Is religion to blame for people's greed for power? I'll write about it in a new post - it's an interesting discussion. Your feedback would be most welcome.
You know Farookh...I love the stuff you write...cuz this is what humanity needs. You'll always have your detractors, whose response will be "It's the other guy's fault, not mine...so I have a right to be mean, vengeful and so on." As Jesus said: "Hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, so you can see more clearly to help remove the speck of dust from someone else's eye."
May we all have the grace to look inwards to see where the fault lies.
Regards, and keep up the great work. There's a lot of people who appreciate it.
Hi 'Let's hear it':
Thanks for your kind words, and the quote. It's so true.
Like theysay, the change starts with the man in the mirror :-)
farrukh
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