GRIEVING OVER THE LOSS OF ANOTHER'S DIGNITY, THOUGHTS ON THE TSUNAMI

I do not often write when I am incensed, nay, absolutely pissed off about something that is going on in our world.

Over at Messy Christian’s Blog, you’ll find a post she wrote, called The West is Morally Superior?, as well as dozens of comments discussing the issue of whether the west really is morally superior to the east.

I cannot believe some of the comments I have read there, by Americans!!!! This, the land of the free? What are our founding principals? That ALL men are created equal. And somehow, we moved beyond that principal? Or was it ever really a principal? Was it maybe just a mission statement, you know, something that looks good on two hundred plus year old paper?

America, this land that I love, and the people in it. This is my home. But there are some people who actually believe we are morally superior to the east. I am going to dispel that false belief right now.

Within the human mind, there lies something we call the ego. I have never met a single person who didn’t have a me, me, me voice raging inside of their head. Whether they were form China, India, Africa, Ireland, England, France, Malaysia, Japan, Australia, or the Untied States, every single person I met from these nations all had a me, me, me voice.

Knowing what I know about this voice, I know that there is no such thing as moral superiority. It is an impossibility for humans to achieve, maintaining this ego as we do. Take our thoughts, for example. Most of our thoughts are about us, are they not? Rarely do we think of others, EXCEPT in relation to US. We live in a ME centered society, ESPECIALLY in America. Merely believing in God does not change that. And now we find that in the time of need for many other Asian nations since the Tsunami, we have people actually squabbling over how much is being done by one culture over another?

Why? That’s the question. Why? Can anyone actually answer this question truthfully? Because if we answer it in honesty, we will only find ourselves right back at ME. I have actually read, AND heard the statement numerous times, “we gave more than them”. What is that?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It’s ego. It’s PRIDE!!! And to find ourselves judging an entire culture of individual people, yes, each culture is made up of massive amounts of singular people. There’s Bob, and Jane, and Mark, and Sammy, and Ally, and Brett, and Sherrie, and Elaine, Susan, and Rick, and John, and all manner of others. In The east, there’s MC, and Sivin, and Irene, and Daphne, and many, many other individuals. PEOPLE!!!!! All with the same feelings, the same hopes, some of the same dreams, and fears that one finds in any INDIVIDUAL anywhere.

How do we get so asininely petty? At a time like this?

East vs. west does not exist. There is no “Western” thought. There is no “Eastern” thought. There is only people, individually, trying their best to make it in this fallen world. I believe what I am seeing, but I don’t want to believe it. It makes me want to hide.

I hate the way people generalize about others. It’s so lazy. It’s racism. It’s murder. Murder of another person’s dignity. And none of us have any right to do that.