The news has been distressing for the last few weeks since October 7, 2023 when Hamas attacked Israelis killing many of them and taking some as hostages. The Israeli government in turn attacked the Palestinians in what they call their “right to defend themselves” but it is not clear how many of the Hamas people have been killed or captured. What is clear though is there are some 3,600 Palestinian children dead as of Nov 4, 2023 according to AP. Are the children terrorists too?
In the Philippines, we have our own share of conflicts. We have our own share of war against corruption, and poor public service. We have our war against poverty and injustice.
Many of these conflicts are rooted in ignorance. Ignorance that fuels hate.
The belief that certain people are more entitled to than others leads to conflict.
It is ignorance to believe that people in certain religions are more privileged than other beliefs. No belief or religion is superior to another. The moment we believe that, it leads to conflict, that can lead to war.
Let’s seek first to understand one another.
That pale small dot above is our home, the Earth. It has existed for billions of years.
Humans have only been on this Earth for about two hundred thousand years.
We are all just passing through this planet for just a few years.
Each of us may have our own religion or belief. Some are agnostic or atheist. Still, no belief system can claim to have an entitlement of parts of this Earth.
We must learn to accept that other people have beliefs that may be different from ours but that is never a reason to kill other people.
Let’s cure our ignorance by seeking first to understand each other, let’s communicate with open minds, let’s dialog. That way we continue to learn from each other.
Let’s learn to be compassionate of every human being so that we can live in harmony.