Being Human

I’m a news junkie. I check news websites several times a day and try to keep up with what’s going on in the world. A lot of times I’m left stunned, shaking my head, trying to understand why people behave like they do. I realize I’ll never understand it, but still, what makes people do the things they do sometimes? And why do so many refuse to acknowledge the humanity of others around them?

My biggest confusion comes from war and all it’s atrocities. I will never, ever, ever understand the reasoning behind creating demons and boogie men out of people different from ourselves. I will never understand how killing and maiming and raping is supposed to make the world a better place. I’ve often referred to war as “who has the biggest dick” syndrome, but I know it’s much more complicated than that – politics, religion, boundaries, resources – fighting and insisting that there is only ONE correct answer for whatever conflict has arisen. It solves nothing and creates pain and grief for thousands, often millions.

And it’s just stunning how cruel we can be to one another in wartime. Every day I read stories about the horrifying things that are done to men, women,…..children. I understand the human mind is capable of doing amazing feats by shutting down certain emotional centers such as fear or sadness, but to be completely devoid of all concern or care for another human being….quite frankly, that just scares the crap out of me. It’s almost as if war turns soldiers in to psychopaths.

I understand soldiers are basically just “doing a job,” but someone sent them to do that job. Someone in a position of power sent these people to do these inhumane acts and destroy fellow humans in order to uphold a position deemed “correct.” The U.S. sends soldiers to the Middle East to stop terrorists from blowing up cafes and embassies because it’s deemed the correct thing to do. At the same time, terrorists are blowing up cafes and embassies because they believe that’s the right thing to do. (Please note – I am not condoning violence as an answer to ANYTHING.) In either case, someone is pulling the strings, making the decisions, pushing these people to go out and do these things in the name of something or someone placed on a pedestal.

I do know that soldiers are trained to take orders and not think for themselves. Pretty handy. Works well with the general masses, too. Teach them to believe one thing, hate everything else that’s different and only listen to what this one person over here has to say. So when someone new comes along and says, “hey, I’ve got this other thing I’d like to present,” they are guaranteed to get attacked.

I do wish more people could open their minds to the differences between us all. We can agree to disagree and still live side by side. Just because you don’t like cheddar cheese, and I think it’s the bomb, that doesn’t mean I get to kick your ass for it. If your car is better than mine, then it’s not ok for me to punch you out and take your car. We have got to do a better job of showing compassion for each other. How else are we gonna live here together?