Rabbi Irwin Wiener, D.D.
There are no suitable words to determine how barbarism is an accepted form of protest. Societies were developed to enable people to act in a civilized manner so that we would be able to live together. While there are those who would disturb the balance of needs and wants with the ability to attain these, accepted methods of containment were established for the safety of all.
When we, as a society, determine that exceptions can, and often do, occur, the one thing that is certain is that we develop other methods to sustain the balance. First and foremost, there are laws. Then there is law enforcement. Next are the courts. Finally, there is judgment. For the most part, we retire at night with a secure feeling.
How much more so is this essential in dealing with countries that contain different cultures and beliefs? When disputes occur, we attempt to reconcile them through dialog and compromise. When all else fails, we go to war. Such is the fate of humanity since time began.
However, when nation-states determine that terror and killing are the only remedies for correction, then we have wholesale murder. We should expect that society would become outraged and undertake the responsibility of controlling this madness. The one ingredient in all this that prevents such action is a simple word called intimidation.
We tend to shy away from what we know to be correct, because we do not know what will be next, and it is easier to capitulate than stand and fight. Our being tells us the right way to respond, but fear holds us captive. How sad!
From the dawn of creation, we learned that there is evil and there is good. Why we have both has been the eternal question asked by generations and will probably remain something that is debated forever. Some will try to simplify, but the truth of the matter is that all experiences are measured. How do we measure the good? By witnessing the bad. We measure these things, because all of life is determined by measure.
Over the past many years, we have been inundated with international horror stories of murder and mayhem. People are murdered because of different cultures, tribal feuds, or in the belief that it is commanded by God. The arrogance of it all is that we presume to suggest that these differences permit us to dominate another. Who are we to create an atmosphere of distrust because we do not understand someone or try to reconcile these differences? What are we if we allow our humanity to disappear because we feel superior and forget the simple rule of life, which is to live together?
The inhumanity of humanity requires a strong response to bring civility to life. Only when the family of man comes together, determined to forge a bond of tolerance, will we see the results we all yearn and dream about. We may never like everyone or anyone, but to survive, we must respect everyone’s right to exist. We were not created to die. Rather, we were created to live. Living requires accommodation and compromise and the willingness to listen as well as be heard. Most of all, it requires respect for life!