Of Burning Bushes, Places And Time

There are no atheists in a foxhole, the saying goes.

Of course, there are all kinds of foxholes in life. One needn’t be a soldier to seek out a place where we can retreat into and hope (and pray!) for all the comforts and security we desperately seek when things start going awry.

It is also true that when we are most vulnerable, we are also most aware of the sufferings of others. Every singular tragedy is another link in the chain of almost unbearable pain and senseless loss from which each and every one of us will experience. There is no escape from that truth and there is no avoiding those realities.

Every single moment of every single day, somewhere in this world, many are enduring the most profound pain, sense of loss or feeling of hopelessness. How do respond to that suffering? How can we make sense of the suffering of those forgotten souls of the past?

Why do bad things happen to good people? That question is forever repeated because it is a timeless question. When faced with the tragedies we all must endure, for a few moments we share a collective memory of loss, of the pain of loss from all deaths, from the onset of time. First, we think back to grandparents, great grandparents and all the forgotten generations that preceded them. Then we realize, in our own humility, the devastations that loss and tragedy have had on all mankind.

It is usually at that point that we cry out to God. We ask that He show Himself. We ask that He comfort us and we ask that He not abandon us.

Of course, we never make those requests when things are going well. Often, we regard our most fulfilling awareness and ‘intimate’ exchanges with God as a result of seeing great beauty and natural wonder. That of course, makes ’seeing’ God a very easy proposition.

The Old Testament story of Moses and the burning bush is instructive.

Moses does not see God in natural setting of beauty or glory, but rather, in a little scrub brush- hardly inspiring. Scripture notes that Moses ‘hid his face‘ from God. Moses saw God’s glory in the lowly burning bush and was aware of His Majesty. God does not hide His presence.

God says to Moses,

“I have indeed seen the suffering of My people…I have heard how they cry out”

God’s exchange with Moses takes place in a burning thorn-bush because God heard and knew the suffering of His people. God did not appear to Moses in a lush forest or other place of natural beauty, because God wanted Moses to understand that He not only knew the suffering, but heard, felt and shared that suffering as well.

It is easy to see the beauty of our spouses, children and loved ones when they are healthy, charming and well dressed. It is not always so easy to see their beauty and uniqueness when that is not the case.

It is also true that sometimes, a person’s real inner beauty and strength are revealed when they face adversity. There are mothers and fathers that marvel at a child’s strength through a debilitating illness. What parent has not secretly proposed to God that they, and not their child, be stricken or afflicted? What parent has not agonized over the trials and tribulations that each child must endure at each and every stage of their lives?

There are husbands who see their wives in a way they had not understood, as those women fight cancers that are unique to their gender and impact how they see themselves as women. Those men come to see a beauty and dignity they had never known and marvel in a stricken spouse’s concern for them and their family. There are wives who have heard grown men, weakened by pain and despair, often in inarticulate and fumbling words that are nothing less than the sweetest poetry, profess their love and appreciation for the wives and family that have nurtured them.

It is at those times we see the real beauty of those who we love and those who love us. It is at those times that we come to understand the kind of love that is real commitment and loyalty.

God no more abandons us in our pain anymore than we abandon our loved ones in their pain and suffering.

Pain, fear and suffering are all a part of what it means to be a part of God’s creation.

First, we learn the easy lessons. To find God in nature, and beauty and music requires only minimal insight. As we progress through life, we learn to see God in the challenges and heartbreak that we all experience. That requires a more sophisticated set of skills. Finally, we learn to see God through loss and pain and suffering. That requires yet another set of skills- and that also requires the kind of humility learned from lessons of life.

In our times of pain, suffering and loss, God is not abandoning us. In fact, He is closer to us than ever, because pain and loss are the other side of the Creation coin. In the same way God oversaw Creation, He oversees loss.

We cannot claim to know God until we have experienced real fear, pain, loss and suffering. We cannot claim to be secure in our faith until the strength of that faith is tested and reaffirmed. We cannot claim to know God until we are comfortable in knowing that we are not all knowing.

We do not need to cry out to God when we are in pain or when we are suffering. God is already there, wanting us to grow into our fullest potential as Creation intended. In the same way that marriage, children and family expand our definitions and understanding of love, so too does pain, suffering and loss expand our definitions and understanding of life, meaning and purpose.

It also true that expanding our definitions and understanding of life does not mean we will fully come to understand God. We are human, with limitations. We are not always meant to understand the Godly ‘why’s ‘ of all pain, suffering, tragedies and even great loss. Sometimes we are meant only to cry, to hurt and suffer despair. Sometimes, those are the lessons that we must learn- and how to make the most of life for ourselves and to be an example to others. While we were ‘Created in God’s Image,‘ we were never meant to be equal to God. That is why Moses ‘hid his face’- there were other, more important lessons in his exchange with God. He had to be that Moses, the human being, that God wanted him to be. It was the humility of Moses at the burning bush that became evident later on- ‘I am the servant of God, not the equal of God.’ It never occurred to Moses to be anything but the servant.

