I love to be reminded that there are people all over the world, from
different cultures and religions, some from violent and war-torn lands, who
believe we need to see past our differences and learn to love one another for
the sake of peace.
This conversation comes from RealHumanBeing.org, with permission
from founder Dave Howlett.
**********
"Please
reach out and let a RHB in Syria know you are thinking about them (they asked
to remain anonymous on Facebook as the government scans through Facebook for
photos and IDs)
Hi _________ I hope things are
well for you in Syria - we see much of the struggles on
the evening news. - Dave
about syria you know as in war
everyone is wrong and everyone is right ... is realy bad what is happening for
now people start to hate each other even for a stupid opinion ...,
I have many RHBs who would like to
hear your opinion about what is happening. - Dave
opinions are pro or contra ... they
worth nothing my friend....,yet many times because of opinions people wish each
other death, sometimes they kill each other and all this leads nowhere. The
truth is the politics and religion build borders between people...they found a
reason to hate someone ..and then they add more and more ,like he is alwai ,he
is sunni ,he is pro he is against, and this border get stronger ..people get
separated ,they create groups ,they bring accusations ,which they consolidate
with facts or rumors ,.they betray each other... and then people become
enemies. So what else can I say if not for the sake of love lets remove all
this borders which keeps us separated ,and learn to accept eachother ,love each
other and respect each other for if someone says there are around 180 nations
in the world...i say is only one the human nation,and that we are all one .....
I will keep your name and account
anonymous. Your words are so powerful. May I reprint them "from a RHB in
Syria?" on my wall? I want to connect the good people in Syria with RHB
Nation...you may be surprised and pleased to see the level of support around
the world for your citizens and they try to achieve the same level of dignity
that many of us enjoy. - Dave
Of course you can my friend,and keep
in touch! peace and blessings to you and yours !"
Pasted from <http://www.facebook.com/dave.howlett>
Definitely an interesting piece, Andrea. I have to admit, though, that I am not sure about the notion of religion and politics building "borders" between people, and that these borders are always associated with hate, which seems to be the general implication that is being mentioned above. Borders are bad things -- unless your neighbour is Zimbabwe or North Korea, at which point maybe a border is a good thing, or at least a sadly necessary thing. Or, sometimes a border merely acknowledges friendly differences -- I don't know that I would want to erase the border between Canada and the U.S., even though I really rather like American's, and bear them no grudge or ill-will at all. Canada has greatly benefited from our proximity to the U.S., but they are a different people, and I think for the most part the border is just fine where it is. I imagine a lot of folks on both sides of that border feel the same way, and in doing so intend no insult to either side.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment Rob. Considering that the Syrian is reflecting on a problem internal to Syria, I think he was using the word "borders" in a metaphorical sense: how we mentally separate "us" from "them", and using religion and politics as an excuse to hate "them", rather than seeing how people on both sides of the conflict are very much alike.
ReplyDeleteThe issue of national and state borders is an interesting topic that is worthy of a post in its own right. Intriguing examples include the Romani (gypsies) in Europe, the Quebecois in Canada, the indigenous inhabitants of the island of New Guinea, and, well, most of Africa. People with multiple national or state identities, or the jet-setting cosmopolitans who don't feel a particular tie to any nationality would also be interesting topics. Thank you for the inspirations Rob!