My heart goes out to the many families who are suffering loss over in Europe. Such events remind us that when there is violence in the hearts of mankind, there is always uncertainty of the future. After the missile testing over LAX last weekend, I had a few choice questions… What are men up to now? What ELSE do we need to have reason to fear? Am I going to be safe?
These are uncomfortable questions because with so much hidden from society’s view there will always be a level of uncertainty in our future. As long as we live in a male dominated society that legitimizes violence as a means of accomplishing goals we must keep asking these questions.
And let’s be real, we can’t pretend that this is the beginning of war: fighting has been going on always and there has been a significant rise of violence and bloodshed in the last decade. The only thing that makes this violence different is that it occurred somewhere we considered “safe” rather than in a place like Syria. Even as many of us can numb ourselves to the incessant news of war in less-developed countries, an event like this on “our turf” shakes us and elicits public outcry. This is exactly the point of choosing one of the most iconographic cities in the world.
So my next question is it that drives humans to commit calculated attacks on their brothers and sisters? The insanity of men is one immediate answer: Insanity that thinks of justice in the warped terms of revenge and retribution. It is also a desire for power that drives these actions. Islam as a whole is often demonized in our culture, and its this generalization of a huge part of the world’s population that puts their whole culture at the edge of some great invisible boundary of societal approval.
Those who commit these atrocities have a desire to fight, but let’s be honest – extremists exist in every religion. What do we think the Crusades were after all? We have our own in America too – check out what Doland Trump had to say about the matter:
“I would bomb the shit out of ’em. I would just bomb those suckers. That’s right. I’d blow up the pipes. … I’d blow up every single inch. There would be nothing left. And you know what, you’ll get Exxon to come in there and in two months, you ever see these guys, how good they are, the great oil companies? They’ll rebuild that sucker, brand new — it’ll be beautiful.”
This isn’t a response, this is a reaction. It is also fully retributional and capitalistic in a way that is slightly disturbing. Even manages to bring up our dear friends at Exxon. Is this really all this man has to offer to change the situation?
This saddened me so deeply. I’d participated in a meditation gathering called Festival of Lights for the new moon on Tuesday and prayed for world peace. It’s purpose is to acknowledge and strengthen our inner peace like a still candle flame, not flickering because it undisturbed – and each of our lit candles have the capacity to link us in the darkness of the night. Indeed, we have seen the unification of many people and countries in shared grief over this loss of innocent life.
Many found themselves personally connected to this event, and though I often prefer to push global pain outside of my awareness it found me anyways. I have found myself indirectly connected to a young woman who was killed, she was a friend’s ex-fiance. It’s no longer appropriate to assume that there are places that are either “here” or “there.” We ARE connected. The internet has changed what it means to be a globally aware person. Therefore blood shed on their streets is also shed on ours. This is true for anywhere in the world affected by patriarchal and corporate dominance over natural resources and space, not just because its Paris.
Viva la Mother Earth and all her children. #Prayingforpeace
See what we have to say about the agenda’s of men and how it affects the world in our book The Word 2.0.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. ~Martin Luther King Jr.
So much love and support,
Sonya
