Peace At All Costs: Warning, This Post Is Political

I know some of you probably cringe when you hear people bring up the topics of Syrian refugees. Well, I write to talk about the difficult things because I believe that this is exactly how we tend to find some important answers for ourselves. To be fair, we have been talking about the Syrian refugees for a while, not just since the attacks on Paris. The conversations have certainly increased since these events, however.

I understand, people are fucking scared. These are the things that make me understand just how right on that saying is – hate is not the opposite of love, fear is the opposite of love. It took me a long time to understand that, and if we really want to get down to semantics, we could argue the point. But here is how I see it - it‘s fear that causes hate, so even if hate is the opposite of love, we are digging deeper to the root of it. Fear. I vowed long ago that I would try my hardest to live from a place of love and not a place of fear. Fear, at its extreme, is paralyzing.

Let’s talk about some of those fears. People fear terrorism. Sure, so do I. I speak for myself when I say I have been fortunate to live an entire life without the experience of war in my back yard. I am blessed. I am beyond thankful. I bet refugees wish they could say that. It doesn’t take much for me to imagine the visions of war that those people on the far right have. I think even we have that in common. Let’s just say it, ignorant people think that letting in Syrians, who apparently are primarily Muslim, will drastically increase our chances of terrorism.

We like to throw that word around here in America don’t we? Terrorism? The attacks that happened on 9/11 were definitely acts of terrorism. But why is it that when someone with a “minority” religion in America blows something up, we call it terrorism? Terrorism happens within our borders every day. The means are just more veiled.

Let’s talk about Veterans. We Americans like that topic too – lately we especially like to argue that Veterans deserve the nation’s funds before “those people.” I don’t agree with war, period. It happens, but I’ll never see it as a solution. But you know what? I can only hope that most of us do what we think is right according to our own beliefs. I can hope that most individuals who serve in the armed forces truly think they are going to better our nation and our world. For the sake of argument, let’s just say this is true. Do you know what happens to these people when they come home? Do you know how pitiful their government health insurance is? Did you also know that sometimes mental health and chemotherapy aren’t covered benefits through their insurance? So, we are sending Americans, who we claim to value, off to war to see the most disgraceful things they will ever see. When they come back broken in body, mind, and spirit, we might as well just have signs greeting them that say “fuck you” – because the way our government treats them is the equivalent of that, in my opinion. So that’s not terrorism huh? Bullshit.

Has anyone read about vetting? I have. I was interested in all this talk about the threats “those people” pose to us. Although I am trying to be more worldly, there is just so much to know. When I am curious about where people’s opinions come from, I research, I read reputable sources. I found out that vetting means that people are thoroughly screened by the government. Sometimes this takes years before we let refugees cross our borders because we are making sure their stories check out.

Is it a risk to let people in? Sure. But it is not because these people are Muslim. There are millions of Muslims living peacefully within our borders. It’s a risk because they are human beings. We are all a risk because we are all a mix of darkness and light, good and evil. But do you realize what it is these people are running from? Terror. That’s right, the same kind of terror that creates the fears that cause Xenophobia (fear of “the other”). The same terror we are trying to keep out.

The government has taken these fears to the extreme. They wiped out Native American tribes, they enslaved Africans – although I would be remiss if I did not mention that there was some profit and gain in those things too. We have had Japanese internment camps and the fear that caused the Cold War. After the facts, we always just say I’m so sorry, and think we can move on. Now here we are again, this time it’s Muslims. America is acting like a spoiled fucking child that can’t learn her lesson. We are one of the wealthiest nations in the world, yet we get irate when someone suggests we share “our” wealth with “others.” Yet we seem to have no problem with gentleman like Donald Trump who hoards more money than he knows what to do with. I just can’t make sense of it.

As I end, I would like to share something personal with you. This week alone I had to unfriend two people on Facebook because of their hate-slinging posts. I refuse to have my positive energy tainted. I have worked too hard toward my own peace and global peace, to let that happen. For me it’s peace at all costs. Have you ever met a refugee? A Muslim? I have. I guess I am seeing something different than those on the far right do, because when I see another human being, especially one in need, I don’t see them as “those people,” I see them as a mirror of myself.

~ Peace and Love, Tracey

© Tracey Love, 2015. All rights reserved.