The Problem with Politics

Religion and politics are two of the biggest things that divide our world today.

Unfortunately Dana and I also happen to think that both religion/spirituality and politics are pretty important. And because of this, we've very often ignored the perfectly good advice that these subjects should never be brought up so as not to offend anyone. To make matters even worse, not only have we gone around talking about politics and religion to people in real life but also here on this blog (as I'm sure anyone who's bothered to check out our favorite links or past posts have noticed). The problem with the blog is that because we're not talking to you in real life, then we can't see if you might have a problem with anything we have to say, or if we might need to clarify what we mean, or whatever (like we said in our post on Facial Expressions).

Of course, everyone who reads this blog will have some sort of position on religion and politics. And this is not bad. Both religion as man's reach for God, and politics which is necessary for an orderly and just society, are very good things. Yet there are so many problems too, and I was just struck by this problem - the fact that the lines between people especially on issues of politics and religion cause division and then that division can turn into fear and mistrust and misunderstanding.

The reason this is on my mind is because I can see how it works in me. Of course, as I said before, Dana and I have a bit of a passion for political issues. We see that these issues really make a difference on how we all live our lives and the way our societies function. We've seen the impact that corruption can have on a society and so we want to have a voice in these areas too. But of course not everyone agrees with our ideas. And here's where the problem is. We may believe passionately in something and then when someone disagrees there can be a tendency to make the issues so important that they overshadow the relationship. I've seen this in myself. And I've had to fight this, because I firmly believe that the person and the relationship is far more important than opinions or the things we believe. I've seen how making our opposing opinions too important can overshadow a relationship. I do not want this to happen, and that's why I'm writing this. I want to apologise for all the times that I've failed in this way, and express what I see as the answer - the answer I'm working towards.


So here's the problem - we all think that our ideas are the right ideas (or else we wouldn't believe them ourselves), and we're usually pretty convinced that if someone else disagrees with our ideas, well, then they must be wrong! Of course this attitude can be dangerous, because we all know that everyone (even me) has been wrong at some point.
We're all just limited human beings who can and do get things wrong.
At the same time this doesn't mean that we're necessarily wrong - just that we should consider the idea. But I want to be clear that we can have strong convictions about what we believe and still remain humble and open to other people - knowing that we don't and can't have all the answers. You can know what you believe and why, and still be open to hearing from and learning from people who have different beliefs because there very well may be aspects that you or I have no idea about at all, or perhaps we may not have really understood the other. That's really the point I want to make. The problem isn't with knowing what we believe and why, but learning to also try to understand people who we disagree with.

So the problem that I want to focus on comes in when we group ourselves into camps of 'Us' vs. 'Them'. We naturally tend to hang around people who agree with us, and the talk can easily turn to how right 'we' are and where exactly 'they' are wrong. And because we've stopped communicating with 'them', all kinds of misunderstandings arise. From that inability to understand 'them' and how 'they' could possibly believe what they do or do the things they do, we stop being able to identify with 'them' as fellow human beings and we begin to see 'them' as our enemies.
It can so easily turn into a huge downward spiral.


So now, here is a solution that I'm trying to work towards in my own life.

Humility, Empathy, and Respect are the keys.
First of all, we start by recognizing that we don't have all the answers - we begin with humility seeing that we are limited, and that although we have reasons behind our beliefs and actions, we don't have all the answers. Then I think it's important to try to put ourselves into the shoes of the people we disagree with. When we try to understand them and really try to empathize with them, when we assume that they're like us and that they must have reasons for why they believe and act the way they do, then we can begin to respectfully communicate and truly understand them.

The amazing thing that we've been learning by trying to put this into practice and communicate with people who we disagree with, in a spirit of humility, empathy, and respect, is that it has broken down the barriers which separate 'us' from 'them'. People who on the surface seemed so incomprehensibly different or who were hardened against us at the beginning, have - when we tried to communicate respectfully, showing that we honestly wanted to learn from them - they have opened up to what we've had to say. In the process not only have we learned so much about them but also about ourselves.
Of course, this doesn't mean that we agree with everyone or that they will eventually agree with us. But understanding has been reached and we've found that by working together with people, so much more is possible.

