Roots of Conflict

With the situation in Gaza and the Westbank, I've noticed that many people seem unable to understand how violence begins in the first place. How violence and animosity is cultivated, bred and perpetuated. A group like Hamas doesn't just fall from the sky. A lot of people who style themselves as academics or thinkers seem unable to assess the root causes of problems, even though it is only by understanding the roots of conflicts, it is only by assessing the conditions which give rise to violence, that we will truly prevent violence from occurring in the future. To my mind, it is the duty and responsibility of thinkers to look at things contextually and in an evidence-based fashion.

It is as though the supposed academics and thinkers who defend the massacre in Gaza, whether implicitly or explicitly, don't want to stop future violence from occurring. This includes violence against Israeli citizens by terrorists. By inflicting such extreme violence on the population of Gaza, by supposedly trying to eradicate terrorism, Israel will engender far more animosity and hatred. Thus, the Israeli government won't only kill tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians along the way, but will further endanger their own citizens in the long run. Perhaps the aim isn't actually to eradicate Hamas. Perhaps it is to fulfill colonialist, greedy and hateful ambitions. Maybe this is what Bassem Youssef meant when he said that this conflict has nothing to do with Hamas.

The peaceful and intelligent way of assessing this conflict is to understand how and why some people are driven to acts of terrorism, like what happened on October 7th. Until we understand why some people are driven to such violent, brutal acts, we will never reach a place of healing and peace. To think that we can totally obliterate Hamas, as though they are the sole and only problem in this situation, is not just an insensitive and highly destructive approach. It is also inefficient. This is because more Israeli soldiers will die along the way, tens of thousands more Palestinians will be killed, and it will generate more hatred, trauma and pain on a global scale. 

From my perspective, no one is born evil. Or no one has evil at their core. It is more that some people are swept up in cultural cycles of greed, fear and hate. These cycles are millennia-old and have contributed to all of the horrors that humans have generated. These cycles have clouded people from their better judgement. In spite of what we're often told, it actually isn't  human nature to be greedy, selfish and hateful. It is more the case that many people are affected by pernicious ideas. Ideas which misguide them. Ideas which allow them to justify horrific actions.

Most people, if they saw an old woman fall in the street, would instinctively try to help her. Most people, if they heard a child crying out for help, would immediately run towards them to see what's wrong. It is arguable, however, that there are a small handful of humans who are born with more psychopathic or sociopathic tendencies. But if we lived in a culture which was overwhelmingly based on values such as connection, cooperation and compassion, then that small handful would be managed appropriately, and we wouldn't let them rise to positions of power and influence.

It is only through miseducation and our cultural lack of guidance and wisdom that we start to make excuses for horrific actions and that we let sociopaths rise to positions of power and influence. But things don't need to be like this. If enough people push back against our toxic cultural conditioning, if enough people truly exercise critical thinking, then we can gradually change the way we do things for the better. We need to be compassionate but in a steadfast and unrelenting way. We need to be powerfully compassionate.

A Fragment

When I'm hungry and depleted

When I feel tired and low

I pick up a book

Perhaps Blake, Rumi, Wordsworth

And, once more, I begin to feel nourished

I'm fed heartily with a steaming plate of poetry and wisdom

These poems, these combinations of words and ideas across time

Not only keep me going on weary days

They also guide me towards something

Each poem is a finger pointing, and a voice softly saying

"This way my friend, this way. You've been lost for a while"

Poems can only help show you the way

But only you can make the steps of your journey

And your destination is beyond words

A Fragment

I won’t ask you to surrender or let go 

If you need to keep holding, keep grasping,

that’s not a problem 

You held on for good reason, 

falling is scary for the best of us 

Just know, Love is waiting for you 

Love has always been waiting, ready to catch you 

At your lowest, most despairing points, 

Love was there, and you were so close to letting go 

But don’t worry, when you’re ready you’ll know 

Love is eternally patient and welcomes everyone with open arms

 

Togetherness

The African word ‘Ubuntu’ is often translated as “I am because we are”. In this phrase, we find a recognition of our interconnectedness with the whole world. If only more of us could realise that we are not fundamentally separate from each other. That we are all of the same source, no matter what gender we are, age we are, species we are, or what colour our skin is. If we realised this, we would not disrespect each other in the way we’ve been doing, and we would not disrespect nature. 

