What kind of world do we inhabit; how do we face what is before us?

Originally, I wanted to write up a piece about the participatory aspect of democracy and how, if you want to see change around you, one very important way to be that change is to be involved. Voting, sure. Advocacy, sure. But also, to avail yourself of meeting your representatives on issues that matter to you. Emails are fine, but depending on your reps, mileage may vary according to how accessible they are; I’m lucky, my House Representative is very accessible and I was able to promote some legislation on Burma/Myanmar while I was in DC recently. That was something else I wanted to write about; updates on what’s transpiring in Burma and the attendant issues surrounding the military’s continued oppression. 

However, like many around the world, I woke Sunday morning to horrible and horrifying news out of Israel. There will be more tragedy to come out from the region and I do not look forward to it. I am not, by any means, a fan of Netanyahu and his hard move toward further authoritarianism, but neither can I possibly support Hamas. They are a terrorist organization and all they are accomplishing is bringing further misery to the Palestinians. Terrorism, like all forms of oppression, is simply wrong. The idea that mass murdering innocent people will somehow be a corrective measure for injustice is so misguided as to incite questions regarding the humanity of those who perpetrate it. 

While I do understand and support, even, the anger and frustration of the oppressed, and while I recognize that pacifism is not always an effective response to force (I would like to say I am a pacifist, but I don’t think I could live up to that epithet), the idea that lashing out and venting violence on people who simply live in a country where it is the ruling classes that are carrying out the oppression has always struck me as of dubious validity and of extremely regressive ethics. 

I suspect that as various nations and their leaders around the world begin to choose sides and as tensions mount in the region, the punditry will flow in floods across the media. I will very much be reading, of course, people whose work I’m familiar with. There will be a lot of research I’m going to do for my own edification that I will likely not be commenting on here because, truthfully, I’m not certain that I can tease out the nuance I feel is required to assay what is happening. I have my opinions and I may voice them but mostly, right now, I really am filled with sorrow. Certainly, for the people of Israel, Israeli and Palestinian alike. More broadly, my sorrow grows deeper for all of us. This is one more conflict that needn’t have happened and perhaps it is the most critical right now, piggybacking on the immensity of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

It is too easy to despair, though I am certainly near it in considering all the conflict around the world currently. Dan Rather and Elliot Kirschner have written a compassionate and thoughtful response to news coming out of Israel and I highly recommend reading his words. It’s titled “Our Common Humanity” and I repeat, please do give it a read.

They write: 

“Let us hope that we stand up to those who would wreak havoc and death. Let us hope that we continue to try to find ways to lessen suffering so that violence doesn’t feel like the only option for those who are desperate. Let us never give up on yearning for peace. The vast majority of humans want safety and security. And in that truth, we can find hope that ultimately this majority will prevail.”

I want to say that I believe that our deeper senses of kindness and commonality will prevail, but today that feels like far too much of a stretch. 

I might also suggest reading Heather Cox Richardson’s Letters from an American for October 7. As usual, she provides context and doesn’t traffic in what-ifs or pointing fingers. Context in these matters, though is indispensable and I think it’s beyond imperative that those of us who are not policy makers, who are not on the ground in Israel or the Middle East refresh ourselves repeatedly about how arguments are framed, who’s doing the reporting (remind ourselves that even people we agree with are biased, as are we), and that we should not lose sight of our compassion for all who are suffering. 

Speaking of sources, Dan Kennedy at Media Nation shares his go-tos for reporting. I’ve been reading Dan since his Boston Phoenix days and find him to be one of the most astute political and media observers around. You may find his post helpful.

It sometimes feels - to me, I really don’t feel I can speak for anyone else - hopeless. Taking stock of the unrelenting hatred, anger, and ignorance that give rise to conflict across the world and within our own borders, as well, it’s easy to throw our arms up in the air and say, “fuck it.” I think it’s perfectly understandable and acceptable to do so. But it’s more important to recognize that changes occur and events happen incrementally and very often unseen, changes that can turn tides of history, turn people away from conflict. 

I suppose if one is religious, one can turn to a text, a prayer, a sense of God or the Absolute, or what you will. If not, one serves oneself best by remembering that nothing is fixed in amber; attitudes, policies, events, are malleable and morph in ways one cannot have foreseen. Can or should one have hope? Sure, but most importantly, one should remain open to possibility.

There are times when I sense a presence that courses through our daily lives, that remains stable even when catastrophe appears before us. I don’t worry about naming it. I’ve expressed elsewhere how little stock I put in our “Big Words”. There are many times when I feel we need to put God, Buddha, Dao, and other Big Words away and just do the work of looking at each other with love, absent from fear. 

That’s pretty much how I want to sit with and approach this later eruption. It’s all I know to do and it’s my first line of approach when attempting to come to terms with all other issues that concern me. 

I know I’ve written saltily about some issues, but if I do, it’s because I feel that seasoning is appropriate for the subject. Today, I feel it more important to rest in that deeper presence. To rest, then.

In case, the links embedded in the post don't work, here they are for copying and pasting:

https://steady.substack.com/p/our-common-humanity

https://dankennedy.net/2023/10/09/with-israel-and-hamas-at-war-here-are-some-free-reliable-sources-of-quality-news/

https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/october-7-2023