Of course it's not easy. It can be quite hard to try to understand people who are so different from us - especially when the things we disagree about are important to us. But it's worth it.

It may be that no matter how respectful and open you are, there might still be people who will never be willing to respond, to make peace and try to bridge the divide. This can be difficult. Divisions may be terribly hard to overcome, but that problem certainly can't be solved by never trying to build the bridges in the first place. Trying to understand our 'enemies' may be difficult but the other option is to continue to live with the divisions and hatred which causes so much conflict.

In the end, in religion as well as politics, we have a choice to try to work together or work against each other. We've all seen what working against each other has done for our world. It's brought division, hatred, pride, and oppression and so on.
The choice to try to understand others and put ourselves into their shoes can be difficult - especially when they are our enemies. It goes against our every natural urge. But of course, we know that many times the hard thing is also the right thing.

Think about it. Who are some of the people we don't understand and whom we are divided against? Who are our enemies? Terrorists, Republicans, Democrats, pro-life, pro-choice, Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, 'hawks', 'doves', Atheists, fundamentalists, liberals, conservatives, soldiers, anti-war activists, patriots and nationalists, universalists, realists, idealists…?

Whatever the divisions are, aren't we all first human beings loved by God and worthy of respect regardless of our associations?

'Iraqi bloggers at home and abroad'

Hey all,

I was just looking at the news when I came across this BBC article featuring Iraqi bloggers and what they've been writing recently. It's really amazing to read what they are writing. Just writing about daily things that anybody in the world can relate to like fishing, school, vacations, playing games, etc. but in the middle of this is the fear of violence, the bombs in the neighborhood, inability to travel... It was amazing because reading what they wrote, for the first time I could really see the human side of things there - people I could relate to and who, in a different world, could be my friends, neigbors, or relatives.
Just the other day I was talking to someone and telling them about what I learned in India - that the key to getting past the steriotypes about people who are different - Muslims, Indians, poor people, rich people, or whoever, you need to actually talk to them and when you do, to try to understand things from their point of view. For so long I've felt that this is what we need more of in the media about the war in Iraq. We need a human face to the war. But I never even thought of looking for Iraqi blogs. But here they are. It's sad, the stuff that goes on, and yet these people live there and make the best of it that they can. I won't go on though. They can say things much better than I can.
I'm posting links to two of the blogs I read. Check them out.

http://livesstrong.blogspot.com/
Sunshine is a 15-year-old girl in Mosul, northern Iraq.

http://last-of-iraqis.blogspot.com/
Mohammed is a 25-year-old dentist in Baghdad.

On CNN: Double Standards

The Virginia Tech Shootings

As I write, Dana and I (here in Romania) are watching the breaking news of the shooting at Virginia Tech on CNN. At least 22 are dead and another 29 wounded. Students are among those shot but there is no word yet on how many were students. This is still early on, and information is still coming in. The gunman is dead. Reporters are interviewing students and police who have witnessed this tragedy. The school has been shut down. Students in a lock down while police search the rest of the campus.

Again and again, as we watch, the reporters emphasize that this is the ‘Deadliest campus shooting in US history’.

The president of Virginia Tech has given a briefing where he spoke of this as a ‘Monumental’ tragedy. The Whitehouse has said that President Bush is ‘horrified’ by the shootings. The reporters again and again speak of this as ‘mind boggling and shocking’. They speak of the situation as ‘utter terror and panic’, ‘Mass chaos’.

Now a reporter is interviewing a police officer by phone and they are talking about the possibility of a need for ‘airport type security’ on campuses in the US.

Now they are playing again a video taken by a student who was outside the building at the time of the shootings. In the video, shots are ringing out and the police are surrounding the building.
And they play it again.



