Gazing in the Mirror

April 20 - Compelled to Act

I am responsible for everything
except for my very responsibility,
for I am not the foundation of
my being. Therefore everything
takes place as if I were compelled
to be responsible.
~ Jean-Paul Sartre

It is necessary for us to understand
that the only Active Principle is Spirit.
~ Ernest Holmes

It has been a week that was the tale of two brothers. It began with the annual Boston Marathon that ended with bombs exploding which killed and wounded people who had no reason to expect such an event would ruin their day. Over the week's unfolding, images of suspects began to emerge and they were eventually identified as two brothers. I awoke yesterday to the awareness that violence had broken out overnight. Having been identified and now being actively sought by law enforcement, the two brothers embarked on a lawless spree – robbing a quick shop, carjacking a man and robbing an ATM of $800, and participating in a shoot-out on a residential street that had left the older brother dead.

As I began to absorb "the news", it came to my awareness that the brothers were Chechen. I was aware that relations between the United States of America and Russia had been deteriorating. So my first impression was that this must be a symbolic act that the brothers had been enlisted to participate in by other interests in order to send some kind of serious message to our government. Then I read that Chechnya is a predominantly Muslim region. OK, I will admit it here that realizing that caused me a pause – just for a moment. And I felt baited – yes, baited. I then adamantly noted wherever it was appropriate that Muslim does not mean "terrorist". My heart wanted this young man to be captured and not gunned down. It was clear to my heart that he was no suicide fanatic but that he did want to live. I wanted him to live to increase our understanding about why such situations happen.

As the day unfolded, a large urban area was placed on total "lock-down" and the residents were advised to "shelter in place" and not go outdoors – there were no transit services, there was no school or work attendance, there was no going to the grocery store, and sporting or other public events were cancelled or postponed. And the overwhelming force and firepower that was deployed against the remaining suspect who had fled when his brother died staggers any imagination. It appears that the older brother, age 26 yr, had been radicalized and he died charging law enforcement with an improvised explosion device strapped to his chest. The younger one, only a 19 year old boy, seems to have been in the United States from a very young age, had what appeared to be a well-adjusted life, participated in organized sports and had obtained a scholarship to a local college. He had obtained citizenship just the year before. Yet his more militant and isolated older brother seems to have influenced him to participate.

The amount of law enforcement that was unleashed against one young, frightened boy (he had jumped into the SUV they carjacked, running over his own brother lying in the street, and charging through the line of law enforcement in his effort to flee) made the whole scene surreal to my mind. My husband told me that he read some comment that someone in political office had made about wishing law enforcement had an un-manned drone to deploy along with the helicopter for the manhunt – such additional equipment seems inevitable to my own awareness of the militarization of our police forces. The young man had still not been apprehended as I left for my daily evening hike. I decided to take Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" with me. I found myself actually screaming "terror" along with the singer in the privacy of my forest before dropping to a quieter, softer wail.

Then it began to form in my mind that I should write a blog. When I had left home, I was going to take the "long" walk but I diverted to a shorter route. Earlier in the day as the manhunt had unfolded I had remembered another manhunt that had lasted years. A Christian extremist had eluded law enforcement in the wilds of the mountainous area of North Carolina. He became a kind of folk hero with ultra-conservative Christians. He had also exploded a bomb in a very public place to inflict terror. His location was the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, GA. At his sentencing, he read a statement indicating that his "plan was to force the cancellation of the Games, or at least create a state of insecurity to empty the streets around the venues and" "embarrass the Washington government in the eyes of the world for its abominable sanctioning of abortion on demand". He was also responsible for bombing a gay bar and two separate abortion provider locations killing and wounding a good number of people in each action.

So I did feel compelled to write a blog. It won't be read by very many people. I felt a need to make a point that terrorism is not a religion. I think religion needs a serious reformation. Too much pain and destruction has been inflicted because of skewed perspectives that have been encouraged by dogma and ideological beliefs. The next trend in evolution is already taking place. Humanity is trending into an inclusive, tolerant kind of spirituality that includes personal responsibility and a mandate to do no harm, to allow each other to walk our personal pathways. There should be no compulsion to maim and kill human beings in the name of religious beliefs. I also worry about the trends in government and law enforcement reflected in the way the Boston Marathon bombing incident was handled. Our freedom is definitely under attack. My heart is happy that the young man in question was captured alive. His future may be ruined but I was not wise and I did stupid things when I was his age – may compassion moderate his punishment over time.

~ perspective

I am aware that every deed
I do, every act I am responsible
for committing, has consequences
attached that bind themselves to
me; therefore, I chose these with
awareness and care.
I do not believe that people should
force each other to commit acts
that are against their will, for if
the best that is in us is to come out
in what we do, we must be "doing"
voluntarily what our heart's mind
tells us we should do.
My compulsion to write about things
wishes to justify itself as "important",
though in truth it is useful only in
relieving the pressure that is that
compulsion to share, wishing escape
from the confinement of itself only.
From the perspective of the absolute,
ultimate nature of Life whatever
I have to share is actually trivial
but my heart wishes to connect with
others and to share who and how
I am with them.
My freedom loving heart hates
compulsion – I respect all other people
and expect their conscience and reason
to properly inform their actions but sadly
it sometimes appears that there truly
are people who lack such restraints and
whose values are dangerously skewed.

#abortion #Christian #compassion #freedom #militarization #Muslim #police #religion #responsibility #terrorism