I watched a little Avatar last night, being inspired by my Valentine's Day conversations with my husband. I went to be last night thinking about the concept of "standing firm to the death." Stand firm is a command I hear a lot in Christian circles. It's something I did myself for a long time. I found a lot of strength in that phrase. Jesus remained true to his calling all the way to death after all. So did William Wallace (of the movie Braveheart). Human beings are inspired by those who are willing to risk their lives for a good cause. We all recognize the beauty of someone who is willing to risk their lives for the sake of their community.
But...
But then there is this character in Avatar. The head honcho military guy. I don't remember his name at the moment. But I remember him. No matter what, he stands firm in his belief that the natives of Pandora are bad. He believes that the whole world of Pandora is evil. It's only good is what it can provide for humans on earth. Even when defeat is imminent he still won't give in. He won't save himself. He still fights even when he is the only one left fighting.
The thing is our culture applauds this kind of behavior, but he was wrong. He was fighting for the wrong thing. But he didn't know that.
So here's my question. If we are fighting (physically, mentally, verbally, or whatever else), how do we know we are fighting for something worthy?
I could list so many examples of people who think they are fighting a worthy cause but it doesn't look that way to the people on the other side. Libby Anne's post on being an escort to Planned Parenthood is the perfect example of two people on opposing sides both fighting for what they think is right.
How do we know? If we fight for the underdog, what happens when they are no longer the underdog? If we stand with the oppressed what happens when they begin to oppress? Or when we realize the oppressors are also imprisoned. What about Isreal and Palestine?
I would be an easy victim of stockholm syndrome I think. I so easily see from other's perspectives. This also means I don't really move much on anything. I have no passion to act for fear of being uneducated and "standing firm" on the wrong side.
I think this says something about my role in this life though. My calling is not to fight. My calling is to heal. I will heal you no matter what side you fight for. I fight for humanity. I am Switzerland. I have no sides. I am not a city, I am a bridge. I will always be a bridge. I will belong nowhere but be a connection between many. This is my calling.
So no, I will not stand firm. I will not fight. I will connect. I will heal. I will unite. I will illuminate.
I probably will not die for the sake of anything. I will never be a hero. That's okay with me.
So, my question is, what if someone tries to stop you? What if someone stands between you and someone in need of healing?
ReplyDeleteI don't have a particular answer I'm looking for or waiting for. I'm just curious about your thoughts.
Hi! I suppose the real answer is that I don't know. The other real answer is that I do fight for what I believe is important all the time. I fought with my husband about the kids bed time last night because I knew that my daughter was fighting a cold and needed extra sleep. I was right. She slept 12 hours last night and was late to school this morning. I fight for my own needs to be met at times and if you scroll the comments you'll see me fighting for my right to have an open mind.
DeleteI would love to be able to answer you question to say I would engage with the person standing in the way. I would hear their story and listen and try to be a bridge between the person in need of healing and the person standing in the way. Or maybe I would heal in secret. I would deceive the person in the way in order to reach the person in need of healing.
In reality we do all take stands. So the question still hangs, "how do we know we are fighting for the right cause?"
It doesn't sound as if you doubt that the causes you DO fight for are right. Maybe the answer is simply to keep examining the results of your actions to see if you are doing harm? (Thinking out loud there...)
DeleteIncidentally, (as I read through a few of your old posts and see more references to Avatar), I'm reminded that while I liked the movie, one of its disappointments was that it pitted good guys against bad guys. Just sayin'... fictional characters are not always a reliable guide to life, lol.
Delete"fictional characters are not always a reliable guide to life." Is it sad that I'm just learning this? It's kinda depressing to learn that life doesn't follow a narrative.
DeleteThis is also one of the things that makes me doubt Christianity. The more I learn that much of the Bible is narrative rather than fact the more I doubt it's reliability to teach us a right way of living. I LOVE Story. Story inspires me. But does it really make me a better person? I'm not so sure anymore.
And yes. Good guys against bad guys so rarely exists in real life. It's always more complicated than that. I'm still learning this as well.
In the several posts of yours I've read, you seem to find SO much to criticize yourself for... it makes me sad. You seem so often to divide the world into good guys and bad guys and then worry that you are one of the bad guys! For what it's worth, I'm sure you're not one of the bad guys. If you want, I could flood your inbox with images of the handiwork of the bad guys, and you could keep assuring yourself, see, I'm not like that! (that's a joke. I would not want to actually do that.)
DeleteI don't know what your next steps should be (I hardly know you at all, of course). I know how MY path led away from observant Judaism, through science, to Buddhism. But I don't know what your path is, so sorry!
There is LOTS of grey in life. Embracing the grey is one way to move forward. Things aren't always to easy to delineate as "good" or "bad.
ReplyDeleteI remember thinking about the general who can send legions into battle and how IMPOSSIBLE that would be for me. Why? Because I would know all of my troops by name, their struggles, their fears, their families...
Some people find it easy to make "decisions". I do not. It is because not only do I see the shades of grey, but because I can value each of those hues as well...
Just as you can...
For a long time I thought I was "wishy-washy" and weak. Everyone else in my family is SO SURE of everything, but I couldn't decide on things. Now I see it isn't wishy washy at all...it's maturity and awareness.
The world needs people like that.