Forgiveness and survival

Tomorrow King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia will convene a conference in Madrid, the proposed purposes of which are to defuse interfaith tensions, and at the same time preserve morality. To guide their efforts I proffer a fundamental maxim, common to the faiths of all attendees, in the hope that the results can be more than window dressing.


“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”

This thought forms a core tenet of all three Abrahamic faiths, now in contention and conflict in the Middle East, and elsewhere. Obviously, if it were followed faithfully by all, the conflicts we presently suffer would not exist.

How is it that this core maxim is so easily ignored? It is only possible to do so if we refuse to acknowledge that the “other” is worthy of our respect; and so all movements that seek religious justification for political violence begin with this premise, that the “other,” because of their obvious transgressions, falls outside the realm of human consideration.

We often seem to be doing the opposite. The opposite might be stated, “causing you pain will not cause me pain,” and this seems to be the case. What I do today may or may not be observed, or judged by society, or acted upon to be punished or rectified in any way. So it is easy to assume, especially with a differential of power that may likely or even certainly delay any response to my actions, that I may successfully act on the principle, “causing you pain will not cause me pain,” especially if I can further confuse the issue with a religious interpretation that defines the object of my aggression unworthy of mercy or compassion. I would like to examine why this might not be the case, and why “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” is actually a more realistic approach to mutual relations.

First, ‘the golden rule,’ as it is called, describes in human terms a manner of action that comes from balance and creates balance; while its opposite stems from and implies imbalance and exacerbates imbalance. Imbalance constantly seeks balance; if I oppress another, they will seek ways to free themselves from my oppression. If I am oppressed, I will seek a way to right the balance. So while I may feel obliged today to cause another pain with impunity, I automatically open the door for them to return the favor tomorrow, if not with me personally, then with someone else. Once enough actors on a limited stage are operating on the same principle, sooner or later everybody touches everybody else.

So let us recognize that first, the world is a limited stage. In fact even one’s own body is a limited stage. If I harbor ill-will toward another, it resides within me, so I am its first victim.

Second, the universal principles under which humanity has come into existence have not changed over time, but other things perhaps have. Our scientific understanding of the world has advanced at the same time that our population has increased, to the point we are capable of recognizing that our actions are crowding other species off the planet, and soon, unless we adapt our manner of being towards each other and the planet on which we reside, we will crowd ourselves off as well.

The crises that confront us seem varied — climate disruption, running out of oil, food shortages, water shortages, population pressures, political conflict, religious friction — yet they have a common root; our inability to recognize our extended being. If we recognize the other as ourself, it becomes easy to treat them rightly.

I recently visited Jordan and Syria, to speak with Iraqi refugees. Many had members of their family, their tribe, amongst the Sunni, Shia, and Christian faiths. This had not prevented them from coming together at family gatherings, and celebrating what they had in common. They assured me the current conflicts are of recent manufacture, a result of external political tensions playing themselves out.

Jews, Christians, and Muslims have existed in the same neighborhood largely in harmony for centuries, with some exceptions, the present and recent past being one. Hitler consolidated his power by focusing German desperation over their economic dispossession at what he thought was an easy target, the Jews, and laid the foundation for the current conflict. When the West sought an easy solution to the Jewish refugee crisis after World War II in the recognition of Jewish dispossession of Palestinians, a new round of refugees was created, and the first story was laid.

Now as my nation has become hostage to imperial dreams of global dominance, its latest victims are one million dead, and four million new refugees joining others. As resources become scarce, divisions are created where none previously existed. Local control is crushed into chaos and despotism, in which strong external actors believe themselves free to extract wealth.

We in the West must recognize our responsibility in the creation of this crisis, and with that recognition comes the responsibility to do our utmost to contribute to its solution. Yet, we are not alone.

East or West, there is only one path to its resolution, and that is forgiveness. Revenge is an endless road, leading nowhere. Forgiveness is what I would ask if I had offended others, knowingly or unknowingly, and hope to receive. It is what I must offer others who have offended me, if I wish to regain my personal balance, or become the same as that which I hate. It is our only hope for a future together.

To follow the admonition “do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” there cannot be separate laws for those of one faith over another, those of one nation at the expense of another. This has profound implications for any state that resorts to theology for ethnic and political divisions, such as Israel, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and including the United States and Britain. We must find it within ourselves to accept the other as ourselves, and treat them as we wish to be treated, or proudly wear the label the greatest of hypocrites.

This demands we share and respect the Earth that sustains us all. It will take our mutual cooperation to chart a path to survival. The alternative is endless war for dominance, bearing witness to the destruction of the Earth that sustains us as we battle over diminishing resources, and our mutual demise.

The choice seems simple, but it is ours to make.