Think, and Learn, and Think, then Act Accordingly!

Think, and Learn, and Think, then Act Accordingly!

Think, and Learn, and Think, then Act Accordingly!

What Is It You Are So Afraid Of?

Question for those who are killing others who want to live democratically. What is it you are so afraid of? When it comes right down to it, the truth is, you are afraid of being wrong. This is why you feel the need to eliminate anyone with an alternative view. Here’s a news flash. If you have to kill others in order to prove you are right, you have completely missed the point. Since eliminating all others who think, pray, and/or believe, differently than you is actually impossible, and history proves this, then what you actually prove is just how wrong you are.

Knock, knock.

Who’s there?

Moses. I have a message from Adonai.

No time today, sorry.

Knock, knock.

Who’s there?

Adonai.

Hey, I believe in you. I pray to you. However, up close and personal? Not ready. If I know you personally, I can no longer say I am doing things in your name. Could you send back Moses? At least then, because he is a man, I can decide to believe him, or not.

How many people are just like this? It is so much easier to say one is acting in the name of G-d, (or what ever name one chooses to use) to try to justify one’s actions. This way, without direct confirmation, it is easy to pretend to know what Adonai wants.

We do have the Torah, which tells us what Adonai wants from us. As Rabbi Akiba said so very long ago while standing on one foot, “Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you. The rest is commentary. Now, go and study!” Yes, it really is this simple.

The Torah gives us laws for how to treat one another fairly, kindly, and justly. We humans, after all, need details in order to explain exactly how to accomplish this. We have them.

Moses led us out of slavery towards freedom, and we have never stopped talking about this. Not just Jewish people, but all people talk about this to this day. We must remember oppression of any kind is wrong. The Jewish people have a long history of fighting oppression wherever it is found, right up to this day. We do this for others as well as ourselves. Teaching people to value human life is part of our charge. Another, of course, is there is only one G-d, there is none else, Adonai is the G-d of everyone and every thing, and not to worship false gods.

Sadly, here we are somewhere in the neighborhood of 3,500 years later, and we are still needing to teach this. Why? This question has a multitude of answers and I am asking it with all of my heart, and full of sorrow. The easy answer is people generally worship the false gods of money and power. People mistakenly think they actually have some control over others, or even over the way things turn out.

We are told repeatedly in the Torah to separate good from evil. We seek the garden of Eden. Some look forward to the Messianic age; the time of redemption when evil will no longer exist. It is up to us all to achieve this goal. But some miss the point. We can live in a wonderful world of love, kindness, respect, justice, etc. Only we each must actually bethis model if the world is to become it.

How is it logically possible to achieve this through violence and oppression? What makes absolutely no sense at all to me is why people would fight and kill those who want their rights, and their freedom, and by the way, by extension this means yours too? Not freedom to perpetuate evil mind you, but freedom from oppression, freedom to act fairly, justly, and kindly.

In case you have been living in a cave, you are well aware the violence, nurtured by hatred, fear, and a longing for control is at a horrifically high level now. Some of this is due to the world’s economic problems, which is also directly due to oppression and desire to control, but I am speaking right now about the violence being used to gain control of countries.

The spin, of course, is that these radicals are doing so in the name of G-d, who they call, Allah. Are you kidding me?!!! The truth is the leaders want money, power, and control. They are using the excuse of perpetuating violence in the name of Allah in order to gain help for their selfish and evil plans. To those who are aiding them, do you think your lives will be better if they gain control of their respective countries?

The truth is, they will keep you oppressed, and poor. Why poor? Simple. It is easy to fight for something when you have nothing to lose. After all, if the people who actually want freedom and rights for all win, it would mean you would still be free to worship as you wish. You see, either way you sort of win. The difference is, if the people who want freedom and rights for all win, then democracy wins. If democracy wins, you will have the opportunity to earn more money. If democracy loses, you will remain poor. (This is why I wrote “sort of”). Of this, there can be no doubt. You see, if the radicals win, the only way to keep everyone in line is to keep them dependent on what the government gives them. In order to keep people dependent, they need to be poor.

To achieve the goals of the radical leaders’, they use the “G-d card”. It is quite effective. Get people to believe they are acting the way Adonai wants, and that their violence is righteous, and as history has proven time and again, these would-be leaders gain followers willing to do anything for the ones in charge. The ones in charge always are the only ones with money. They keep their followers dependent on them for their survival while preaching this is what G-d wants. Of course these would-be leaders promise the sun, moon and stars, in order to “sweeten the deal”. Yet history proves that if these would-be leaders actually gain control, their subjects are worse off then they were before.

I will guarantee you this too; those in the highest ranks supporting these radicals are well compensated with money, food, and other things. Maybe with some promise too of some reward in the after-life, but without even personally knowing these people I guarantee you I am correct. Do the leaders themselves become suicide bombers? Of course not. Neither do they send their own children. I am also sure they are not personally guaranteeing the rank and file any sort of plan for a better future. No, they tell their followers, G-d, or Allah, will provide.

I’ve got more news. G-d gave us wheat, not bread itself. We have to take the wheat and process it, cook it, etc., in order to have bread. We are co-creators and as such, it is up to us to do our own part. And we are not supposed to oppress others either. The Torah even tells us not to be cruel to animals.

The fact that in Egypt for example, the radicals want to destroy pieces of history, world history, speaks volumes about these would -be leaders. Among other things, it tells us they want control so badly, they are afraid of any reminders of any other thinking or belief system. They want their followers to forget there was ever any other way of life.

I saw a picture in a news article yesterday where in Syria, some people who wanted democracy were being wrapped in American flags before being killed. While America is far from perfect, at least we are all free to worship as we choose as long as that does not mean doing so in a violent manner. Again, democracy means freedom to worship as one chooses, therefore, tell me why you radicals are so against destroying others, oppressing and killing others in order to worship G-d the way you want to?

