I've been so busy these last few weeks trying to cram every little bit of life into my time here that I haven't really had time to do anything else, including blog, but I saw this quote today, and all I could think was "THIS IS ABOUT PALESTINE!"
"It's difficult in times like these: ideals, dreams and cherished hopes rise within us, only to be crushed by grim reality. It's a wonder I haven't abandoned all my ideals, they seem so absurd and impractical. Yet I cling to them because I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart. I simply can't build my hopes on a foundation of confusion, misery, and death. I hear the approaching thunder that, one day, will destroy us too. I feel the suffering of millions. And yet, when I look up at the sky, I somehow feel that this cruelty too shall end, and that peace & tranquility will return once again."
--Anne Frank
And then I saw the author, and all I could think was "wow, this is a cycle of abuse that needs to be broken." The abused child grows up and is much more likely to end up abusing his child than someone who never suffered abuse. The psychological damage that is inflicted on one person can also be inflicted on an entire people group, on an entire nation. The Jewish people have been horrifically abused... and now the nation of Israel is, in turn, abusing a weaker people group: the Palestinians. This abusive cycle needs to be broken, and healing needs to take place on both sides of the wall. I have said many times "there will be no peace without justice," but I think I need to add "there will be no peace without justice, and there can be neither peace nor justice without healing."
Intensive therapy helps to heal the abused child who has grown into an abusive adult, but how do you help to heal an entire nation of abused people who have allowed their government to turn into an abusive force? And how do you respond to those countries, like the United States, who are enabling this dysfunction? My psychology degree didn't cover this... if only there was an instruction manual.
"It's difficult in times like these: ideals, dreams and cherished hopes rise within us, only to be crushed by grim reality. It's a wonder I haven't abandoned all my ideals, they seem so absurd and impractical. Yet I cling to them because I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart. I simply can't build my hopes on a foundation of confusion, misery, and death. I hear the approaching thunder that, one day, will destroy us too. I feel the suffering of millions. And yet, when I look up at the sky, I somehow feel that this cruelty too shall end, and that peace & tranquility will return once again."
--Anne Frank
And then I saw the author, and all I could think was "wow, this is a cycle of abuse that needs to be broken." The abused child grows up and is much more likely to end up abusing his child than someone who never suffered abuse. The psychological damage that is inflicted on one person can also be inflicted on an entire people group, on an entire nation. The Jewish people have been horrifically abused... and now the nation of Israel is, in turn, abusing a weaker people group: the Palestinians. This abusive cycle needs to be broken, and healing needs to take place on both sides of the wall. I have said many times "there will be no peace without justice," but I think I need to add "there will be no peace without justice, and there can be neither peace nor justice without healing."
Intensive therapy helps to heal the abused child who has grown into an abusive adult, but how do you help to heal an entire nation of abused people who have allowed their government to turn into an abusive force? And how do you respond to those countries, like the United States, who are enabling this dysfunction? My psychology degree didn't cover this... if only there was an instruction manual.
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