Peace
or Prejudice
“Prejudice
of any kind implies that you are identified with the thinking mind.
It means you don't see the other human being any more, but only your
own concept of that human being. To reduce the aliveness of another
human being to a concept is already a form of violence.”
Eckhart
Tolle (A New Earth)
There
is a lot of fear swirling around the globe right now. After the
shootings in France, and the manhunt that followed, everyone is on
edge at the prospect of more terrorist attacks. Our response to
threats seems always to be meet violence with violence. I wonder when
humanity will evolve out of Hammurabi's code; stop thinking “an eye
for an eye,” and begin thinking, “how can I help my brother.”
It seems important to me that we not paint all Muslims as terrorists.
Most of them are peace loving citizens.
I
saw the film, Selma, Friday night. It was a brutal accounting of the
Civil Rights march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in 1965. I did not
live in Alabama during that era. I was a freshman in college in a rural North Carolina mountain town, oblivious to what was
happening in the wide world. Watching the reenactment of that one
march was painfully difficult. I'm sure most of the residents of
Selma belonged to Christian churches, yet it did not stop them being
consumed by prejudice. That day on the bridge, they were terrorists. Their religion of 'peace on earth' did not
prevent the violence, but even so, not all Christians are violent.
Most of them are peace loving citizens.
In
order to evolve in consciousness, we must begin to recognize
prejudice as the problem, and not our particular religious beliefs.
Prejudice renders us blind to the humanity of the persons who carry
our projection of “evil others.” Prejudice permits and even
encourages violence and justifies it, clothed in the garb of
self-defense. We must recognize it in our own hearts, and begin the
process of peace-making there.
In
the Spirit,
Jane
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