I will tell you something else too, and again, history proves this to be true. You cannot control what anyone thinks, nor what anyone feels. In places where only one religion was allowed to be followed, and according to only one set of dogma, other religions were not eliminated. People who did not think the same way, nor worship the same way, went underground, so to speak. They still worshipped as they chose, just in secret.

In ancient Rome, they fed the Jewish people and the Christian people to the lions. Horrific, absolutely. Fear inducing, you bet. Yet the Jewish people and the Christian people are still here. Know who isn’t? Those with the prevailing religious beliefs of that time. Another words, those who thought they could instill their belief system on others through the means of violence. Interesting, yes?

If you do not like your food, do not eat it. If you do not like your clothing, get different clothing. If you do not like your home, friends, job, spouse, religion, then make changes in your own life. Here’s another example. I personally do not like pornography. I do not watch it, nor do I participate in it in any way, shape, or form. Do I think it should be outlawed, or worse, those who produce it, or watch it should be killed? Absolutely not. I believe people have the right to decide for themselves, as long as they are not exploiting or oppressing others in order to produce or watch it. I am also staunchly Jewish, through and through, yet I still believe others have the right not to be. Guess what else. That not everyone, not even most people in the world, or even my community where I live are not Jewish, does not scare me, nor does it even make me question my beliefs.

If you truly want people to believe a certain way, the most you can do is to teach them, and live accordingly. You can never force others to believe anything. Oh, you can try, but again I say, you will fail. I will even go so far as to say that I do not think everyone who is a part of this violence and radical use of force going on in the world right now wholly believes violence is the answer. I would wager to say that those who have their doubts participate in this movement out of fear. Yet, fear does not change what one believes. It cannot. It can affect what one does, but not what one believes.

Ultimately, as always, Adonai will have the final say. One did not have to be present at Mount Sinai to have proof Adonai exists. The proof is everywhere. You can ignore it, or pretend your way to connect with Adonai is the only right way. It does not change the fact Adonai has the final say. Were there mass killings of peoples in the Torah? We all know there were. However, we are told it was due to the insidiousness of evil which prevailed in those societies. Everyone who was not a member of the Jewish people, (or Israelites as we were called in those times), was not killed. In fact, a mixed multitude went with us as we left the oppression of Egypt.

The Torah tells us to treat everyone kindly, fairly, respectfully, and justly, but to also vigilantly eliminate evil in our midst. This was not exclusive of ourselves either. We were told we had to eliminate anyone who was evil, including family members. We were told we had the responsibility to protect those who are oppressed, help those who cannot help themselves, and to take care the basic needs of others are seen to. We are told not to place a stumbling block before the blind. This gets expanded upon when we are told not to place someone in the position of feeling the need to act illegally or violently just to take care of their basic needs, and the needs of their own family. We are told everyone deserves respect; everyone, and this includes women and children. Above all, we are told time and time again, there is only one G-d, the G-d of everyone, and everything. We were told to pass our beliefs along to our generations through knowledge of Torah. Teaching others through our words and deeds, not through force.

If one truly believes in G-d, by whatever name one chooses, then one would spend their time, and energy being good towards others, including animals, and all which is upon the earth. Not by exerting energy and spending time and money on all manners of destruction. If one wants a world of peace, one must build schools, places of worship, hospitals, playgrounds, homes, etc. We must teach our children responsibility, kindness, justice, love, respect, history, and about Adonai. Not about hate, fear, and violence.

Perhaps the biggest question I have is one I am far from alone in asking. If there is only one correct way to worship Adonai, and if your way is the only right way, why would you need to kill others to prove it? Rhetorical question. You wouldn’t. For as long as more than one person inhabits the earth, there will be differences of opinions on many things. Why should this be a scary thing?

It is one thing to feel sad when one sees another dressed in a way you would not. It is quite another to kill that person because they dress in a way you would not. Every religion I am aware of teaches some version of the “golden rule”- treat others as you would like to be treated. Not, treat others who believe as you believe, dress as you dress, act as you act, or belong to your religion, and I’ll break it down even further to not only those who are of your religion, but who also practice your religion in the way you practice it. Simply, treat others, all others, as you would want to be treated. We are our brother’s keeper. We are all brothers, or siblings if the term offends you, or worse, if you think it means men only.

It is one thing to say one believes in Adonai, and loves Adonai, it is quite anther to actually act this way. G-d created man in His image, man and women We created them. Man and woman. Not Islamic man, Jewish man, Christian man, or any other description. No caveats, or delineations. Merely man and woman. So simple, but then again, the truth usually is.

There are some mistakes we make which we can try to rectify. We think, act, and speak according to our own world-view. Our own beliefs arouse more passion than anything else can. Wars in the name of “G-d”, are certainly nothing new.

Finding out everything you fought for was a lie, that your leaders are not the pious ones they pretend to be, and you killed people or in any way promoted their demise for a bunch of lies will be absolutely devastating. What happens when you find out all of the promises your leaders who you fought to put into power were lies. When you find out the only ones who will benefit, (should you win the battle for ruling your country by strictly enforced Islamic extremism), will be those in actual power. When you find out your life is no better off, and most likely, worse than before; when you find out you have been played for a fool, what then?

I hope and pray you think about all I have written before you lift another finger in violence. You know what? Read your own Koran. Don’t sit back and allow others to tell you what it says, read it for yourself. Ask yourself what you hope to accomplish, what you hope to gain. Study history, and learn there is a reason history repeats itself.

Spiritually Yours,

Laura Weakley