With yesterday's tragic events, we may be on the brink of an escalating war in the Middle East. I think that we must look into our hearts and minds to see what we are doing--individually and collectively--to alleviate or perpetuate these problems, and how we might become part of their eventual solution.
I think an eye-for-an-eye retaliatory approach is not the most measured response at this time; it could simply result in more tragic loss of innocent life. But do our leaders agree?
The criminal, who have perpetrated this act of terrorism, must certainly be brought to justice. Terrorism cannot be allowed to continue. We must condemn the crime, but not let our anger escalate into unreasonable aggression, racism, and even more violence in the world. I believe we must get to the roots of this, not just punish individuals. A nation retaliating against another nation maintains the unsatisfactory status quo of previous centuries, centuries of war and genocide. We must find another way to create a new world order, peace, and security in our time. Religion is supposed to further peace, happiness, and harmony, not contribute to hatred, prejudice, intolerance, bigotry, violence, and war. Nonviolence is the first precept of Buddhism and a fundamental tenet of many world religions. Yet look what actually happens in our world in the name of religion, most recently in the Middle East and Bosnia, Belfast and Sri Lanka. Extremists are utilizing the margins of history and the shadowy borders of rogue states prone to religious fanaticism to tilt the balance towards hatred and chaos; we must not play into their hands by thinking and reacting as they do.
Here in America, guns in the schools and on the streets continue to harm us. Violence is a major focus of concern, but we have not made much progress in averting or dealing with it. Again, we must look into the causes and origins of violence both at home and abroad, and take whatever steps are necessary to solve those seemingly intractable problems.
