Peace in the Middle East
Dale Netherton
January 13, 2006
A new leader emerges from the Palestinian arena and promptly Israelis are attacked. The Israelis respond and the conflict continues as before. What exactly is the conflict and why can it not be resolved by the two parties? First of all the conflict is fundamentally irreconcilable as long as both parties cling to an outdated notion that because a land is pronounced sacred and belongs to a race of people. No land is sacred that harbors hatred, terrorism, racism and war. Land is dirt and beyond that is nothing more than a place to stand and build. It is not necessary for the land to be an issue as war at sea has also been possible although occupation has not been the issue in these instances but the destruction of the enemies sea faring war machines. But the issue is not dirt. It is the age old notion that those who don't accept one belief system are less than human and expendable.
Think of it. A belief hammered into a nation that by killing and destroying other people and their property some good will come out of it. Now visible history shows this to be utterly false so what then do the belief mongers point to? That which no man can experience and record for analysis ..death. Capitalizing on the fear of death and what will happen upon dying, they demand a belief that in itself is supposed to conquer that fear and open the door for obedience on earth to a string of commandments designed to obliterate those who do not believe as instructed. This has happened so many times in history and caused so much grief and misery and death you would think mankind would rise up and shout ."enough". But mankind is a peculiar animal and although he is capable of seeing the light of reason he prefers too often the darkness of faith and obedience.
What should he question when he told not to from the time he is a small child. HIs educators give credence to faith. His employers require loyalty and obedience. His government demonstrates the importance of lockstep conformity and his deity is supposedly demanding more of the same. With this as a bombardment it is no wonder there have been so few who have challenged the proponents who pass on the ritual and fight to gain the power to enforce it.
Why is there no uprising for peace in the Middle East? Because peace requires analysis of the causes of war and a rejection of the tenets that perpetuate it. How do you identify a cause if you cannot question ? If your starting place in your thought process is ," I must believe X" then all that proceeds must reject that which challenges that beginning. For instance if I contend that I must believe that the earth is flat, I will never discover the fact that it isn't. It is not possible for me to consider that. The heretics knew the price they had to pay for what they considered a higher priority for them i.e. truth.
You see truth is what it is all about and those who want truth to be what has been told to them and their comrades will declare truth to be theirs. They will not show but demand what is true and no one should dare otherwise. Or else what? You will be punished on earth, You will be punished after you die. You will be punished forever.
This method has been effective for eons but it is still a con game and it does not define truth nor expose it. It is a phony method because it requires conquest instead of persuasion. It is phony because it relies on the fear of the unknown. It is phony because it requires man to blindly believe whether he sees the truth or not. And this phoniness permeates too much of the world and is most visible where is it generates the most violence and continues to be irreconcilable. This is why we are so ineffective in creating and generating a peace process. We accept many of the same notions but we are less extreme in our implementation. We are more tolerant but it is our tolerance for weak analysis and tepid truth seeking that only makes us less effective. Will we ever wake up and see that what we abhor is only a short distance from us? Will we ever stand up and quit giving ignorance and intolerance the benefit of the doubt? Will we ever create an example of how to openly challenge the power mongers who demand we "reach out" to those who are repeating the mistakes of the centuries? Not as long as we ignore the individual and worship the group, the mob, the nation, the environment, the potentate and some form of deity.
Where is the individual in the Middle East? He is either a Jew or an Arab or a Palestinian , etc. He is a member of a clan that places his individuality below the title of the tribe. He is only a member of the unit that believes in a certain way. What does he the individual believe? It doesn't matter. As an individual he is either a member of the clan or he is an outcast. And without a recognition of the individual there can be no protection of individual rights. And without the protection of individual rights there is only the terror of the government that speaks for the beliefs of the tribe and the extermination of its opponents. Peace in the Middle East? It will take far more than an election in any country to make that happen.
Think of it. A belief hammered into a nation that by killing and destroying other people and their property some good will come out of it. Now visible history shows this to be utterly false so what then do the belief mongers point to? That which no man can experience and record for analysis ..death. Capitalizing on the fear of death and what will happen upon dying, they demand a belief that in itself is supposed to conquer that fear and open the door for obedience on earth to a string of commandments designed to obliterate those who do not believe as instructed. This has happened so many times in history and caused so much grief and misery and death you would think mankind would rise up and shout ."enough". But mankind is a peculiar animal and although he is capable of seeing the light of reason he prefers too often the darkness of faith and obedience.
What should he question when he told not to from the time he is a small child. HIs educators give credence to faith. His employers require loyalty and obedience. His government demonstrates the importance of lockstep conformity and his deity is supposedly demanding more of the same. With this as a bombardment it is no wonder there have been so few who have challenged the proponents who pass on the ritual and fight to gain the power to enforce it.
Why is there no uprising for peace in the Middle East? Because peace requires analysis of the causes of war and a rejection of the tenets that perpetuate it. How do you identify a cause if you cannot question ? If your starting place in your thought process is ," I must believe X" then all that proceeds must reject that which challenges that beginning. For instance if I contend that I must believe that the earth is flat, I will never discover the fact that it isn't. It is not possible for me to consider that. The heretics knew the price they had to pay for what they considered a higher priority for them i.e. truth.
You see truth is what it is all about and those who want truth to be what has been told to them and their comrades will declare truth to be theirs. They will not show but demand what is true and no one should dare otherwise. Or else what? You will be punished on earth, You will be punished after you die. You will be punished forever.
This method has been effective for eons but it is still a con game and it does not define truth nor expose it. It is a phony method because it requires conquest instead of persuasion. It is phony because it relies on the fear of the unknown. It is phony because it requires man to blindly believe whether he sees the truth or not. And this phoniness permeates too much of the world and is most visible where is it generates the most violence and continues to be irreconcilable. This is why we are so ineffective in creating and generating a peace process. We accept many of the same notions but we are less extreme in our implementation. We are more tolerant but it is our tolerance for weak analysis and tepid truth seeking that only makes us less effective. Will we ever wake up and see that what we abhor is only a short distance from us? Will we ever stand up and quit giving ignorance and intolerance the benefit of the doubt? Will we ever create an example of how to openly challenge the power mongers who demand we "reach out" to those who are repeating the mistakes of the centuries? Not as long as we ignore the individual and worship the group, the mob, the nation, the environment, the potentate and some form of deity.
Where is the individual in the Middle East? He is either a Jew or an Arab or a Palestinian , etc. He is a member of a clan that places his individuality below the title of the tribe. He is only a member of the unit that believes in a certain way. What does he the individual believe? It doesn't matter. As an individual he is either a member of the clan or he is an outcast. And without a recognition of the individual there can be no protection of individual rights. And without the protection of individual rights there is only the terror of the government that speaks for the beliefs of the tribe and the extermination of its opponents. Peace in the Middle East? It will take far more than an election in any country to make that happen.
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