I went from Ebay to reading the stupid news on yahoo.com, and decided I had had ENOUGH of the hatred going on all around us in this country. So, I scribbled out a 7 page rant, and this is the first draft. I want to edit, and send it to every newspaper, magazine, tv station, and web site in this country. I'll send it to Spielberg, Oprah, and Obama himself. Here is my rant, for what it's worth. Might not make much of a difference, but I felt compelled to write it anyway. I am, after all, a write-aholic. And yes, I borrowed the word RUBICON from your Frontiers album...that was one of my favorite songs on it. In fact, I wanted it for my high school class song, but Whitney Houston's "Greatest Love of All" was voted instead. SIGH. Goodnight Stephen, sweet dreams. Love, Rebecca
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THE RUBICON CHALLENGE WE ALL MUST RISE TO, FACE, AND CONQUER
Dear Reader,
The hatred in our country is quickly growing past the point of sanity.
What are you going to do about it? Yes, you. I am talking to YOU, dear reader. What are you doing to help end hatred in your tiny part of the world, in your community, your neighborhood, in your schools, the hate that is permeating and surrounding you and me and everyone ELSE in our country?
Are you going to allow people in your neighborhood to shoot 17 year old boys who wear hoodies? Are you going to stand by, do nothing, and just let it play out on the news and hope that it never happens to your child?
Are you going to allow people to beat an Iraqi-American woman and kill her, with a cowardly note that says, “This is OUR country, not YOURS?” She was a mother of 5 children. She was 32 years old, and living in Southern California. This WAS HER COUNTRY TOO. She didn’t harm anyone. Are you going to do anything about this crime? Or will you just watch the news, and turn the t.v. off, and go about your business?
The media, the politicians, the government, the societal disease of “us vs. them” and the irrational hatred is not only caused by those ubiquitous “thin-air things” such as “the media,” because my friend, “the media” is YOU AND ME. And “the politicians” are just trying to play a game, involving YOU AND ME. And the government has much bigger problems than being blamed for the hatred going on around us, you can blame “it” all you want to, but the government of OUR country, is a reflection of YOU AND ME. Each of these “thin-air” entities actually REPRESENT you and me.
So the bottom line, then, is that it is up to YOU AND ME to do something about hatred.
Whether you like it or not, whether you have the time, the energy, the money, the ability, the opportunity, the wherewithall, the chutzpah, the cahones----whatever EXCUSE you have justified in your own mind in order to remain as a silent bystander, doing NOTHING in the face of adversity, is really just as bad as being the perpetrator.
Unfortunately, dear reader, YOU are part of the problem, with no involvement, no voluntary action, no protests, no outrage.
But, you are the same as “everybody else,” you say to yourself, “just trying to live your life, get through the day, pay the bills and put food on the table for your family.” The rest of the world, you reason, will just have to “take care of itself” because you’re “too busy.”
Starting your own petition or just signing an online petition on Change.org takes about 2 minutes of your time. Calling your congressmen and senators to express concern takes
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about five minutes. Writing a letter to authorities in your community to express outrage at the injustices going on takes about 15 minutes, tops. A stamp is 45 cents. You have a mailbox. You have a telephone. You have a computer. You, dear reader, have no excuse for not getting involved in these alarming and urgent issues.
People who were living in pre-war Nazi Germany were just like you, when it all began. The economy was awful, money wasn’t worth much, the loss of World War I was devastating, the government was faltering, nobody seemed to know what to do, crime rates rose steadily month by month, and guess what? People were too busy trying to get food on their tables, trying to pay the bills, trying to get through the day. They didn’t have time or the energy to deal with those bigger problems that “someone else” should be dealing with. Who is that “someone,” if not YOU AND ME? One man then took a look around at what he saw and said, “I think I can use this opportunity to further my OWN agenda,” and that man was Adolf Hitler.
You scoff, and say, “That kind of thing can’t happen HERE, in America!” But my dear reader, you are wrong. Naive and ignorantly wrong. Go read the book entitled Ominous Parallels, by Leonard Piekoff, if you don’t believe me. It very well CAN happen here, and the climate we are currently living under is RIPE for it to happen. Hitler started out being a thug, a hoodlum, a loud-mouthed rebel who couldn’t paint, and only became a corporal in the Army during World War I. He wasn’t special. He was an underachiever. He was an average “Joe.” But we all know that he was anything but ‘average’ when you realize all of the evil things he did to our world.
Oh sure, I know you look at third world countries that you can’t even pronounce or point out on a world map, with men who are rioting in the streets, dealing with corruption, crime and hate, and you say to yourself, “they aren’t as educated as we are, they aren’t as high-tech as we are, they are more primitive than we are, they don’t understand democracy and will never be able to solve their problems that way, but that doesn’t make it MY PROBLEM.”
How do you think those third world countries GOT that way? How do you think it BEGAN? Are you so blind, dear reader, to think that these horrible things going on all around you are just “rare incidents,” and “nothing to get all upset about,” and “won’t affect YOUR neighborhood, YOUR children, and YOUR tiny speck of the universe?” Do you really believe that?
