on tolerance and humanity
Religion class was interesting today. We were discussing different religious philosophers and phenomenologists and what they believed religion was and what it meant for something to be sacred or holy and why people made thing sacred or holy and how things became that way. It was interesting. There were a few different views: one was all about the emotional impact of a sacred experience and made up words to describe it (mysterium, remendum, fascinum) and another talked about the difference between the sacred and profane (basically profane is ordinary and sacred is anything not ordinary). Then we started talking about this guy named Paul Tillich. His theory about what was sacred/holy/whatever you want to call it was that there was this “Unconditional Being”, as in the sacred was this powerful thing (being) that was never changing (unconditional). Then we started talking about the definition of unconditional and how human beings have a conditional existence. We are completely dependent on certain conditions (i.e. the temperature, the oxygen to methane ratio in the atmosphere, etc.) staying the same. Our existence would cease to be if the temperature suddenly rose above a certain amount or fell (hard to imagine in TX) below a certain number.The human body has a range at which it can function and anything outside that comfort zone will kill us. Likewise with the atmosphere: if there was an oxygen shortage we would all die. Our existence is conditional and dependent upon factors outside of our control. We are surrounded by conditional things: rocks, trees, animals, water, the list goes on and on. Humanity is a conditional thing: it has a beginning and an end. It will not go on forever. Life will, at some point, cease to exist. And I don’t mean we’re all going to die eventually, I mean that at some point humanity will cease to be. Life will be gone. The stars, the planets, the universe will be gone at some point. It too has a conditional existence. What then will there be when all of this is gone? Nothingness….
We were also talking about what people view as sacred or holy and people were giving different examples (like crosses or something) and then someone mentioned where the World Trade Center used to be and then we started talking about how people may view that as sacred in the way people view a graveyard etc. and how it holds special meaning and is a place to be remembered. Now I’m not saying it shouldn’t be remembered. What happened there was a tragedy. Same thing with the London Underground bombings and the Oklahoma City bombings. People’s lives were lost for no reason. But the real tragedy (and this is just one opinion at one moment in time) isn’t the useless killing. I mean yes that’s sad and wrong but it’s not the worst. The worst part about it is that in 50 years, no one will even remember that one morning thousands were pointlessly murdered in a war they weren’t fighting, in a stupid battle for culture and religion and meaning. What everyone has failed to realize is that our differences shouldn’t divide us, but rather connect us. We might not agree with each other, but killing each other is not the answer. Ask yourself on December 8…does this date hold any significance to you? Do you remember the thousands that were murdered during the Pearl Harbor attacks, the 9/11 equivalent of the 40’s? No one remembers Pearl Harbor. When will people begin to forget September 11th? 10 years? 20?...2? In a way they have already forgotten; we are at war in Iraq, creating a breeding ground for the very activity that caused something like September 11th to take place.
How is it that our culture and country can be so affected by a single event and yet never really take the action necessary to prevent it from happening again? How can people be so blind to the fact that it was caused by cultural isolation, ignorance, and intolerance rather than by not having enough weapons or by some foreign dictatorship? How long will it take for humanity to realize that we are to blame: individuals and humans and intolerance and hatred, not governments and religions. Governments and religions are merely pawns of mankind. How much longer must we wait before people realize that war and killing and violence are not the solution but rather the problem? How long will it take?????
"Tolerance is bigger than race, greater than creed, mightier than color. It is not a breaking down of all barriers between ourselves and the other fellow; it is the realization that, in reality, there are no barriers to break down."
posted by kellyisdelightful @ 11:29 AM
6 Comments:
long, but worth the read. i don't think that human beings will ever all realize what you want them to and stop the madness of war and killings. you'll like this: its like what grendel thinks...or at least in what i've read...on the stupid men who do nothing but become friends, turn on each other and kill them. betrayal. War goes back to the days of the greeks and their gods and eqyptions...the begining of history i mean....its evloved and become less barbaric in a way but it has, nor do i think ever will, completly gone away. there are some wars that were not needed, and some that went beyond what they needed to, but when have words ever honestly gotten us anywhere? the declaration of independance didnt get us anything but troops sent over. if it weren't for the revolutionary war we'd probably all be calling trash "rubbage" and speaking with a different accent. i know you love europe and london and such, but i like my heritage here and i don't think i'd enjoy being under the queens or her parlimetns ruling. i think its terrible that people start to forget things like pearl harbor and 9/11. i honestly didn't realize it was 9/11 untill i typed the date on something adn was like...woah....i think about when i look at my clock at it says 9:11, but it is not always in my mind.
its kinda scary to think about there being nothing left of humanity. i mean, it makes sense, yes, i just don't like to think about it. what will there be when its gone? nothing can not exist. i spent an entire day arguing about that with a teacher and i totally belive it.
gooo you make me think too much. and i love you for it....
Mal~
thank you mal i love you too. i don't think humans are inherently violent. i think we can overcome that aspect. i think that the logic part of our brain can overcome hatred and prejudice and anger and i think we can all be better for it. i don't think killing each other is inevitable; i think its wrong and that we should be better than it.
yeah...hard to fathom absolute nothingness. but when everything is gone...what else will there be?
Agreed: a very interesting read. We're talking about this online now a bit, about the WTC and rebuilding and memorials and stuff.
Humanity is a funny thing as a whole. We tend to remember happy occasions as the years go by: birthdays, anniversaries, and the like. We try to forget the sad things that have happened in the past: Pearl Harbor, the racism that occurred not even fifty years ago, 9/11.
Unfortunately there's very little we, as a single individual, can do about it. We can try to educate others, we can try retelling our experience...but the fact of the matter is that the next generation won't know the feeling. Like how when we were freshmen and those our age that went to State for marching band...we never had the experience of doing that. We don't understand the feelings that Matt and David would talk about because we were never there.
You and I will never be able to experience the losses of Pearl Harbor, but we have experienced the losses of 9/11. In this way life is a vicious cycle like that. Each generation has tragedies it will remember. In the 30s it was the Great Depression. In the 40s, Pearl Harbor and WWII. In the 50's, segregation and blacks' rights. In the 60's and 70's, Vietnam. In the 80's, the explosion of the Challenger. In the 90's, the Gulf War...you get my drift.
I was just talking to my roommate about this, actually, she just gave me the Challenger idea. We talked briefly about America's identity. I said that because America is filled with individuals working to better themselves rather than working together as a society, which can be seen as a weakness. She disagreed and said that it could be seen as one of America's strengths, what makes it unique as a country.
My roommate is actually pretty cool to talk to if the right subject matter arises.
I hope we continue to stay in touch. You provide some of my only psychological and intellectual stimulation sometimes...I certainly don't get it talking about the feudal system in English class. I enjoy talking to you immensely, and I wish I could take this world religion class with you, because it sounds a helluva lot better than sitting listening to my econ professor tell us forty times what profit is (revenue - costs). At least I get some good reading done in that class.
A long post warrants a long comment...hope you enjoyed.
indeed pam. we shall keep in touch. it is a must. and thanksgiving break:hanging out. period.
every generation has its own crisis. to quote mr beckett:
"let us not speak ill of our generation, it is not any unhappier than its predecessors..."
oh langford how i miss you class...
I know this is random, but what are you going to major in (or rather, what are you going to be when you grow up)?
Because frankly, you're one of the most intelligent people I know. If you run for office or anything someday, you totally have my vote.
I'm sorry my comment isn't as long or fantastic as the rest of 'em.
wow allie thanks a lot. that really means a lot. i'm majoring in english and history at the moment though political science is a possibility as well. i want to be a teacher. and eventually a college professor i think.
Post a Comment
<< Home