The incidents in Sri Lanka have reminded us all that something is very wrong in the world. Still.
Islamic State is carrying out a ruthless, international and domestic terror campaign. People from all over the world are traveling to Syria to join in the fun. We hear in the news, and I believe, that this is because people from all over feel disenfranchised in their own cultures. They feel powerless to control their own destinies and they feel as if their lives contain little that is satisfying to them and that there is little hope for improvement - ever.
They go to join in the hate mongery and become part of a fear machine. They get to dispense fear while being afraid. I will digress a moment and remind everyone that there are only two emotions that motivate large groups of people over long periods of time. One of these is fear. Until 1776, it was the only motivation that had been successful. And in most of the world, it is still widely practiced.
But fear has its limits. Privation overcomes fear.If you have nothing left to lose, fear cannot be your primary motivator. History teaches that as well. Just off the top of my head - The Bolshevik Revolution, countless uprisings in Africa (that usually end up with the same system in power, just a different person or group running it), the Communist Revolution in China, etc., etc.
The way leaders convince their societies that the fear they rule by is acceptable, and thus stave off the incipient revolution, if by giving the ruled someone else to hate. Hitler was the most obvious example of this, but he is far from alone. He pointed at the Jews as the cause of everyone's privations and raised up a machine comprised of hate to exterminate them. The picture he painted of Jews had no basis in reality, but it was accepted by those in fear. They learned to hate. It was easier than believing that there was some fault of their own, or that circumstances and therefore their lives were beyond their control.
Islamic State has adopted the same EXACT tactics. The only real difference is that they are the inheritors of decades old and systematic dogma in the Middle East. For generations, Islam has been systematically corrupted to control a populous that has been kept ignorant and poor for political purposes. Please take it to heart when I say that Islamic State does NOT and is not an Islamic institution. Their practices have nothing to do with Islam and everything to do with political power. I am not Islamic by faith, but I have read the Qu'ran. The similarities between Islam and Christianity are remarkable, and the differences are cultural rather than religious. Both faiths worship the same God. I will say that again. Both faiths worship the same God. And in remarkably similar ways.
But the conflicts arising in the Middle East center around a centuries old schism between Sunnis and Shea. It is the Islamic version of the split in the Christian church when Protestantism arose.If you remember your history, that was not particular blood-free, either. Add to that the enforced ignorance and spoon-fed dogma of vast populations and the desperate poverty in some of these places, you begin to see how the mind-set in the Middle East has come about. It is a whole different discussion on the intrusion of Western powers through decades of abuse and misunderstanding in Middle Eastern culture. But those intrusions have caused some lack of trust to say the least. History buffs should read up on the fall of the Ottoman Empire.
But why, you ask, would middle-class Europeans, Americans and Asians be drawn to this dogma? What attraction can it hold? The answer is the same as it has been for the entirety of human history. There are those in every society that feel apart, disenfranchised, of the society but not a part of it, neither giving nor receiving the benefits or responsibilities of that society, at least in their own perceptions. I would venture to guess that each of us knows someone who feels - to their core- that the world is not turning the way it should, that nobody listens to them explaining what's wrong and maybe how to fix it, that the problems of the world are all caused by someone else or a group of someones else who doesn't hold the same values or beliefs as they do.
Then along comes a charismatic, loud-talking (or preaching) individual who tells them they are not forsaken, that their right in their feelings and beliefs, and that they have the right, nay, the responsibility to enforce their beliefs on everyone else or to cleanse the world of their - fill in your negative social trait here.
And, while not to demean or minimize these peoples' experiences or values. But anyone who steps up and espouses hate is wrong. WRONG! These people are using fear to instill hate and engender power to themselves in the most selfish and anti-social way possible. Has anyone ever just sat and talked to a Sunni or Shia Muslim about their faith and the teachings of Mohammed? It is first and foremost a social religion and they accept anyone. Oh, and by the way, so does Christianity with remarkably similar requirements for acceptance. Do they have their reactionaries and starry-eyed liberals? You betcha. Have you ever been privy to an argument between a Southern Baptist and a Methodist?
Now having defined the problem, let me provide my answer to it which you may or may not agree with as you see fit. The answer to every problem I have just described is love. Simple human kindness. The enemy you are being told to fear and hate may speak a different language, have a completely different cultural understanding of the processes of human existence, but they are human with much the same motivations and ignorance as anyone anywhere. They love and cherish their children. They have friends and family they love. They worry about the comfort and safety of these people in their lives and hope that these people's lives will be better than their own.
My suggestion is don't fear them. Know them. You cannot fear that which is human in all of us, because to do so is ultimately to fear yourself and those you would love. You cannot hate someone who knows and truly cares about you. So before the thousands of refugees become less than a group of people fleeing unsafe places, before the guy who prays a different church is the enemy, before the same-sex couple next door become something less than human, pretend that they are a member of your family and just talk to them. You don't have to agree with them, but you do have to hear them. And if you hear them. they will hear you. Remember, they don't have to agree with you either. Despite your differences, I think you will find common ground, a common humanity that is nothing to fear or hate. But instead something to be cherished because of that commonality and the differences.
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