Can we heal the world with Love? 2
3rd Sep 2009
Hello lovely people
The closure of Guantanamo Bay has been heralded by some, and questioned by others. The inmates of Guantanamo Bay have been accused of horrendous crimes against humanity and tortured for these crimes. Is torture justified when it is done on behalf of a government, but not justified when the opposition to the government become the torturers? A terrorist and a freedom fighter are defined by one’s perspective.
It is interesting to see how many of the opponents of Guantanamo Bay are now unwilling to accept the prisoners that will be released from the camp. Is this really a matter of “we only look after our own”, or is it a matter of “not in my back yard, even if it is my own”? On what grounds could the countries that protested against the imprisonment and torture of people now refuse to provide refuge to those same prisoners?
This reminds us of the legal action against Nazi war criminals. Yes, atrocities were committed by these people. But how just is retributive action now when it is taken against a sickly octogenarian who must be uprooted from the country where he has lived for over 50 years so that he can die in prison? Where is the mercy in that? Surely those people have had to live with their consciences all these years.
People have donated money to World Vision, only to discover that more than $1 million of the donations never reached Liberia because of fraud. Is it such a good idea to give money to charitable organisations, especially when the donations are solicited by means of expensive television ads and uniquely labelled free pens to sign the donation slips with? Or should we actually support these international charities knowing that some of the money they receive does make a difference? How much worse off would the recipients of this charity be if there was no charity?
In May the Iranian government blocked access to Facebook. In June the Chinese government banned Hotmail, Twitter and Flickr on the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. There will be people in China that applaud this move because they understand the immense damage that the media can do when they get hold of a story and blow it out of proportion – we see that al the time with a celebrity culture in the Western world.
There will similarly be people that will object to their freedom of thought and free speech being taken away from them. Is there ever a reason that is good enough to prevent people from accessing information so that they can read and decide for themselves what is right?
The Justice card in tarot reminds us that whenever we look for justice, we should be aware of the consequences. We should open our hearts to our fellow human beings and understand that we are Love above all. Justice can never be applied without mercy.
Is it possible that Love alone can provide answers to all these issues?
To be continued.
First printed in The If Journal volume 124
Please leave a comment if you feel inspired.
Love and Light
Elsabe
