The Lennon Principle

Maybe I'm unqualified to give an opinion on religious, cultural or racial conflict and war. I don't subscribe to any organized religion, my racial background is far from homogeneous, and I come from a culture that's defining characteristic is that it is not homogeneous. Perhaps I'm genetically predisposed to wonder why people fight so hard to hold on to their father's land, or their holy land, or anything really, since my ancestors are all immigrants who specifically chose to leave their home lands (or in a few cases perhaps had to flee from their home lands) and build new lives somewhere else. It's true that I also think anger and hate are wasted emotions, toxic even, in general so it's hard for me to understand being angry at or hating an entire race, religion or nationality of people.

I'd like to believe...No. I do believe that if I was forced out of my home tomorrow I'd find somewhere new and call that home and it would be because I would make it home and I wouldn't spend my time and energy being angry at, or hating the people that made me leave, or planning and executing retaliation, or even trying to get them out of my former home. I also would prefer, if I had children and they had children and so on, for my descendants to live their lives and spend their time in search of happiness rather than in pursuit of revenge. Retaliation seems like a particular waste of time and energy to me because it's circular (i.e. only leads to more retaliation). If someone wants to hate me because I'm Jewish, or if they want to hate me because I'm not Jewish enough, or because I'm American, or a woman or for any other reason, I can't do anything about that. Am I supposed to hate them in return for being any of the things that they can't change either, or because they hate me? I just can't do that.

Maybe, okay certainly, I have it easier than some people. I may be a product of a few technically interracial relationships generations back, but on the surface I'm pretty white looking and from a cultural perspective I'm American (which I guess has it's own drawbacks in much of the world right now, but I haven't been targeted for it anywhere I've been). Sure, like many Americans I identify with certain cultural aspects and traditions of my patchwork genealogy, especially the ones from my mothers side (Italian, Irish and Jewish for those who are interested), but really, I have to admit to being, almost quintessentially, an American girl, though I can't say that I'm especially proud to be an American girl right now. I can identify with the desire to find someplace where you can be who and what you are without being ridiculed, persecuted, hated or attacked for it. Hell, that's the "American dream", isn't it? I just can't get my head around the idea that, rather than looking for that, or after finding it, or if the search for it seemed futile, someone would turn to doing exactly those things to other people. It bothers me that people will let what I consider to be the most base, and toxic, and evil, of emotions rule their hearts and minds. I can't seem to get past it.