STIRRING THE POT OF HATRED.

I received an email about charting Arab atrocities, killing Bobby Kennedy, downing an airplane, about 12 different incidents and then, of course, 911. The instructions to send this to everybody you know because these people are the bad guys and we are the good guys. The underlying message is hate them, eradicate them, kill them, rid the world of this menace.

Stirring the pot of hatred only begets hatred.  Maybe we should figure out why they hate us or hate anybody.  Forty percent of our federal tax dollars are spent on war?  Forty percent. Outrageous. Two percent of our tax dollars goes toward efforts to prevent war. Just think if we spent half of the war budget on changing attitudes in countries promulgating terror, what might the result be?

A Marine sent a letter to circulate about what it is like fighting in Afghanistan. He writes that the people have little choice in jobs. To work the poppy fields for the drug trade, which pays for terroism, or be a fighter. He describes the country as mostly desert with no roads or services away from the cities. He also describes them as an archaic people who haven't a clue how a modern society works. They can't operate a bic lighter or a ball point pen.

We have Christians in the United States that terrorize people who believe differently than they do, as in harassing abortion clinics. Attacking and killing doctors who performed abortions all in the name of their god. They justify killing and hate. Thankfully, most Christians do not believe that way.

The Koran says-kill the infidel.  Yet, many Arabic peoples have gone beyond that to interpret peaceful living as part of their religion. And, people who come as refugees to the U.S. especially savor and assimilate into the culture that provides them with a decent standard of living.

Maybe all they need is a decent standard of living for themselves and their families.
I wish I could have copied the letter from the Marine called the Sandpit, but it would not copy.
If you can find it out there, be sure and read it all the way through. It is an eye-opener.

There is a movement to send cards to our soldiers, and to light a candle for all the days of December, to support our troops. Activities that make better sense to me.

And the next generation, those that will replace us? Legions of high schools, college campuses and community parks are erecting Peace Poles. Our local school just put one up. It is 14 feet high with inscriptions in English, Spanish, Latin and German that say, "May Peace Prevail On Earth." It is estimated that there are 200,000 peace poles planted around the world. Locally, the effort was started by an Interact Student, supported and financed by the local Rotary Club. I say stir the pot of peace whenever you can and don't pass on messages of hate.

RIDING THE HORSE OF FEAR.

Yesterday, I blogged the high cost of gun violence. Making people aware of the hidden costs of guns and their danger can help people realize that something has to be done. I was thinking kids shouldn’t have to be dodging bullets on their way to school in poor neighborhoods. And, shouldn’t it be considered a hate crime when Gabby Gifford was gunned down? And, when young adults shoot down children in schools? Shouldn’t the CIA or the FBI be involved in hate crimes?

I watched Frontline last night for answers and none of those things were discussed. I was right when sometime back I called out the NRA as the new MAFIA.

After Reagan was shot, he didn’t touch on the subject of reigning in the proliferation of guns.
President George H. Bush, when the NRA called federal officers and cops “…jack booted government thugs kicking down doors…” by the NRA’s most successful fear monger, Lobbyist Wayne La Pierre, Bush resigned from the NRA. La Pierre publicly apologized and was chastised by the NRA Board for “backing down”.  And from that point on, he very effectively got his message of fear moving forward and never backed down again.  What is the message?

THE GOVERNMENT WILL TAKE AWAY YOUR GUNS.

Is that what the American people bought into?  Yes.

When Clinton became President, he got gun legislation passed barring the sale of assault weapons, the Brady Bill, requiring identifications and some success toward other regulations. When Gore ran for President, the NRA pressed hard in their home states and won Arkansas and Tennessee to shame them. Their message? Fear.

THE GOVERNMENT WILL TAKE AWAY YOUR GUNS.

During George W. Bush’s terms, the subject never came up.
Now, Obama. After Columbine, he was warned not to buck the NRA. Any attempt would be met with no legislation passed by the Republican house. He shamefully walked away.
But, later, one Democratic senator, a member of the NRA, got movement toward closing the gun show loophole. And the NRA was actually talking compromise. But another gun organization, with 300,000 gun owners warned the NRA that they should never compromise. Always win. The NRA walked away from the table and speared one of their own.  They dropped the ball even though polls show that 91% of Americans believe our gun laws are too lax, and, 80% of NRA member households feel that better gun control is needed.
The assault weapons ban has, in the meantime, expired and was not renewed.
But, by Sandy Hook, Obama could no longer ignore his conscience. He moved fast hoping for some momentum after little 6 and 7 year old kids were gunned down in their school. Five white Republican senators killed that bill.

THE ONLY WAY TO PROTECT KIDS IN SCHOOLS FROM A BAD GUY WITH A GUN IS TO HAVE A LOT OF GOOD GUYS WITH GUNS.
That was La Pierre’s response. And, gun sales rose with fear the government was going to take them away. Get them now before they come after us.

