We
now have a level of tragedy around the globe that may be as great or
greater than at the start of WWII. These notably include: wars on multiple fronts; nuclear meltdown tragedies and earthquakes, among others. I believe the key to making
lemonade out of these lemons, is compassion for the sickest people in
the world and a focus on their personal healing.
I would argue that
these sickest people, are those that are caught in a sick cycle of
abusiveness of others and mother earth. No one loves them for their
money, nor do they love them for their ability to make people afraid
of them or make them afraid of the governments and armies that they
largely control. They weren't born this way. They grew up with
parents and in a society that was abusive of others and expressed
their success in how much power OVER others that they had.
A number
of teachers have talked about healing the sick and loving our enemies. Jesus wasn't the
only one. These greatest abusers of power and people and greatest controllers of governments, corporations and armies, are the sickest people in the global room. They also pose the greatest threats to the most of us and could easily be seen as our greatest "enemies". They are both the most in need of healing and we, the rest of the people
and organisms of the world are most in need of them being healed.
Healing them would have double power - healing their illness and
turning them into allies.
They need a face saving way to get out of
this cycle of violence and domination through generating fear in the
rest of us. This may in part be to let them frame their crimes as a
reaction to having been victimized by parents and victimized by role models in our
sick society that abused others and measured their "success"
by the amount of power they had OVER others.
Jesus might have said they could "repent and be saved". The South Africans offered their abuser class a way out through what they called "Truth and Reconciliation". Jimmy Carter played his role in the top abuser class, then, I would argue, effectively repented by living a life of working to contribute to healthier communities.
Though it will not be easy, we need compassion for these victims of a sick global society. Having compassion for these sick individuals and doing what we can to facilitate their personal healing may have potential to turn the relative hell we seem to be facing into a relative Utopia.
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