Today we continue a useful discussion that we started yesterday on ways to curb violence in America, and hopefully many other places as well. This is no easy task. And it’s not for the faint of heart. The one thing that you did not and will not hear from these writings would be that it is impossible. Nothing is impossible if we really want to do it.
We have a few mountains we have to take down. Mountains that were never intended to be there and yet were built over time. There is an old musical that tried to bring light to the divisions between different peoples. This was done in the hope of having everyone realize the errors of the divisions and attempt to reverse them. The song talked about having to learn before it’s too late. It went on to talk about hating all the people your relatives hate. I believe this was a tongue-in-cheek song meant to show the audience how wrong hate is.
We have to learn before it’s too late. We have to learn that everybody is the same. We are all people built out of Stardust. With various colored hair and eyes, and different skin and languages. And, within each of us, we are all the same. I do not tell you this because it sounds good. I say this because it’s the truth. Until we see each other as the same as we view ourselves, we go nowhere. Until we fix the way we look at each other, fear, loathing, and hatred will continue. And these are three of the pedestals that violence sits on. Remove those three foundations, and violence fails.
Often you hear the argument that we fight for God. We need to remember that there is a difference between God and religion. I say this not to cause ire within many people. I say this because if you look at the major religions in the world, the God of all our fathers is actually the same God.
Languages may be different, yet the feelings and emotions are the same, as are the thought patterns. We may celebrate different holidays based on our culture, but we all celebrate holidays. Everyone loves a party.
I think it’s time for me to tie the first part of this together. If you can remove fear, loathing, and hatred, violence doesn’t stand a chance. If you can help everyone see each other as equals with similar goals and aspirations, fear goes away, and peace can gain a foothold.
So, our question for tomorrow becomes how. We’ve already discussed the ‘what’ shootings. The ‘who,’ people who fear and therefore hate. The ‘how’ is going to be the most essential piece. How do we get people to set aside some fears and hatreds that may go back thousands of years? How do we help everybody to see a better way? How do we even get this noticed and brought to the forefront? This is a question that may end up taking more than one blog to examine an answer. Yet until we have the ‘how’ figured out, it will be hard to know where and when.
I want to help everyone understand that we need to replace hate and violence with caring and togetherness. Violence only leads to more violence. Hatred, fear, and loathing only produce more of the same, and you end up with more violence. It would be great to give everybody in the world a timeout, just to think of this for a few minutes, I am just not sure how to do that, yet. If you have a good idea as to ‘how,’ please let me know in the comments section.
Thank you for being with me today. I hope to be with you again tomorrow.
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