I’m covering a touchy subject today – and I’m coming to you as a Jewish person.
Yes, I’m going there: war. Specifically, the Israeli and Hamas situation.
I’m not a religious person, but I was raised Jewish and identify as Jewish culturally. I believe Israel has a right to exist. That doesn’t mean I agree with all their policies and politics. However, blaming the people of Israel for what’s happening is like blaming the victims of 9/11 for what America does in the Middle East.
I do agree with what many are saying — that innocent people are caught in the storm, and that is tragic.
It dawned on me this week as we watched the atrocities happening of an anomaly of being human.
We teach our children on the playground not to hit or fight over things or bully others because it never leads to a positive outcome.
In the workplace, coworkers quibble and clash and butt heads — fighting for their spot, vying to get ahead — and we know this only causes more quibbling, clashing, and butting heads. We know cooler heads prevail.
But what happens to humanity in times of war?
War is grownups using children’s tactics on grownup problems.
I’m not making light of any of this, but I know we can do better. I invite you to do better. Focus on humanity.
Remember:
Everybody bleeds. Everybody hurts. Everybody loves.
Even if you and your loved ones are not in Israel or Gaza, you may be suffering from heartbreak. It’s painful to witness.
In times like this — when you feel like you can’t do anything at all — the best thing you can do is evolve. To contribute to an evolution away from hate and toward love.
As a person with white privilege, who is also part of a hated group (a Jew), I can see where people of color are coming from when they say that being quietly “not racist” is not enough.
Those of us who are hated need everyone (including ourselves) to stand up and face our own biases, including our unconscious biases whenever they arise.
How did you react to the news of war? Did you quietly feel like one side or the other “deserved it?” How do you feel about the people who are dying? Why?
What if someone came into your neighborhood and took your loved ones hostage, killed your children, raped, and pillaged? In Israel, Gaza, Ukraine, and countless other places around the world and throughout history, this has been a reality people face.
The onus is on all of us to evolve and grow and stand up and face our bias and to love — at home, in your community, at work, in your business, and everywhere you go.
Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.
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