Each of us, at one time or another, is faced with our own ‘burning bush,’ that place not of profound beauty, but rather that place and time where fear, pain, suffering and the promise of God’s enduring love and commitment to us, converge. It is also true that to cry out to God is to cry out for peace, meaning and purpose.

Lord, hear our prayer.

Self Esteem, Dysfunction And Moral Equivalence

Neo neocon wrote an excellent post, The Pied Pipers Of Palestine, in which she highlights the dysfunction of a society that deliberately uses children as fodder to serve a political purpose. That very deliberate kind of child abuse is camouflaged as appropriate religious fervor.

These children do not get the idea to do this all on their own. Martyrdom is not a natural youthful aspiration, but the plasticity and vulnerability of the very young can be exploited to mold many of them in just that direction, much in the way advertising works to form habits.

There is a concerted effort in many parts of the Arab world–and, most particularly, among the Palestinians–to glorify martyrdom in such a way that it specifically appeals to children. There’s nothing subtle or hidden about this campaign, which uses modern media tools in a most effective manner. It’s another example of the pernicious power of the wedding of new technology with a medieval mindset.

The twentieth century phenomena of children used as first resort fodder in armed conflict has been seen only once before- in the Iran-Iraq war. The Iranians used 12 year old children to clear minefields and to draw Iraqi fire. They were herded into battle, given a plastic ‘key to Paradise‘ and the promise of virgins for themselves (mostly virgins, one would imagine).

It bear noting that the Hitler Youth were conscripted to take up arms only at the very end of the war.

Nowadays, much is being made of the stress and indignities that have been heaped on the Palestinians by the Israeli occupation. That stress and those indignities, we are asked to believe, is the reason the Palestinian behavior.

Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. When the Jews emerged from the ovens of the Holocaust, they too, were under stress. Unlike the Israelis, the Nazis took no great pains to avoid civilian causalities (the Israelis have proved to be remarkably inept as killers).

Those wretched and ragged Jews did not choose to behave like the Palestinians. Rather than glorify and amplify dysfunction, they built a democratic state, with world class institutions and infrastructure. Rather than glorify hatred and bigotry, they built a functioning state. That truth has not been lost on the Arabs in the region or in Israel herself. Time and time again, those Arabs make clear they would rather live under Israeli control than under the Palestinian Authority. When the Israelis pulled out of southern Lebanon, the Alawites (the privileged clan that claims the Assads of Syria), made clear they too, wanted to remain under Israeli jurisdiction.

Can anyone imagine, any circumstances under which Israelis would indoctrinate their children to believe that killing was a religious obligation? Can anyone imagine Israelis instructing their children to act as human shields for gunmen? Can anyone imagine Israelis publishing textbooks instructing children to hate and slaughter? Can anyone imagine Israelis devoting media programming to extol the virtues of death and murder?

Notwithstanding the overuse and misuse of the concept of ’self esteem,’ there is such a thing as healthy self esteem and destructive self esteem.

To be clear, self esteem is determined by identity. We look in the mirror of our innermost selves and ask, ‘Who am I?‘ We can answer by saying, ‘I am who my parents say I am.’ We can also answer, ‘I am who my peers say I am, because of how they perceive me.’

In fact, our identity is determined by the choices we make.

Healthy self esteem comes about as the result of great efforts in the expression of our humanity and acts of selflessness. Healthy people feel good about themselves because of the efforts and inclusiveness they extend toward others. Our efforts to do good are the direct result of choices we make. Real self esteem is reinforced with every act of selflessness. Our heroes and the people we look up to, all have that in common, too.

Unhealthy self esteem is nurtured by selfishness, intolerance, hate, bigotry and destruction. The evil people of this world all have that in common. Unhealthy self esteem needs intolerance, deceit, hatred and bigotry to sustain itself. Those are clear and deliberate choices.

In the Arab-Israeli conflict, notwithstanding all the billions of words expended in the misguided effort to be ‘even handed’ (as if evil and barbarism had equal standing with civilized behavior and moral standards), the actions speak louder than words. It is clear that the Palestinians find self esteem in destruction. They find their worth in killing, hatred and bigotry. That is not subject to interpretation or debate. Their own words make that clear. In Palestinian society, the worth of political movements is often determined by how many Israelis that group has killed.

The use of force is predicated on of two philosophies. Force is used to conquer or subjugate, or, it is used for defensive reasons only.

The Israelis are ‘occupiers’ because they successfully defended themselves against an enemy that promised their destruction in 1967. Since then, the Israelis have offered ‘land for peace,’ but the Arabs rejected that offer. It really is that simple.

