"Muslim life is cheap, most notably to Muslims.
And among those Muslims led by the Imam Rauf
[of the proposed New York Islamic centre] there is hardly
one who has raised a fuss about the routine and random bloodshed...
that defines their brotherhood. So, yes, I wonder whether I
need honour these people and pretend that they are
worthy of the privileges of the First Amendment which
I have in my gut the sense that they will abuse."
-Martin Peretz, editor-in-chief of New Republic
What is going on right now? I feel sadness to the point of tears reading of the hatred and bigotry ravaging America right now. Who are we to decide who is worthy to receive the benefits of a free life? We are only free if we give freedom freely. As, Kahlil Gibran wrote, "Surely he who is worthy to receive his days and his nights is worthy of all else from you." We are only better than those who hate if we are able to act with love even when we are not given the same respect in return. In saying this, I must note, I am NOT saying that Muslims have NOT treated us with respect. Yes, nine years ago today thousands of people died unnecessarily and tragically in New York, DC and a field in Pennsylvania. But who did that? A group of terrorists who happened to be Muslim. We didn't start a crusade against Christians when Timothy McVeigh bombed the federal building in Oklahoma in 1995. Why? Because it is stupid to think that one person, or a small group of people, is representative of a mass. And even if they were, would it not be the right thing to do to remain respectful? Anger and sadness do not have to lead to hate. If we let our anger turn to hate, then we are no better than that which we have been wronged by.
A lot of Americans seem to be blinded by the own desire to hate. It is so easy to blame others for your hurt, for your unhappiness. But it is stupid. It gets you nowhere. It creates a world of bitterness and self-pity. It is slightly more difficult, yet infinitely more rewarding to take a moment, put yourself in someone else's shoes, to forgive (even if forgiveness was not asked for), to treat others how YOU would like to be treated. I'm not a fan of religion, I think it creates a lot of tension between groups (point in case, America right now...Israel and Palestine right now....the world right now? the world for the past 2,000 years?) and i find it often to be rooted in deep intellectually dishonesty/laze. That said, I do I think it does say something that "treat others how you would like to be treated" is at the base of so many faiths. Jesus isn't the only person credited with these words. The sentiment is seen in Jewish, Christian, AND Islamic texts ("Not one of you is a believer until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself."), not to mention Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism and Nigerian Yoruba. No religion necessary, though. The golden rule is self-evident to anyone with human emotions which (thanks evolution) is most of us. ("When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad. That’s my religion."- A. Lincoln)
I feel sad. I feel sad for those being hated. And I feel sad for those hating. I am mustering my strength to turn my sadness to compassion. Because that, I believe, is what the world needs: compassion.
People need to get over themselves. Get over their personal discomfort and look at a bigger picture. What kind of people do we want to be? Do we want to live a life of fear and hate? Or shall we risk it and extend a hand of humanity to those denied the rights and privileges we have been granted? We do not live comfortably because we deserve it. We live this way partially by luck and mostly because other people are suffering to make our comfort possible. No one deserves anything they get. We just get it. So take in what is good and share it. I see no other point to life than that.
I'll end with the complete quote from Kahlil Gibran. It was the first thing I thought of when I read the above hate-filled quote of Martin Peretz.
"You often say, 'I would give, but only to the deserving.'
The trees in your orchard say not so, nor the flocks in your pasture.
They give that they may live, for to withhold is to perish.
Surely he who is worthy to receive his days and his nights is worthy of all else from you.
And he who has deserved to drink from the ocean of life deserves to fill his cup from your little stream. "
Let us give what we can freely. Let us not accumulate love, but give it so that it may return more plentiful than before. Let us hold back judgment of our fellow humans. Let us strive for understanding even when our first instinct is disgust and distrust. We are not the victims of our first instinct.
Let us give what we can freely. Let us not accumulate love, but give it so that it may return more plentiful than before. Let us hold back judgment of our fellow humans. Let us strive for understanding even when our first instinct is disgust and distrust. We are not the victims of our first instinct.
