BRATTLEBORO — Is there an alternative to stabbing each other in the back when we disagree? While we must condemn the dreadful actions of a few deeply disturbed people, isn't it even more important to take productive steps to prevent such horrors? Can we promote healthy and uplifting relations?
Israeli, right-wing terrorists recently perpetrated two hateful murders. In one case, the deadly violence claimed an 18-month-old Palestinian infant. The other victim was a 16-year-old Jewish woman whose transgression was that she did not follow the anachronistic dictates of a reactionary religious sect.
This fratricide immediately brought to mind the disastrous assassination of Yitzhak Rabin by a right-wing Israeli extremist who was enraged by Rabin's extensive efforts to promote peace in the Middle East.
These vigilante executioners are an aberration. They absolutely do not reflect the beliefs or behaviors of the overwhelming majority of Jews.
Likewise, the Louisiana theater shooter does not represent the vast majority of Christians. Nor do the bloodthirsty leaders of ISIL characterize the vast majority of Muslims.
Tragically, this list could go on and on.
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While extremists hope to force us to conform to their twisted ideals, don't most of us have goals of living in a free, just, safe, healthy, and thriving community? Can we help change and heal the world?
We can. Furthermore, what we do might have positive repercussions far beyond our imaginations.
Please consider the option of engagement with compassion. Compassion without engagement is wishful thinking. Engagement without compassion too easily leads to the acts of terror we so decry.
It is easy to find compassion for our friends and those with whom we agree. Isn't it just as worthy to show the same for those with whom we differ?
At every moment, we have a wonderful opportunity to engage with compassion. We can be compassionate with ourselves.
Doing so might prove challenging, as we often show others that which we do not give ourselves. We can engage with compassion in our direct interactions, be they in person, on the phone, through social media.
How about with people we don't know personally? We might be driven to denigrate those in the news with whom we disagree, or we might be fearfully suspicious of people in cultures with greatly different styles and manners than our own.
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Does engaging with compassion mean tolerating unacceptable behavior? Absolutely not, as compassion sometimes demands firm enforcement of the essential social norms that create a safe community.
It does mean that we act with compassion as our guide, rather than fear, bias, or hatred. When we act in the service of healing our societal wounds and creating the world we desire, isn't it well worth the effort to engage with compassion for everyone, even those we identify as enemies?
Don't confuse compassion with weakness. Engaging with compassion for our adversaries makes us stronger, less vulnerable, and more steadfast in our resolve. It leads toward sustainable, non-arguable action, rather than tit-for-tat devolutions of bad behavior.
Engaging our foes without compassion, as in the aforementioned acts of terror, is likely to hurt our own cause, not galvanize support.
When we engage with compassion, doesn't that very instant bring a direct experience of the glorious world we long to create?
Yes, at every moment of our lives we can help heal the world and live in accordance with our values and aspirations.
We can engage with compassion.