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Global Bullies,
by Gwen Randall-Young
15 October 2003
Violence is abhorrent. Our collective
consciousness has suffered a blow from which we
still reel. No individual or nation is so powerful
as to be totally invulnerable. No amount of power
or force can ensure protection.
How hopeless we can feel in the
face of a world seemingly gone mad. It is as frightening
to hear the responses to terrorist strikes as it
is to witness the acts of terrorism themselves.
As long as we justify taking lives to avenge loss
of others, the human carnage will continue. Sadly,
it is ordinary citizens and their families who pay
the price.
What do we make of recent events,
and how can we deal with our sense of helplessness,
even hopelessness? We must wake up to the fact that
it is the consciousness of violence that is the
problem, not only the individuals or groups who
commit acts of violence. It cannot be wrong for
others to commit acts of violence against us, and
right for us to commit acts of violence toward them.
There is a continuum of violence,
and if we accept any place on that continuum as
acceptable, we open ourselves to the whole range.
The hunger for revenge, the desire to strike back,
hurt more, is what escalates out-of-control situations.
As high-tech as our world might be, humans still
behave in ways that are barbaric. If nothing else,
recent events should have us all doing serious soul-searching
about the ways in which we allow, tolerate, condone
or contribute to violence in our own lives.
Without a reverence for life, without
an appreciation of the transitory nature of life,
without an understanding that no one can ‘own’ the
Earth, without a recognition that greed and power
are ultimately destructive to even the ‘winners’,
we are doomed to continue to play out again one
version or another of ‘war’ against out fellow humans.
It is time for our species to grow
up. Bullying is no more acceptable globally than
it is on the play-ground. How different might it
be if people all over the planet were televised
begging their leaders to stop the violence, rather
than dancing in delight at the carnage across the
ocean, or urging their leader to ‘nuke ‘em all.’
We can no longer merely sit in
front of our television sets shaking our heads,
or quietly meditate for world peace. It is time
to let the voice of peace be heard loudly and clearly.
Amidst the din of war talk and rising tension, we
must create a ceaseless mantra urging leaders to
take a stand on non-violent resolution.
There are enough of us who carry
wisdom and insight to impact global consciousness.Leaders
are not only those who are elected to office. Step
forward in your family, workplace, community, and
speak your truth. Contact your elected officials
and speak your truth. Talk to young people, and
teach your truth. We cannot be like the quiet ones
on the playground who watch with horror as the bullies
bludgeon one another, and then retreat to a safe
place whispering to one another about how horrible
it all is.
The message of recent events is
loud and clear. We got it. We have spoken out about
harm to the ecosystem. We have spoken out about
protection of endangered species. More than ever
now, we are the endangered. And only we can save
us.
************
Gwen Randall-Young is a psychotherapist
and author of 'Dancing Soul: The Voice of Spirit
Evolving'. mailto:gwendall@home.com
