Miscellaneous
A Radical, Fundamentalist Perspective. Shalom, Peace, Salaam.A radical, fundamentalist perspective. The holy lands of this world are places and also metaphors.If we visit Jerusalem, Mecca, the promised land, the mountain top, the church, the temple, or the mosque within ourselves, then perhaps we can embody our fundamental responsibility to love and care for one another.“Pretty much everything turns on a change in U.S. policy. Those of us inside the United States can influence policy. No one else can. If any change is going to take place in Palestine, there will have to be change here... it’s possible.” ~ Noam Chomsky, 2010We know that nothing can ever justify killing children, seizing homes and land, bombing civilians, blockading their access to basic needs, taking revenge on innocents, randomly firing missiles, or voting for policies that finance crimes against humanity.Disregarding someone’s humanity because of their culture, because of the way they love the gift of life, or because of our perceived association with a corrupt government or the pain of our past -- means we’ve become what we hate.If we practice the universal fundamental religions of peace and humility, perhaps this cycle of abusing each other will no longer be the banner, crest and curse of the tribe of humanity.For more information on the recent violence in Israel and the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories -- you can find it fearlessly described in Democracy Now’s recent interviews with Hagai El-Ad, executive director of the human rights group B’Tselem (a Jerusalem-based human rights organization). Google “B’Tselem Democracy Now” and you should find links to it.