Prayers for Peace

Prayers for the safety of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, recently attacked by an Afghan war veteran, quite probably for her strong support of Obama's healthcare plan and also for the family of Salmaan Taseer in Pakistan, assassinated by his own bodyguard for his support for the religious freedoms of Pakistan's Christian minority. Each were attacked by violent extremists, egged on by the aggressive rhetoric of irressponsible politicians. Sure, the cultures and situations are very different, but these violent actions, attempts at intimidation aimed squarely at human rights activists, clearly show the danger we face from those opposed to the democratic process and the mandate enjoyed by those elected. People, we hold, are more or less the same everywhere, they just express themselves according to the culture they find themselves in. Our superficial differences shouldn't blind us to our essential similarities.

Now in drawing a parallel between the two events I'm not suggesting in any way that the situation between the two countries is similar, nor that support for violent, right-wing extremism is anywhere near the same level in the US as in Pakistan or other parts of the 'Islamic world'. What I am saying is that severe intolerance leads to the same ends, wherever it's ugly head surfaces. Those who do have power have a clear duty to discourage it, not just in terms of actions such as this, but on an emotional level. Of course, Sarah Palin wouldn't have wanted this to happen and her condolences are sincere. Yet her notion of targeting individuals based upon their commitments may well have played some part here. As a popular political leader, she needs to be very careful what she says and how she says it. Her freedom of speech implies a responsibility to use it well. When large groups of people are whipped up into a frenzy, some of them are bound to spin out of control and this can even happen in a relatively developed, stable country, as we know only too well.

Writing these actions off as the bizarre acts of lone madmen simply because they just weren't directly tied to a larger group just won't do it. People act according to the encouragements of their environment. The context they are taking place in is one with countless smaller, un-newsworthy exchanges, such as have stained the ticker-tape of humanity's history for generations. We need to be encouraging people to change within themselves.

So lets's put our faith in democracy as a way of finding the best in the mix of qualities that make up the human race. Lets' expose extremism before it grows in popularity and becomes an even more dangerous phenomenon. To enforce one's views on another is an act of violence, whatever the cultural context. They hope we will be intimidated and run away scared. Yet there are actually more of us than of them, though we should always remember that ultimately there is no 'us' and 'them', whether it be the case of countries or of individuals. The only real revolution starts within every one of us. If we want a better world, we have to change ourselves first of all.