The Current Human Plight

Do you support Israel against Palestine or vise versa?
Do you support Iran against the United states or the West or vise versa?

I see a trend within society that plays out within these forums and is rather sickening to me as someone who cares deeply for humanity and injustice within the world. I see the suffering of people under tyrants and power whores. I see racial, ethnic, and social status oppression that destroys the lives of millions of people. I see radical ideologies and indoctrination practices that are forced down the throats of children. I see child labor and children forced to fight in atrocious wars. The plight of humanity is nearly unbearable when I think of all these struggles that human beings just like me but unfortunately born in a different place are facing.

Now, the problem I have with the logic of arguments that often times take place within the arguments on ATS is that many here will stand up for the atrocities of a nation in order to stand against the atrocities of another. One, for example, may stand for the plight of the Iranian people but in doing so they stand up for and refuse to condemn the fact that the government and many people sanction the lynching of homosexuals, Christians, and were guilty of a terrible crackdown on protestors during the last elections. Iran has a regime that is completely ideologically insane and is run by psychopaths who desire nothing but power and to force their views upon the people of other nations.

Likewise, one can argue against the imperialistic pursuits of the United States that may have very well contributed to the state of the Iranian regime. One can focus on the fact that the United States government pursued a war based on blatant lies and hundreds of thousands of citizens have suffered and/or died as a result. Numerous other arguments could be made about the injustice of United States action within the Middle East over the past decades.

I could argue similar points in relationship to Israel and Palestine or any other warring nations. The truth of the matter is that Iran, Palestine, Israel, and the United States are all guilty of atrocity after atrocity and yet we still find ourselves battling, screaming, and even pandering to one side so that we can be right.
Well, where do I stand? I desire to stand for truth rather the striving to embellish atrocity. Rather than taking a side, when either side is guilty of extremely abhorrent action, I choose to strive to find the root of the issues. I strive to examine materialism, greed, and the human psyche related to these human desires. I strive to examine policy that has resulted in the extreme ideologies that blanket our earth and how we can change policy. I strive to examine and point out injustice wherever it may be found and not hide anything from view because I support one regime over another. I choose to support no side and simply fight for integrity, virtue, honesty, peace, and love.

Why are we such a divided nation and world? What does divisiveness net us within the context of what we care about and hope for. I have a feeling that most rational human beings (not those consumed by extreme ideologies) are all for virtue, integrity, honesty, peace, and love. However, we have different ideas of how we reach those things. The minute differences concerning the journey there are far less important than the end goal. An example of this problem in action is the fact that most of us would love to see peace in the Middle East. Some may believe military action is necessary, while others may believe that inaction is the best action. Others may blame Israel or the United States for the state of the Middle East. More may argue that the Middle East is where it is because of extreme ideologies, extreme religious adherence, and abhorrent leadership. It is the differences toward the end goal of peace that causes our divisions........more anger............more hate..................and ultimately, we get so caught up in defending our arguments and attacking "the other side" that we lose sight of the truth that we want the same thing. We get so caught up in the journey that we become the new battlefield and an entirely new war has begun.

This idea is playing out right now within the United States 2012 election. We all want the same things for the most part. We want prosperity, a good life, to experience the American dream, to have abundance enough to give, to help our fellow Americans, to experience freedom, to help the world become a better place, and anyone who argues differently is delusional. Within that context of course you have your outliers, religious nut jobs, and those with their own ideological agenda. However, the truth is that we want the same things and we simply have different ideas of how to attain those goals. Both sides may have some things that are right and both sides definitely have ideas that are wrong. The thing to realize is that there are sides and those sides are held firm through anger, hate, and ridicule that is aimed towards a human being who ultimately wants the same thing that you do. Do you see how this perpetuates the very opposite of what we are all working towards? Do you see how hate and anger spread like a disease until one side is completely and sufficiently stamped out (often times resulting in their deaths)? Do you see how this process keeps us sufficiently controllable and passionate enough that we won't think beyond our own arguments? Do you see how transcending towards all of our goals is nearly impossible when we can't look outside ourselves and into the truth of hurting people?

I propose the simple statement that we agree to disagree. I believe the first step in this path is the gift or learned ability called empathy. Empathy drives us towards understanding.

Empathy is what allows me to:
-Feel the struggle of the innocent civilian caught in the midst of a war that he or she never desired.
-Feel the pain of drug addiction that tears asunder the lives of so many young people
-Understand the terrorist who has been indoctrinated all of his life and all he knows is hate and murder
-To feel what it means to be a minority
-To understand the injustice within the judicial system that results in African Americans, who commit equal percentages of drug crime as Caucasians yet more than 60% of those imprisoned for drug crime are African American.
-To admit that I might be wrong about a lot of things and so I can't hold onto my arguments when facts are staring me in the face...............over the past 10 years my views have changed towards evolution, homosexuality, minorities, immigration, war, the Middle East, economics, politics, and numerous other issues. It is only due towards empathy and my willingness to hear as a result of that empathy. Empathy drives me to hear what people are saying behind the words.
-To value each and every human being..........what if I had been born where they were? What if I had their form of education? What if I had lost the loved one they lost? What if I had felt the pain they felt? What if I had been born into their single parent family? What if I had occupiers living in my country? What if I witnessed a suicide bombing? What if my family was killed by a Palestinian rocket volley? What if Israel bulldozed my home?

We must learn to feel people where they are if we are ever going to move beyond our anger and hatred of our differences.

I am not a fan of anyone in the middle east. Its all about the holy lands over there and i could care less.

Originally posted by wrksstudios
I am not a fan of anyone in the middle east. Its all about the holy lands over there and i could care less.

I feel as though I have a responsibility to care. Statistics were simply in my favor that I was born into the United States. My fortune means that I should use that fortune to strive to help others who did not have access to the same fortune I possess. Therefore, I do care, and I am sorry that people can be so indifferent.

Originally posted by Bugman82

Originally posted by wrksstudios
I am not a fan of anyone in the middle east. Its all about the holy lands over there and i could care less.

I feel as though I have a responsibility to care. Statistics were simply in my favor that I was born into the United States. My fortune means that I should use that fortune to strive to help others who did not have access to the same fortune I possess. Therefore, I do care, and I am sorry that people can be so indifferent.

Tut! tut! You must have empathy for this person. You must understand why they feel this way. It was not a normal condition that they were given by nature. Things happened to them and inside their head that resulted in that outlook.

(I'm totally serious here with my chiding of you after the OP. Follow what you preach. And I agree with you!)

reply to post by Aliensun


I never said civil discussion wasn't available. Notice my comments on outliers who don't fit the mold of people who care or want to see the value of all human beings that I expressed. I do understand indifference, but my perspective that is that it is a lack of empathy and understanding in the first place that results in "the plight of humanity". The encompassing arguments were for empathy.