This saddens me. It really saddens me. But you see, the thing which makes me really sad goes beyond this incident. Yes this is horrible. It is a tragedy. But the thing which gets me is the blatant double standards by which this type of incident is reported.

I don’t mean to take this incident lightly or to dismiss it, but this, like the infamous attack on 9/11, is being played over and over again. The shock of the students, police, and even the reporters is evident. It all goes to enhance the feeling of tragedy – and rightly so.

The problem is that this tragedy – and it is a terrible tragedy, nothing will change that – is being reported as if it is more of a tragedy than any of the other tragedies where tens and even hundreds of people die at once, yet happen not to have lived in the United States.

Somehow, some people are made to be more important than others. Some seem to deserve extended reporting where the shock and terror of the situation is apparent, while others simply get a footnote on the screen along with the sports and weather.

Last year, bombs went off in Varanasi at a famous temple and at the train station. Hundreds died or were injured. If I remember correctly, it hardly made it into the international news. No one at home knew, except for the fact that we just so happened to have been living in the city and almost walked into a place where bombs had actually been set. (They did not go off due to the heroism of a passing electrician).


Of course, if we know someone who has died suddenly (especially if they were a loved one), their death will affect us much more than when someone dies whom we didn’t know – It’s only human nature.

In addition, it is natural not to be surprised or shocked by violent deaths in a place where that has become common – such as in Iraq or even in the American inner cities.

But this should not take away from the fact that it is a terrible tragedy when anyone dies in violence. On top of this, CNN, like all other news organizations, is supposed to be objective – to share the facts objectively. Of course, we are only human and can't handle the details and emotion of every death. But the truth is that the way the facts are chosen – by relevance – shows what (and who) is really important to us.


Having lived outside the US for several years has helped me to see this double standard which goes on in reporting all the time. Some people are more valuable than others – especially the rich and powerful. And make no mistake about it, middle class Americans are (by world standards) rich and powerful.

Of course I recognize that this is not the truth of things – I recognize that everyone is equally valuable, simply on the basis that they are people, loved by God.

But the greatest tragedy here, beyond the fact that at least 32 people have now died at Virginia Tech (the number has changed even in the time of writing this), the greatest tragedy here is that one person’s death is seen as being more tragic than another’s – that one is more important than another, simply because of the accident of their birth in a certain time, place, race, and/or economic status.


I don't want to bring this up in an accusing manner. My point is that we should become aware of the fact that we too have hidden biases. When we know, we can change.

God sees all people with love. The question is - when will you and I learn to too?


In closing I want to share something which struck me at the time I read it, and says this powerfully.



"Fifteen thousand Africans dying each and every day, of preventable, treatable diseases—AIDS, malaria, TB—for lack of drugs that we take for granted."

"This statistic alone makes a fool of the idea many of us hold on to very tightly: the idea of equality. What is happening in Africa mocks our pieties, doubts our concern, and questions our commitment to that whole concept. Because if we’re honest, there’s no way we could conclude that such mass death day after day would ever be allowed to happen anywhere else. Certainly not in North America, or Europe, or Japan. An entire continent bursting into flames? Deep down, if we really accept their lives—African lifes—are equal to ours, we would all be doing more to put the fire out. It’s an uncomfortable truth."

"We can be the generation that no longer accepts that an accident of latitude determines whether a child lives or dies—but will we be that generation? ...It’s up to us."

- Bono (U2) from his introduction to 'The End Of Poverty'

An Eye Opening Perspective

Read This Powerful Article by Martin Accad, accademic dean of the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary.
He wrote this while stranded in the US because of Israel's invasion of his home: Lebanon.

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"If we have the courage to honestly look at ourselves through the eyes of others who are strange and foreign to us or who have been injured and ignored by us, then I believe our hearts will open and the whispering of God’s still, small voice will begin to ring loud and clear in our ears."

-How Does God Speak in a Pluralistic Society?