As the saying goes, “If you are not outraged, you’re not paying attention.”
What kind of world are you letting your children grow up in, when they have to be afraid to wear a hoodie while walking down a street? What kind of world are your kids involved in, where bullying in schools happens every day, and everybody knows it, but the adults around them seem only to spend time debating about it, arguing about it, or simply ignoring it?
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When will you realize, dear reader, that sweeping all the complex issues of hatred under a rug, turning a blind eye, burying your head in the sand and ignoring it is only fueling the fire even more?
Hate groups in the United States have exploded into more than 1,000 all across our country---the most EVER---in every type of community, with every type of people of every race, religion, creed, and culture. One thousand hate groups, divided by 52 states. Do the math. Or, if you are’t convinced of this fact either, go to www.splcenter.org, and click on HATEWATCH. You will be horrified to see how many of those hate groups are right around the corner from where you live.
Why have we lost our way to such a horrible extent? Can we blame it on the tragedy of 9/11? Surely, no one can argue with the fact that our country has not been the same since that time. But neither was it the same after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
When Pearl Harbor happened, on December 7, 1941, the “greatest generation” of people who were there when it happened actually came together, worked together, they fought and died for our world to stay free and our country to remain great. They knew they HAD TO, if their children were to have a better life.
If they were here right now, looking around at the state of our society as it is today, what do you think they would say? How do you think they would feel about it?
Do you even care?
Short-sighted decisions, short-sighted thinking, instant gratification and ignorant laziness have all taken their toll on our country, and that’s because of YOU and ME. There are two kinds of people in the world, dear reader, and it is up to you to decide which type you want to be from this moment on. Are you REactive, or PROactive?
The PROactive people are getting work done, despite the arguments and the bickering and the pettiness going on around them. They are taking action and accomplishing goals. The REactive people are spinning around in circles, blaming everyone but themselves, passing the buck, justifying their non-involvement by doing nothing constructive or positive to actually solve anything.
“Evil thrives when good people do nothing.” --Edward Burke
Do you, dear reader, understand what I am demanding of you? No, please understand, I am not asking. I am demanding. I want you to understand that we are all in this same place, this same world, we are all together, right now, dealing with all of the same problems, in the same way, we are all human, we are all trying to live and get through the day, we are all stressed out, we are all overwhelmed, we are all working too hard, we are all busy, we are all just trying to pay the bills and put food on our tables.
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Every human being in the universe is doing those exact same things in some way, every day, just like you and me---in every community, every neighborhood, every city, every country. People who speak different languages are going through the same things, as YOU AND ME. Every human being needs shelter, clothing, and food. But even more than those basic necessities, every human being also needs compassion, empathy, love, and security.
Our politicians have been for decades, and still are, mostly REactive, blaming each other, bickering about petty issues, or making up issues about fixing things that aren’t broken. To put it simply: they are not the PROactive people we need to lead our country. No matter which way you lean politically, that fact is something you should no longer ignore, or sweep under the rug, because frankly, it’s not getting any better by doing that, is it?
And that means, it can ONLY get better if YOU get involved.
So, instead of sitting on your couch, munching on potato chips, watching the news, saying “tsk tsk, isn’t that terrible,” maybe you should be more PROactive, and do things that those authority figures around you don’t seem capable of doing. Maybe YOU should pick up the phone, click on a web site, sign a few petitions, call a few politicians, write a few letters. Make the time to do it. Go VOTE when you need to, and make sure you KNOW what you are voting FOR. Make your voice HEARD, loud and clear.
If you are as fed up with hatred in this country as I am, do something about it. If you don’t, then the only people you are hurting are your own children, and our next generation, and perhaps even the generation after them...your grandchildren. Your great-grandchildren.
What kind of world do you want for your family to thrive in? Do you want one free from worry about walking down a street wearing a hoodie? Do you want a world where bullying and hate crimes are not tolerated and are severely punished, or that are just swept under the rug in hopes that it won’t happen to you?
Because, dear reader, the odds are, that eventually, it WILL happen to you. And me. And your children. Hatred WILL permeate your utopian universe, it WILL burst your little bubble of the world, it WILL affect you in some way. There is no escaping it. You are no better or worse than the next guy who just went through it. It can, and most conceivably will, happen to you too. What are you going to DO about it?
Let me introduce you to a Protestant Pastor named Martin Niemoller. He wrote this, and then he spent the last years of his life in a concentration camp for it:
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First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out --
Because I was not a Socialist.
Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out --
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out --
Because I was not a Jew
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me -- and there was no one left to speak for me.
Who will speak for you, if you don’t do it yourself, dear reader? Who will be there for you, when it is your turn to go through a hate crime, who will defend you, if you haven’t also been there to defend others?
Have we all forgotten the Golden Rule? You have a computer. Look that up on Wikipedia. Here is what you’ll find:
Golden Rule
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not to be confused with the Golden Law or the Golden ratio.
