Yesterday I came across a video on a widely-followed Instagram page. It was a small section of a full Joe Rogan interview with author Coleman Hughes. In the clip, Hughes was accurately explaining to Rogan, the Hamas tactic of fully embedding itself within civilian communities, thereby making it nearly impossible for the IDF to distinguish between members of the terrorist group and innocent Gazans.
"In matters of such consequence and complexity, it’s sad that we so easily ascribe motive to people instead of simply engaging with them, listening to them, hearing them, attempting to understand them, seeking the best in them."
Our Sunday morning adult Bible study class has just begun a 4 week series called Divided We Stand. From it we will be learning exactly how to navigate these waters instead of dodging them or burying heads in the sand; to walk away with love, not anger or with intentions of changing the opposing viewpoint even. We are ripe for training in civil discourse (thank you Joyce Vance).
John, we live in this meme-logic driven world because our society doesn't have time to do the deep dive, to do the mental gymnastics of seeing nuance within the shades of grey between black and white. Thankfully, there are still some of us on this planet that would rather contemplate, hold the possibility that not everything fits neatly within the confines of dualism. I got your book and can't wait to dive into it. Your posts are keeping hope alive for those of us that still want to consider possibilities and not settle for finalities. Thank you, John.
Agree 100%, John. I condemn the actions of both Hamas and Netanyahu, while supporting the Israeli and Palestinian people who are *all* caught in a vicious cycle of retribution that has lasted literal millennia.
I appreciate how you bring empathy and depth to these issues, John. We cannot reduce everything to sound bites and memes. Thank you for your work.
"In matters of such consequence and complexity, it’s sad that we so easily ascribe motive to people instead of simply engaging with them, listening to them, hearing them, attempting to understand them, seeking the best in them."
Our Sunday morning adult Bible study class has just begun a 4 week series called Divided We Stand. From it we will be learning exactly how to navigate these waters instead of dodging them or burying heads in the sand; to walk away with love, not anger or with intentions of changing the opposing viewpoint even. We are ripe for training in civil discourse (thank you Joyce Vance).
John, we live in this meme-logic driven world because our society doesn't have time to do the deep dive, to do the mental gymnastics of seeing nuance within the shades of grey between black and white. Thankfully, there are still some of us on this planet that would rather contemplate, hold the possibility that not everything fits neatly within the confines of dualism. I got your book and can't wait to dive into it. Your posts are keeping hope alive for those of us that still want to consider possibilities and not settle for finalities. Thank you, John.
For some (maybe obvious) reason no one will accept a conversation on this subject. Daunting but we must persist.
Hopefully this is OK to share but there was an article on the CBS Evening News that gave me a bit of hope that speaks to this:
Group of Jewish, Palestinian women build bridges between cultures https://www.cbsnews.com/news/zeitouna-michigan-jewish-palestinian-women-group/
Agree 100%, John. I condemn the actions of both Hamas and Netanyahu, while supporting the Israeli and Palestinian people who are *all* caught in a vicious cycle of retribution that has lasted literal millennia.