A post on Facebook today: Liberals Cry Out, “Don’t blame all Muslims for the actions of a few. But (they) blame all policemen for the actions of a few.”
I am a liberal. And I know I don’t do this. And I know most of my like-minded friends don’t do it eather. The deal is that when you refrain from taking sides, when you see the humanness in all of the players in situations of conflict, it is difficult to know what to say. Talking with compassion about one side can rile up the other side as though this were an attack of some sort.
We need to be among those who never blame any group for the actions of a few of their members. I wish the media would show the many, the majority of good people and the good work they do instead of the few who do harm. I would like to see movies and news items about good people of all religious, political, ethnic, and racial groups living good wholesome lives. I want to see people who, when faced with problems, work them out with everybody becoming more enlightened and growing together, instead of ending in tragedy, judgment, and more hate. I want to see stories of good cops and good peace-loving people of color working together for good. I want to see, also, the media do some work to help us understand people who live in difficult situations and show examples of helping to make situations better. I want to be inspired. I want to feel hope.
I know, the media will say portraying the most violent and extreme is what people want but it also skews people’s view of how the world really is. And it makes people feel fear which in turn causes some good people to do things they are not proud of. In my mind, the media is irresponsible. We need to get this right.
In the meantime, all I know to do is to try to address negative comments like the one above with a statement of truth. I am a liberal and I think that even my conservative friends would say this statement is not true of me. And if it is not true of this liberal, then it is not true of others. Don’t judge all liberals because of the stupid, ignorant statements of a few. I know better than to judge all conservatives for the statements I hear from a few conservatives.
This is not an easy path. It is damned difficult, in fact. I need Jesus right now…and the inspiration of Peace Pilgrim who inspired this blog cite.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ry3NzkAOo3s That’s all I can say.
Kristine, I have seen that video before but I listened again more carefully. The speaker had a point for sure, but I sure didn’t like her using the word “irrelevant” when talking about the peaceful Muslims and other groups who have had their radicals. No one is irrelevant. The speaker’s point that I agree with is that it was when radical groups gain power that they do serious harm. She used Hitler’s Germany as an example. The majority of Germans were peace-loving people. The woman’s question was about ideology, though and I think it was a good question. We can fight ISIS, for example, with arms, but how can we keep young people from being won over by their twisted ideology in the first place? She was talking about getting at the root of a problem. This, in fact, is something that can and should engage those people who the speaker was referring to as “irrelevant”. It is about education, about passing on of values, about giving young people guidance and support, it is about giving people hope. It takes a whole community of irrelevant people. In my mind, it begins with each of us and how we deal with our little corner of influence in the world.
One more thing. Had that been me asking the question, I would have come away feeling more isolated, certainly not worthy of respect and consideration.
So true! Love you Grandma! You might like a Indian movie
a really good one! “My Name is Khan”
Thank you, Alissa. I will check out that movie.