"An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind."
- Mahatma Gandhi -
- Mahatma Gandhi -
September 11th, 2001 was a day of destruction.
September 11th, 2010 was a day of destruction.
First, buildings crumbled; nine years later, pages were torn. On each of these days, ashes lain scattered on the ground. What motivated such destruction, and what could possibly justify these inconceivable actions?
Difference and her daughter, Misunderstanding.
See, Difference has tried relentlessly to parent Misunderstanding, to show her that her behavior is unacceptable. But, like many kids, Misunderstanding views her mother as the enemy. She has chosen to rebel and is constantly fueled by pressure from her peers. Ignorance and Conceit are vogue, and mesmerized by all the glory, Misunderstanding has decided to hate Difference and everything she stands for.
Ask the average person about the significance of Tuesday, September 21st, and he probably won't realize it's International Day of Peace. Geez, seriously? Another random day with some catchy title dedicated to an obscure concept?
Newsflash: We're not talking about National Ice Cream Month here. This day established by the U.N. is "devoted to commemorating and strengthening the ideals of peace both within and among all nations and people." It's about participating in acts of peace, big and small, from cease-fire to ending confrontation with a friend or family member. This year, my student organization co-sponsored an event entitled Pathways to Peace: Voices of Faith and Reason. Speakers from Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Baha'i Faith, and secular humanism were invited to talk about their worldviews and the ultimate goal of peace, particularly in an interfaith context. I arrived to see approximately ten other students there - and probably fewer than fifty people overall. My heart sank. Why are we so uncommitted to making peace?
Yeah, yeah, so we're busy. We've got our fast-paced American lives consumed by an endless to-do list. Distractions blind us, and "world peace" remains an idealistic cliché. We laugh as it's epitomized as the go-to answer during beauty pageant interviews.
But while we're caught up in our personal whirlwinds, we find ourselves in quicksand, gradually sinking deeper into our own narrow-mindedness. Planes burned, and so did the Qur'an. I know many people don't see how a man desecrating the Islamic Holy Book in East Lansing, MI can be compared to the devastation of 9/11, but my purpose is not to compare and contrast or to argue over the status of historical events; I simply want to illustrate the noxious cycle that's alive and at work.
At Voices of Faith and Reason, each speaker emphasized the similarities that exist across all worldviews. A Muslim man smiled as he recalled telling an atheist friend that, in a sense, even the two of them share a common notion. The first portion of the Shahadah (Islamic declaration of faith) is La ilaha ill Allah (There is no god but God).
We're human. All of us. At our best, we're rational, intelligent, and compassionate creatures; at our worst, we hurt others and ourselves. We're owners of arrogance and seekers of revenge, and all because we can't - we won't - accept difference.
I call for peace, not to be contained during one established period of time, but to be believed in and hoped for and worked toward... each and every day.
Embrace.
September 11th, 2010 was a day of destruction.
First, buildings crumbled; nine years later, pages were torn. On each of these days, ashes lain scattered on the ground. What motivated such destruction, and what could possibly justify these inconceivable actions?
Difference and her daughter, Misunderstanding.
See, Difference has tried relentlessly to parent Misunderstanding, to show her that her behavior is unacceptable. But, like many kids, Misunderstanding views her mother as the enemy. She has chosen to rebel and is constantly fueled by pressure from her peers. Ignorance and Conceit are vogue, and mesmerized by all the glory, Misunderstanding has decided to hate Difference and everything she stands for.
Ask the average person about the significance of Tuesday, September 21st, and he probably won't realize it's International Day of Peace. Geez, seriously? Another random day with some catchy title dedicated to an obscure concept?
Newsflash: We're not talking about National Ice Cream Month here. This day established by the U.N. is "devoted to commemorating and strengthening the ideals of peace both within and among all nations and people." It's about participating in acts of peace, big and small, from cease-fire to ending confrontation with a friend or family member. This year, my student organization co-sponsored an event entitled Pathways to Peace: Voices of Faith and Reason. Speakers from Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Baha'i Faith, and secular humanism were invited to talk about their worldviews and the ultimate goal of peace, particularly in an interfaith context. I arrived to see approximately ten other students there - and probably fewer than fifty people overall. My heart sank. Why are we so uncommitted to making peace?
Yeah, yeah, so we're busy. We've got our fast-paced American lives consumed by an endless to-do list. Distractions blind us, and "world peace" remains an idealistic cliché. We laugh as it's epitomized as the go-to answer during beauty pageant interviews.
But while we're caught up in our personal whirlwinds, we find ourselves in quicksand, gradually sinking deeper into our own narrow-mindedness. Planes burned, and so did the Qur'an. I know many people don't see how a man desecrating the Islamic Holy Book in East Lansing, MI can be compared to the devastation of 9/11, but my purpose is not to compare and contrast or to argue over the status of historical events; I simply want to illustrate the noxious cycle that's alive and at work.
At Voices of Faith and Reason, each speaker emphasized the similarities that exist across all worldviews. A Muslim man smiled as he recalled telling an atheist friend that, in a sense, even the two of them share a common notion. The first portion of the Shahadah (Islamic declaration of faith) is La ilaha ill Allah (There is no god but God).
We're human. All of us. At our best, we're rational, intelligent, and compassionate creatures; at our worst, we hurt others and ourselves. We're owners of arrogance and seekers of revenge, and all because we can't - we won't - accept difference.
I call for peace, not to be contained during one established period of time, but to be believed in and hoped for and worked toward... each and every day.
Embrace.
First of all, I love that picture.
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree with you. I am so saddened by people turning to hate instead of peace. I was so upset when I heard about the Qur'an burning.
Also, I am disappointed to hear that so few people turned up to the Day of Peace event.
(I wanted to come but it conflicted with the time my fellowship meets every week.) But peace is a lot more important than our fast-paced lives.
I feel like sometimes as students we get caught up in our work and the "college lifestyle" and we forget about what is truly important.
I love your blogs, Erin. Keep writing them--they remind me to refocus myself and remember what's important.
lovin the Gandhi quote :)
ReplyDeleteyou need to represent Hinduism more in these dialogues... we're probably the most peaceful religion out there (second to Buddhism of course)
Thanks, Stephanie :).
ReplyDeleteSneha lol. We co-sponsored the event, but we didn't get to choose the speakers; the Pathways to Peace group did that, so I had nooo control. But you're right - Hinduism should be included :)