If only we could live in such a way that all our actions took place with the knowledge that we are of this cosmos together, and that, far from being insignificant accidents, we in fact belong to this world. If only we could all extend our reach of care beyond ourselves, to the wider world.  

These ideas might be dismissed as airy fairy, or they might be viewed as something comforting to tell ourselves because we fear dying. But that’s only because some people are misguided and, through their misguidedness, try to disempower others. These ideas are in fact obvious when you think about them. We exist because everything else exists. You wouldn’t be here, in the way you are now, without the soil of this planet, the oxygen around you, the plants you’ve been eating, the countless people who’ve shaped your culture, all your ancestors, the positioning of this planet within this solar system. You are not fundamentally disconnected from these things. You move with them, and they move with you. In Buddhist lingo, this insight is often called ‘dependent origination’. 

Some people don’t recognise the importance of ideas or worldviews. They dismiss those who deal with ideas as unrealistic or disconnected from the “real world”. They might think a lot of these ideas are abstract and unhelpful, having no practical application. But to my mind, ideas and worldviews underlie all our actions. Until we understand our cultural conditioning, until we understand the narratives we’ve been told aren’t necessarily truthful, until we become truly aware of our own thought patterns, then we won’t grow and evolve as people and as societies. This doesn't mean we should all become academics and extremely well read. But it does mean we would do well to bring awareness to the ways we think about the world.

Thich Nhat Hanh coined the term ‘interbeing’ to describe our interconnectedness with all things. As with the Buddhist phrase ‘dependent origination’, the idea of interbeing shows that we exist in connection with all the other manifold aspects of our world, including things we aren’t normally conscious of. For example, we don’t regularly reflect on how our existence depends on the right level of oxygen in our environment, the soil in which our food grows and the sun which helped grow such food. With the notion of interbeing, we learn that we cannot really disconnect our identity from that of the air, the soil and the sun. 

We would do well to integrate this interconnected way of perceiving things into our cultural worldview. If we lived in a society and culture which adopted this more truthful way of perceiving the world, in which our thoughts and ideas were more harmonious with the way the world is, then we would not suffer as much as we do. We would not need to egotistically assert ourselves all the time. We would not try to dominate, control and colonise the world.

Truth and Media

When understanding political issues, what's happening in Gaza and the West Bank for example, it is vital to remember that we swim in a world of media-narratives that have little basis in truth. By truth I mean honest, balanced and evidence-based reports of events. Our legacy media automatically produces distorted narratives. Our main media outlets and high-profile politicians, both lobbied by corporations and billionaires, are experts at distorting, framing and omitting information. They are experts at creating skewed and biased narratives. Until we realise this from the outset, at the very beginning of any political conversation, we cannot have coherent, healthy dialogues about world events. 

Having been exposed to these distorted narratives for so many years, many people find it difficult to disentangle themselves from them. Maybe it is psychologically easier to go along with what the majority of people are saying. Or what our supposedly trusted news outlets are saying. Maybe it takes a lot of effort to go against the grain. This means that when someone does go against the grain, when someone manages to decondition themselves from such narratives, such a person is labelled radical, extremist, unrealistic. Or they are laughed at and ridiculed.

It should be noted that the main distorted narratives we hear come from those in positions of material power. In other words, corporations and billionaires. This isn't talked about by most people, you won't hear it discussed much on the BBC for example. It won't be directly pointed out and emphasised as much as it should be. The most important issues rarely are. Instead, we are encouraged to focus on superficial issues that have nothing to do with where real power lies, such as what pronouns we should be using or whether a celebrity recently defecated. Throughout history, those in positions of material power will use any means to keep such power. They will never, out of the goodness of their hearts, give power back to ordinary people. It is only through protest, unrest and civil disobedience that ordinary people have ever gained more power. 