The Palestinians- including the freely elected Hamas government- have made clear their use of force is to serve a very clear objective- the destruction of Israel and the slaughter of Jews. That mantra is repeated daily in Palestinian media, in Palestinian schools and preached from Palestinian religious pulpits. This constant and endless barrage of bigoted and racist ideologies has to take a toll.

Apologists say that the the threatening and offensive language directed at Israel and Jews are merely ‘rhetoric,’ a kind of over the top form of cultural expressions. They say that Palestinians really are ‘partners for peace.’ Of course, that is a ridiculous assertion. ‘Rhetoric’ is the kind language used by populists and union leaders. The hate filled ‘rhetoric’ heard in the Middle East isn’t uttered by serious politicians. The hate filled ‘rhetoric’ heard in the Middle East isn’t taught in schools that are found in civilized societies and the hate filled ‘rhetoric’ broadcast from Middle East media outlets and preached from many religious pulpits are clearly and unashamedly expressions of bigotry and racism that is not tolerated in our societies.

In western democracies, there are innumerable programs that focus on sending kids to South America, Asia and elsewhere to build houses and other community projects, in ‘Peace Corps’ type programs. Amongst the Palestinians and other like minded societies, children are packed off to jihadi camps (proudly the focus of PA media attention) where they learn the fine arts of killing and destruction. These ’summer camps’ compete for campers- Hamas and Fatah set out to prove that they are most worthy of support because it is they who hate the most and they who are best able to teach children to kill Jews. Some of these ‘camps’ are funded by UNICEF.

Larry Miller defines the Middle East with simple clarity. Imagine a football field (the Arab world). In the corner of that football field is a matchbook. We are being asked to believe that the matchbook (Israel) is the cause of all the dysfunction, failure and misfortune in the Arab world. Of course, there is no mention of spectacular Arab failure, inability to compete or of the repressive tyrannical regimes that predated Israel.

There is no mention in the Arab world of the fabled- and dysfunctional- Club of Dictators, in their own back yard. The much vaunted Arab League has never done anything that was not in support of enabling Arab dictators. The Arab League has not sponsored a single educational or economic initiative that ever benefited Arab populations (emp-SC&A). In reality the Arab League is forum where robed tyrants, dictators and despots can change into a suit and pretend they are civilized.

Since it’s inception, the Arab League has never managed a single successful effort at conflict resolution. Simply put, they don’t give a damn if there are a million more or a million fewer, Arabs or Muslims. Saddam butchered Muslims for decades and the Arab world remained silent. They were silent as the religious GIA in Algeria raped and murdered tens of thousands of children, before dismembering them.Today, they are silent and detached as Arab tribal janjaweed slaughter hundreds of thousands in Darfur.

If you believe that the silence on those behaviors and actions are and remain unconscionable, why on earth would anyone take seriously the Arab League and the Arab leaders words on Israel? Given their admitted and public proclamations of hate, Why would anyone believe the Arab world suddenly has credibility when it comes to Israel and Jews?

In western democracies, there are innumerable programs that focus on sending kids to South America, Asia and elsewhere to build houses and other community projects. Amongst the Palestinians and other like minded societies, children are packed off to jihad camps, where they learn the fine arts of killing and destruction.

Asking Israel to stop defending herself from the daily rocket attacks that come from Gaza, because the Palestinians are ‘traumatized’ would have been like suggesting the Allies not enter Berlin to defeat Hitler because the German self esteem might be further battered.

The Israelis are not the only victims here. The Palestinians have been used, manipulated and beat down by their own leadership and the rest of the dysfunctional Arab world.

That is the real tragedy. The Palestinians- and for that matter, much of the Arab world- have been rendered impotent by Arab tyrants and a Wahhabi ideology that replaced theology with a political agenda of intolerance.

It is not ‘tolerance’ that offers justification to the  killer of Theo van Gogh. It is intolerance that finds a way to subjugate the truth that his killing was a despicable act of evil.

It is not ‘tolerance’ that offers justification to the  killers of 350 children in Beslan, citing ‘indignities’ or political strife. It is intolerance for the truth that the civilized world will not tolerate those who use children as pawns in an exchange of violence.

It is not ‘tolerance’ that allows the justification of the execution of Margaret Hassan, the Irish-born Iraqi citizen who devoted her life to tangible humanitarian causes that fed and cared for tens of thousands of Iraqis. It is the intolerance of the self declared, bestial Jihadis and those that make excuses for them, that tell the real story of intolerance.

Nevertheless, to the dysfunctional and murderous of Iraq and Palestine, it is we who are evil. The much maligned Old Testament God, who specified over forty times about the kindness and equality owed to the stranger, is supposed to be intolerant.

One might accept the moral equivalence of the rights of the Palestinians for nationhood as equivalent to the rights of the Israelis for their nation. That does not mean the moral equivalence of the deaths perpetrated, nor does that imply a moral equivalence between the societies and cultures.

Having a flag and a national anthem do not a nation make.

Parts of this post were published in July of 2006.