‘when will we ever learn?’

when i read about what we do and say to our fellow human beings- i think about ‘where have all the flowers gone’ and the line ‘when will they ever learn? when will they ever learn?’ and i answer my own question. never. being up on current events is a double edged sword- on the one hand, i get to hear racist, misogynistic, bigoted comments all over the news and blogosphere- women against women; men against men; religion versus religion or non religion everyone is fighting everyone and no one at the same time. i get to read how we pollute and corrupt other cultures and then leave them to clean up the mess; how we destroy our planet and don’t care if the other 75% of the planet lives to see another day as long as we have our starbucks on the way to work talking on the cell phone in our suv- because we are oh, so important.

and on the other hand i read this:

“I just want to be like you,” he said tiredly as he gazed into the middle distance, and with those seven words summed up the eternal plight of the downtrodden and discriminated against. “I’ve got two arms, two hands … why am I any different from other people?” he went on - and, of course, the answer was staring us in the face from the gun turrets of the guard towers overlooking the camp…He was vicious in his condemnation of those at the helm of the Israeli government, castigating them for their decades spent keeping his people down and subjugating them with brute force and bloodshed - however, he was adamant that he did not view their actions as emanating from Jewish sources. “Zionism is far, far removed from the Jewish religion,” he assured me. “I have no issue with Jews - just as I have no problem with Christians or Buddhists. I don’t mind Jews living here, just so long as they do it peacefully.”

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