Global change begins at home
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Editor,
Why are we mystified that this world is in such a mess? Why is there disagreement between reasonable-thinking folks on issues of a clearly legal or illegal nature? Why is this? Could it be that reasonableness, good sense, fairness, justice, and what is truly right simply flies out the window in the face of greed, unreasonableness, selfishness, injustice, and anger? We all know that not only “could it be,” but that this definitely is the case over and over again in our world.
Latest case in point, brought home to me, is this quote from a piece by Jacob Chamberlain, staff writer for “Common Dreams” website: “Illegal settlement construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem poses the greatest threat to peace between Israel and Palestine, the European Union said in a report that urges all EU states to end all financial investments or transactions that could directly or indirectly aid the settlement-building process.”
These settlements are illegal; through and through, they are illegal. Yet our own country and others because of special financial/political/military interests persist in making this a rather vague and convoluted issue that allows things to never get resolved. Then when the Palestinian forces take some action against Israel out of their extreme frustration and concern, much of the world stays on the sidelines-of-silence and/or lack of condemnation of Israel due to the skewed sense of right and wrong brought on by greed, unreasonableness, selfishness, injustice, and anger.
The next question, and the one we probably should always be asking and exploring in light of these ignoble attitudes is this: How can we move our individual and collective attitudes and motivations to reasonableness, good sense, fairness, justice, and what is truly right?
So, to my way of thinking, it can only happen from the ground up, from the individual to the collective whole. And it will only happen by us in our own communities beginning to practice the art of thinking, feeling, speaking and acting in ways which embrace the ideas and ideals of community-building through compassion, reasonableness, good sense, fairness, justice and right thinking.
True community-building is the answer, in my book.
Bob McClellan
Polson