For other uses, see Golden Rule (disambiguation).
The maxim of the "golden rule" is exemplified in many Christian stories, such as the Parable of the Good Samaritan, which are unadorned replications of the Jewish Torah: "Love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD."(Leviticus 19:18 —NJPS)[1]
The Golden Rule or ethic of reciprocity is a maxim,[2] ethical code, or morality[3] that essentially states either of the following:
- (Positive form): One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself.[2]
- (Negative/prohibitive form, also called the Silver Rule): One should not treat others in ways that one would not like to be treated.
This concept describes a "reciprocal" or "two-way" relationship between one's self and others that involves both sides equally and in a mutual fashion.[4][5]
This concept can be explained from the perspective of psychology, philosophy, sociology, religion, etc.: Psychologically it involves a person empathizing with others. Philosophically it involves a person perceiving their neighbor as also "an I" or "self."[4][5] Sociologically, this principle is applicable between individuals, between groups, and between individuals and groups. (For example, a person
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living by this rule treats all people with consideration, not just members of his or her in-group.) Religion is an integral part of the history of this concept.[2][6]
As a concept, the Golden Rule has a history that long predates the term "Golden Rule" (or "Golden law", as it was called from the 1670s).[2][7] As a concept of "the ethic of reciprocity," it has its roots in a wide range of world cultures, and is a standard way that different cultures use to resolve conflicts.[2][6] It has a long history, and a great number of prominent religious figures and philosophers have restated its reciprocal, "two-way" nature in various ways (not limited to the above forms).[2]
Statements that mirror the Golden Rule appear in Ancient Egypt in the story of The Eloquent Peasant.[8][clarification needed] Rushworth Kidder discusses the early contributions of Confucius (551–479 B.C.) (See a version in Confucianism below). Kidder notes that this concept's framework appears prominently in many religions, including "Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Zoroastrianism, and the rest of the world's major religions".[9] According to Greg M. Epstein, " 'do unto others' ... is a concept that essentially no religion misses entirely."[10] Simon Blackburn also states that the Golden Rule can be "found in some form in almost every ethical tradition".[11]
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Erase all the other words from this definition, except for “Do Unto Others as You would have done to YOU.” That, my friend, is the Golden Rule. I simply wanted to remind you of this, in case you did not understand. It is a rule that is “found in some form in almost every ethical tradition.” That means, we all need to live by it. We all need to practice it. We all need to make that the center of our existence, every day, all the time, in every situation we encounter. That’s quite a difficult challenge, isn’t it, dear reader? How can anyone do that, all the time, every day, in this world we currently live in?
That, in the nutshell, is what I am demanding of you.
Repeat the Golden Rule to yourself as a mantra, every day, while looking in the mirror. Tattoo it on your forehead. Staple it to your coat. Engrave it onto your soul. Teach your children about it. Lead them by this example. Show them how to live this rule. It is not an easy task. But if you want this hatred to end, if you want to be someone who is involved and who helps put an end to hatred in our world, then it is an absolute must.
I mean no disrespect to you, dear reader, by telling you these things. You may already feel the same way I do, you may indeed by involved in your community, helping the
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homeless, volunteering, raising funds for charity. You may already be living the Golden Rule. You may be signing those petitions, you may be calling those politicians.
You may very well be the upstanding, PROactive person who HAS risen to this challenge. For that, I applaud you, and thank you for being there for me too.
But, your neighbor, your siblings, your friends...are they doing all that too? If not, then it is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to get them involved too. If we can all try to do these things, if we can all try to speak out when we see injustice, if we can protest in outrage at any social challenge or civil rights issue, or corruption, if we can vote to put PROactive people in power in our government, and stop purchasing items that are advertised on certain radio talk show hosts’ channels, if we can do everything IN OUR POWER---and yes, you and me, dear reader, we most definitely HAVE THAT POWER----to make this world a better place, to end hatred, racism, prejudice, corruption, evil, and HEAL our collective wounds with LOVE, COMPASSION, EMPATHY, understanding and nurturing, then by GOD, you are hereby officially being summoned to DO THAT, and DO ALL OF THAT RIGHT NOW.
Don’t turn the t.v. on. Don’t just sit on the couch. Don’t ignore my demand.
Because if you do, YOU will be the one who will inevitably have to live with these awful things in our world that will only get worse as time passes. If nobody has the courage to do something about it, dear reader, then we are all doomed to repeat the same mistakes. And our world will crumble. Your children will not be safe. The “American Dream” will become a horrible nightmare.
Don’t let the haters rule your world. Don’t allow them to take your America away. Don’t allow them to continue permeating the filth of hatred in your part of the world.
That’s all I wanted to say to you, dear reader. We have a tough road ahead, YOU AND ME. Rise to the challenge. Together, we will prevail.
Sincerely,
Your friend,
Rebecca
PS. Add things that you feel should be said. Constructive Criticism is welcome. Help me edit or delete things that are redundant, or that don't make sense. COLLECTIVELY, we can put together a powerful message and CHANGE THIS WORLD.
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