What Frontline investigations showed is that is doesn’t take thousands of people to keep that fear moving. It only takes 100’s of dedicated members to call politicians, show up at meetings, to be outside the senators office, to be passing out NRA publications of fear that promise to defeat anyone who supports even basic gun controls. Then with a fat pocketbook, the NRA spreads that fear on television with well targeted ads.They are trying to get legislation passed to prevent lawsuits against them. “Get the government off our backs.”

They ride the horse of fear for the sake of ultimate power. They brag with pride that they stand up to presidents and control government.
The people whose children were gunned downed, and thousands of other gun violence victims, feel betrayed by a government that is hobbled and refuses to protect them.

One woman from the gallery when the vote came up 5 short, shouted YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF.
Joe Biden had to quiet her but in his heart he agreed:  “How could they vote down legislation for identifications at gun shows, the gun show loop hole, back ground checks and bans on assault weapons in public?”
And Frontline?  They did not name the five senators. They are as scared as our government.

The future?  All of the new Republican’s sworn in this month are white, Christians. Not exactly a cross-section of American demographics.

RELIGION AND ETHICS IN GOVERNMENT

I was raised Christian and I’m continually stunned by avowed Christians who peddle hate, and spew vitriol about Arabs or Muslims or blacks, or gays… Hate begets hate; it sears the soul and I have a difficulty with that paradox. It is also partly why I am no longer a Christian nor a believer.

So, what can we expect from our government? Right now it is divisive, there is dominant greed, a consuming lust for money, power and prestige. Decisions are made to keep themselves in power over the broader good of the country, everywhere, not just in the United States.

And while I hew to no organized religion I would invite religious leaders to condemn the behaviors we see in government and to be vocal about reminding them of their supposed purpose as leaders.

The world’s religious leaders weighed in, representing 100 of the world’s diverse faiths, including Buddhism, Islam, Bahaism, Judaism, Confucianism, Zoroastrianism and all the organized Christian religions, Pentecostals, Catholics, Protestants, Evangelical Christians, Mormons.

Together they formed a Parliament of the World’s Religions. They found some common ground issued a joint statement of rules for living which exhorts all people to eschew violence, to respect and restore the planet and to work together to address the worldwide problems of poverty, hunger, oppression and prejudice. A  GLOBAL ETHIC.

Here are some of their (abbreviated by me)  Declarations toward a Global Ethic:

WE are interdependent.
Each of us depends on the well-being of the whole, people, animals, plants…
WE take individual responsibility for all we do.
All decisions, actions, and failures to act have consequences…
WE must treat others as we wish to be treated.
Respect life, dignity individuality and diversity, so every human is treated humanely…
WE consider humankind our family.
Serve others, forgive, not be enslaved by memories of hate, equality between men and women…
WE must strive for a just social and economic order, in which everyone has an equal chance of reaching his or her full potential.
We must speak and act truthfully and fairly…
WE commit ourselves to a culture of respect, justice and peace.
We will not oppress, injure, torture or kill…
Earth cannot be changed for the better unless the consciousness of individuals is changed first.
We pledge to increase our awareness by meditation, prayer, positive thinking, understanding, friendship, peace fostering…

And so it goes. The ten page document was forged by 200 religious leaders in 1993. Well meaning, but since then things have only gotten worse.
I wonder if the Parliament would choose a different leader every month to attend every session of Congress and continually quest them to adhere to the basic tenants of their declaration before they voted, if it would help? In essence to become a presence of conscience at every step of the way? Might help. Couldn’t hurt.

HOLOCAUST AND INTOLERANCE MUSEUM

I visited a Holocaust Museum in Germany years back and it was an unforgettable experience.  The gates,  (I’m guessing) are about 1o feet high and scripted over and over again with these words:
NEVER AGAIN, NEVER AGAIN, NEVER AGAIN.
And that IS the point of a Holocaust Museum.  In my mind, except for a small number of militant skinheads, the  deniers that the Holocaust ever happened have been swept away. I was in for a shock.

This denial in 1981 and in 1982, that the Turks obliterated  1.5 million Armenians is appalling and a warning of it’s own.  I didn’t remember this denial. I do remember the Russians changing their history books to obliterate their pogroms of Russian Jews. The Holocaust always seemed to me to be about Jews, and Germany and the Aryan beliefs of hate spread by Hiltler’s culture of fear.

Rwanda is too soon forgotten in that far away country. The obliteration of the Tutsis by the Hutus, people who spoke the same language and were similar in character to each other; who had lived as neighbors for many, many years.  Isn’t that true of the Germans and the Jews?  In Rwanda, it started when identity cards were issued, stating everyone’s ethnic background. The government leaders, ( denied by their president), and businesses,  favored  Tutsis over  Hutus and with the cards they knew who was who. Tusis got the better jobs, better education and better pay. Divisiveness began long before the actual killings took place. But,when the killing started, it was tolerated by the United Nations. The United States did nothing to interfere, nor did other Democratic countries.

