by Sheila | Apr 1, 2014 | All That Is, Blog
Last year I wrote this Book Review: Inferno by Dan Brown in which I stated “Dan Brown has been an inspiration to me for years. His novels always seem to expand my understandings and help me to bring words to the very things that I am processing at the time.” This post is a perfect example…” As a human race we have become infatuated with creating a world of black and white, good and evil. This polarized view helps to justify acts of war and segregation. It is our desire to be understood, coupled by our unwillingness to understand that is reflected in the current state of our world. Whether it is a bombing, a shooting or any other desperate act, people immediately say “I don’t understand how anyone could do that…” When I express compassion and understanding for the multitude of factors that lead the violence it makes people uncomfortable. It is as if my ability to understand is interpreted as an acceptance or endorsement of the behavior. Even more it is interpreted as a disregard to the identified victims. I would say that we are all victims and we are all perpetrators of each of these acts of violence. And this is the very reason many people refuse to understand others’ point of view. If we take the time to understand all the levels that influence those we wish to label Evil, we will in fact find that what we see in others is also within us. Perhaps it is the fear of understanding ALL the layers of ourselves that shields us from understanding others and keeps...
