Tragedy has deep antecedents---are we going to learn?

[J. Paul Everett]

In a message dated 9/12/01 12:26:15 AM, on.the.edge at sympatico.ca writes:

<< Today, I am jolted into reflecting on the ways I have contributed to
terror.  Small looks, feelings, actions, angry outbursts, and
rejections.  I am moved to see my pain, from which they arose, and the
cost for humanity. >>

Dear Friends on the List,

I'm a newbie on this list and I am struck by a need for historical
perspective.  And, for the idea of concrete action as well as holding the
psychic/energetic space with love.  We need to see clearly, without
projection---very difficult when unpopular views are aired, which I suspect
some of these will be.

The seeds of this tragedy we are experiencing are long and deep, all imho,
btw.  They can be seen to be growing with our failure to recognize the plight
of the Jews, Gypsies and other "non-persons" in Nazi-led Germany.  Our (in
the US) isolationism and distaste for the wars on the "Continent" kept us
blind for a long time. The United States turned back a large shipload of Jews
who were desperately seeking asylum---returned them to France where most were
rounded up and ended up in the gas chambers of the "Final Solution".  Our
great guilt and grief, when the Holocaust was revealed, caused us to commit
another causal act of this terrorism we experienced today---we, in the West,
supported the ripping up of 4 to 5 million Palestinians out of their homes
and land to make a place for the diaspora of the Jewish religion, now called
Isreal.  We were seeking atonement.

Then, rather than immediately doing a "Marshal Plan" for those dispossessed
so they would also have hope, could also create a new, more prosperous life,
we left them in squalid, fetid, camps to fester, to live hopeless lives, to
become angry at a level we cannot comprehend, to grow in hatred of the United
States and the West.  Meanwhile, desperate forces continued to try to destroy
Isreal, and are still doing so today.  Make no mistake, until the
land/economic issue of hope and access to the holy places is solved, the
Middle East will remain in turmoil.  We made other mistakes too numerous to
mention, because we had the power and controlled the oil (until 1973), all
the while blind to the seething resentment and grinding poverty of the
majority of the Islamic/Arabic peoples in the Middle East.

According to what I have read (remembering that paper does not refuse ink),
Osama bin Laden was a millionaire guerilla fighter in Afghanistan against the
Soviets (how many of us would be millionaire guerilla fighters---I'm not one,
I'll be the first to say).  He was turned from at least a neutral attitude
towards the West to a deep hater of the US by our use of Saudi Arabia's "holy
soil", his home country, to launch our attack against Iraq to save
Kuwait---to save Kuwaiti oil for the West.  If Kuwait had not had such huge
amounts of oil, do you think for one minute we would have cared if Saddam
took Kuwait?  Imho, not a chance.  And, we still have troops in Saudi Arabia,
which is a deep offense to bin Laden.

For another, contrasting example, the break up of the Slavic federation
caused us just a little notice and a surgically clean air campaign, for which
we will also pay, some day in the future.  They had no oil.  Now the Muslims
are doing to the Christians and Gypsies what was being done to them.  Very
sad.  All imho.  (btw, this is not to, in any way, excuse what are likely bin
Laden's despicable actions, not at all.  He must be caught and tried in
courts of law.  But, it is to show that we have a part in the dance, too,
that we largely don't want to see, which is our shadow side of this real-life
drama.)

We people in the United States and Western Europe do not, for the most part,
realize, at a gut, visceral level, what an incredible tub of butter we live
in---how incredibly wealthy and privileged we are.  Oh, yes, we see the
statistics, but they have no real, gut-level meaning to the average person
enjoying an unimaginably comfortable life (in the sense of physical goods,
comfort, and ability to travel and communicate (like I am doing now
)---spiritually and psychically is quite another matter or Prozac, etcetera
would never be such big sellers) while much of the rest of the world
languishes in unimaginable poverty and hopelessness.  We are going to hold
OSonOS X? in Australia next year.  We don't question our ability to do so.
To far more than half the world's people, doing so is simply not in their
consciousness.  They never leave where they were born because they are unable
to do so.

Well, that's quite a litany of issues, causes and problems, past and present.
 What to do?  Most certainly not what we are likely going to do, punish
someone with military might when we get their address.  Entering the revenge
cycle is one of the core problems in Kosovo, most of the Balkans, the Middle
East, Northern Ireland, etc.  Someone needs to begin the forgiveness cycle.
Very difficult unless we see a wider humanity, which we are as yet unable to
do across religious lines.  We need to raise our vision and create hope for
the millions in the Middle East through a form of effective aid, and tax
ourselves to do so, as well as getting out of their way to develop as they
see fit and not depend on their oil.

We, including us all here, must also do with less, imho.  Especially less gas
and oil.  Get out of our SUV's and bulking trucks that get 8-12 miles to the
gallon.  Tax the hell out of gasoline the way Europe does (where it's $4 a
gallon and more).  Get an effective fast rail and rail sub-systems throughout
the United States (Canada and Mexico, too?) so we don't need to drive or fly
so much.  Yes, I know, it will cost tens of billions of dollars, from gas
taxes?---but if we were not oil-dependent, we would not be messing around in
other people's lands.  They could develop themselves and look at reallocating
their wealth in a more democratic fashion.  They could have their own
revolution.  We need that help here, too, but that's another discussion.

Think, besides holding Open Space for peace, what acts of using less can you
personally take?  How might I/you/we all use less electricity, or get into
renewable sources of energy (solar is down to about 18 cents/kwh now, still
at least twice what we in the US pay, I think.  In the NW, where I live, it
is 3.5x what we pay.  But that is how we must begin to think, imho.)  How
might we use less packaging, less plastic (comes from oil), less, less,
less---(I'm aware of the simplicity movement, they have some very good
points).  In What Ways Might We.......(Fill in your own statement).

There is an iron law of responsibility that is promulgated in the Bible and
probably elsewhere that I don't know about.  Paraphrased:  "From those who
have much, of them will much be required."  We have incredibly, unimaginably
much.  What are we going to do with it?

How about a project to bring clean water to the entire world??  How might we
do that??  Just, that, alone would release millions of person-hours (mostly
women's) from gathering water, create an immediate leap in children's health
with increased survival rates and then dropping birth rates.  Maybe Rotary
International who, through their Polio Plus campaign, have changed the health
of the world's children, too, might like to take that on---humanity certainly
has the drilling and other pure water technologies to do it.  Just one idea.

I'm involved in a project through Rotary to build a small hospital in a small
town in Latvia (we have a Latvian community here as well as an active
Rotary).  We have done more with less than we could ever imagine.  Many, many
hands, including some from Canada and Europe, leaped in to help through
Rotary.  One small project, so much time.  One man spearheading the whole
vision.  What might happen if we began to see the deep needs of the truly
poor of the world?  I'm going on too long.

Blessings on you, and forgiveness for the injured and the injuring.

love, paul everett

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