What irks me more than most things is the way that those in power, and the obsequious journalists who support them, lie and deceive to maintain such power. I wish that they would at least be more open and honest about their ambitions, instead of sneaky, vicious and deceptive. An argument could be made that hierarchies are necessary and that there needs to be some wealth imbalance in society. Let's say this position is true. Then why don't those with inordinate amounts of power admit that they want to keep such power. Why don't they admit that they want to maintain their excessive amounts of money? This is because they are frightened and insecure. They probably know that if the majority of people knew what was really going on, if the majority of people had a truthful understanding of the world, then the majority wouldn't stand for the immense injustice we see around us. Presumably then, those in positions of material power don't care about truth and honesty, even though their spokespeople claim to be truthful. 

Those with excessive amounts of money and power lobby politicians and the media. Politicians and high-profile media people are paid handsomely (compared with most of the population at least) and I suppose they don't want to lose their jobs by speaking out of line. On one level this is understandable. But if you have integrity and really care about bettering the world, then you will speak truthfully. There is no decent excuse for consistently lying about important issues.

As a result of all of this, the very premises and framings of political issues are inappropriate and skewed, and will very rarely lead to meaningful dialogues about such issues. An example of this is on Piers Morgan's Uncensored channel. Even though claiming time and again that he is concerned with honesty and truth, Piers Morgan's framing of the massacre in Gaza illustrates how much our minds are affected by distorted narratives. By starting most questions with, "would you condemn Hamas?" Piers implies that Hamas are the primary problem and that the current conflict is a result of their actions on October 7th. By trying to illicit a binary yes/no answer, he is trying to simplify the issue. If you are unwilling to play his game, or to say "yes" to condemning Hamas, the obvious implication is that you are immoral and can't be taken seriously. Perhaps he should start each conversation by saying, "would you condemn Israel for the last 75 years?" This would be a framing which is more evidence-based and appropriate, as the Israeli government is the colonial, occupying force in this situation. Most of the violence falls on them.

To sum up, we need to bear in mind how much our culture and our minds have been shaped by distorted narratives. If we truly care about the unnecessary violence and suffering in the world, we need to speak truthfully as much as possible. We need to keep shining a light on those in positions of material power to combat their ceaseless lies and distortions. We would also do well to always practice compassion and love, in combination with truthfulness.

A Fragment

Those poets talk of something I but dimly feel

Yet, though clouded in darkness, I know there is something hiding

In the heart of silence, something whispers to me  

Within every hair, fibre and nerve, I sense its presence

Its existence is subtle yet powerful, unseen yet omnipresent

Why does it hide? Why won't it show itself proudly?

Often I forget its there altogether, and despair consumes me

Those poets write with eloquence and grace, yet I write crudely and with roughness

But it doesn't matter, all words dissolve in its presence

And we are all of the same source

A Fragment

Leave it behind, quit these walls and loosen those ties

You might feel hopeless, you might feel the task impossible

But you don't realise the power hidden within you

shrouded in darkness at the core of you who you are

This power blinds like the sun, it cannot be gazed at too long

Though it illuminates the known world, its radiant source can only be glimpsed in fragments

Just as you cannot taste your own taste buds or bite your own teeth

so you struggle to perceive the light behind your thoughts

This light is called Love and is all that really exists

You are Love, and Love is everlasting and imperishable

Birth and death, creation and destruction, are threads in the tapestry of Love

Love gives birth to the forms around you and plays hide and seek within them

Do you hear the laughter outside?

Do you see the sun pouring through the windows, dust particles dancing in its light?

Wait no longer, open the door 

Step outside and feel the warmth on your skin

At Last

At last, the bonds are evaporating

like mist under warm sunlight.

Soon we'll hold each other

like lovers separated aeons ago.

Long I've wandered in desolate lands -

frightened, desperate, doubtful.

Fastened tightly

in cords of fear and shame.

Torn to pieces

by the claws of envy and greed.

Scattered in the winds

of self-loathing and guilt.

The lights of the city bewildering me,

I sought desperately for you.

Trying all manner of vices

and chastising myself for doing so.

Awash with alcohol and self-abasement,

I felt the weight of disappointment daily.

Exploring the murky depths of my mind,

I found unpleasant and unattractive things.

I fell into pits of isolation and numbness,

hoping to ease the pain.

But in all the ignorance and confusion,

you kept knocking at the door of my longing.

There were times when the knocking

was just a faint tapping.

Other times it was so loud

that I almost held you in my arms.

In the heart of my suffering, 

is this where you've been hiding?