Most of the battles were without guns. They didn’t have the money or wherewithal to buy sophisticated weapons. In 100 days, 800,000 Tutsis were hacked to death while the world benignly looked on. Rwanda had no oil to protect. United States workers were shocked at the barbarity of the crime and the toleration of such evil. One thing that came out of the Rwanda genocide is the recognition that rape is a weapon.

My second shock was the full realization that all but the Armenian Genocide happened during my lifetime.

The Kurdish cleansing.  The atrocities in Darfur, Czechoslovakia…I can’t even remember them all.

Here, a German woman measures the skull of  a gypsy,  to see if she qualifies as a saveable human being.
It always starts with hate. Some ethnic group is chosen as the scapegoat for that hate. Weapons of internal warfare are about the same: Systematically burn down houses, rape the women; separate families.

Here a child tries to connect with his mother and brothers in a detainment camp.

Spread fear.  Keep them poor,  hungry and fearful. Cut education. Make them thankful they have any kind of job.
It can’t happen here you say?
I’ve been visiting the border towns with Mexico for a good portion of this year. I’ve watched as the Border Patrol goes hunting with their weapons, all terrain vehicles and dogs.  I’ve listened to the hatred perpetrated by our lawmakers against immigration. And, hate is palpable in the air all around us. War on minorities is on the rise.  Women don’t need the same pay for the same job as men. Religion is inserted into government in marriage, health, ethnicity. All Muslims are evil. Don’t frequent that gas station. Protest the building of that temple. Build walls to keep Mexicans out. The politics of fear are pouring down upon us.
In some states there is a movement to require everyone to carry  identity cards.  Greyhound buses are allowing spontaneous searches and seizures on their buses. Only people with dark skin are questioned.   It can’t happen here. Or can it?

The Museum teaches that it is important to speak up when people use racial slurs and disrespect others because of their skin color, or ethnicity. They give classes and educate children to reject the strong forces of hate and divisiveness.  As adults, we mindlessly pass on jokes and patriotic speeches that reflect hate, or delete them without letting the sender know you object to them. Spewing hate is an epidemic in our country right now as we suffer economic hardships. Apply blame somewhere.

I thought  skinheads were a small minority. I had no idea how much of this type of activity goes on, or that there are numerical codes disguising the forces of evil working to save our country for WHITE people only. (Not all shaved heads are “skinheads” the pejorative for active, militant gangs of white supremacists.)

I see clearly  the need for constant rejection of any and all racial slurs and bias against another human. And, the necessity to guard your own language and thoughts against such bias clearly meant to get you to “take sides.”  We need a reminder like the Intolerance Museum to strengthen our resolve.
The Museum is all volunteer and survives on donations. They have a website:
http://www.nmholocaustmuseum.org/    The museum also covers the years of hate and laws in America  against African Americans,  Native Americans, and  Japanese Internments.  Then there was intolerance for Chinese, Irish Catholics, Poles, Unionizers, LBGY…the list goes on and on.

IS THERE A TRUE MEANING IN CHRISTMAS?

Traditions change from year to year. For us, one daughter and her family missing.
Ken made an amazing beer, his best so far. It has a hint of rosemary and wonderful bitter herbs. He and his family visited his wife, Laurie’s siblings in Lodi because her brother and his wife flew redeye to their son’s wedding in Korea this morning. Its 2011. What varied lives we live.
We spent most of the day playing games, walking the dogs, and stuffing ourselves silly with party foods. It warmed enough for the kids, Owen and Theo, to jump on the trampoline. The weather has been unseasonably warm this December. Dry, too.
I made Chili Verde for dinner, made with chicken rather than pork. I’ve wanted to try it that way for years, and it was very good by all accounts.  (It will never be as good as my friend Norma Tapia’s authentic verde with pork, though.)
The kids were allowed to open one present and the adults wanted to watch a Christmas movie. The kids were so busy  with their new lego games, we ended up watching The Help, a movie about black maids and their horrible treatment by employers in Jackson, Mississippi.  The kids soon got interested and are old enough to question what was going on between the races. For them it seemed unreal that people treated blacks so shabbily.
It was within our lifetime, not that long ago. It amazed  me how “good Christians” could justify treating anyone the way they did. So, on this very Christian commemorative, the reason for the season, as we hear chanted, may Christians around the world pause and consider the true meaning of Christianity, as in love thy fellow man.
Well, that was yesterday, on the Eve of Christmas. I HAVE AN IDEA. LET’S ABOLISH WAR TODAY, ALL LEADERS OF THE WORLD, AND HAVE A REAL MERRY CHRISTMAS. AND LET US REACH OUT A HAND TO OUR MUSLIM BROTHERS IN LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP. AS INDIVIDUALS, LET’S NOT SPREAD HATE.