I was at a public concert and looked around at the people there. As a group they looked like a slice of average humanity, diverse in their appearance, short, tall, thin, heavy, old, young and of any hue from the fairest Caucasian to the deepest of brown. But how average were they, what was beneath appearances? Some must have had police records, maybe former incarcerations, some had debts, for most the car they had arrived in was not paid for, some might have cheated on their taxes, some must have been HIV positive. They smiled and clapped seeming so friendly but underneath some had to be sad, depressed, recovering from addiction or loss of some kind, some perhaps had sexually transmitted diseases, were victims of domestic violence or rape, some no doubt held beliefs opposite of mine, or values harmful to society. And among them too were humble citizens selflessly giving of themselves to those they cared about. It’s so with any crowd, at a mall or stadium there is more behind appearances, more underneath than what we see.
August 2011
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Like an Optical Illusion?
Barry Kosmin, director of the Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society and Culture at Trinity College in Connecticut, has been focusing on non believers, meaning not only atheist and agnostics but also humanists as well as those who are indifferent to religion. His research (which he likens to Christopher Columbus on an expedition to an unknown continent) points to the fact that secularists make up some 15% of the global population, about 1 billion people. As a group they are right behind the 2.3 billion Christians and 1.6 billion Muslims, more numerous therefore than Buddhists, Hindus or Jews. Kosmin says that “…many believe that the US population is steadily becoming more religious—but this is an optical illusion. Many evangelicals have simply become more aggressive and more political.” Given that we live in an age when religion divides as much as ever before, and when fundamentalists threaten cherished values, Kosmin’s research may provide a helpful perspective.
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And Miles To Go…
The anniversary of the Berlin Wall, built 50 years ago this August, brings to mind other notable barriers in the world. There is the Belfast Peace Wall, a barrier that remains amidst still unresolved conflict; the U.S. Mexico Border, what some call a desert monument to failure; Israel’s anti-terror fence, a wall around the West Bank; the Korean DMZ which may be the world’s most dangerous border and Ceuta and Melilla, North African cities which have become enclaves with high tech ramparts to keep out those making their way to Europe through Morocco. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano once quipped “Show me a 50-foot wall and I’ll show you a 51-feet ladder.” This may indirectly be hopeful for those barriers to eventually be torn down, but more to the point they stand as a reminder of how far we still have to go before there can be some oneness in the world.