Brave Humans

Time for round 2. I thought perhaps when I wrote about Minnesota Representative-elect Keith Ellison’s desire to be sworn into office using the Quran, I was at the tail-end of the story…it was old news. Apparently not for everyone…

Representative Virgil Goode (R-Virginia) recently sent out a letter to his constituents which was, according to his spokesman, a response to concerns about Keith Ellison. Here are some quotes from that letter (my source for the quotes is CNN.com):

“When I raise my hand to take the oath on Swearing In Day, I will have the Bible in my other hand. I do not subscribe to using the Quran in any way.”

“The Muslim representative from Minnesota was elected by the voters of that district and if American citizens don’t wake up and adopt the Virgil Goode position on immigration there will likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Quran.”

“We need to stop illegal immigration totally and reduce legal immigration and end the diversity visas policy pushed hard by President Clinton and allowing many persons from the Middle East to come to this country.”

“I fear that in the next century we will have many more Muslims in the United States if we do not adopt the strict immigration policies that I believe are necessary to preserve the values and beliefs traditional to the United States of America and to prevent our resources from being swamped.”

There are SO many ways to address this story; I had a hard time focusing my thoughts. Finally, I identified what, to me, is the essence of the problem: I don’t think the issue here is about religion….I think it’s about being human.

There are people who think a belief in religion is inherently evil or even insane. Then there are people who think that anyone without a particular faith is doomed. (See Brian’s posting “Spare the Child“.) Then there are the tragedies that are blamed on religious fervor: the Crusades, the on-going Mid-East crisis, 9/11, Northern Ireland, to list a very few.

But I don’t believe these are really about religion…I believe they are about human weaknesses…fear, lust for power, stubbornness, closed-mindedness…all things that are inherent to our species. In many instances, they happen to manifest themselves in a religious context, perhaps because that provides a convenient excuse to do horrible things. (Did I mention the human trait to not accept responsibility for our actions?) It’s not for us, it’s for the “glory of God.” But I think it IS for “us.” If there were no religion, it’d be for the “glory of our nation, “ or “the common good,” or “because it’s a full moon.” Humans don’t need religion to attack others: Pearl Harbor, the forced migration of Native Americans in the U. S., genocide in African nations…again, this list can go on and on.

Now, I do believe in a Christian God, but I’ve never done anything wrong because of that faith. My mistakes have come because I’ve been afraid, or angry, or stubborn, or insensitive, or self-centered, or egotistical…characteristics my religion frowns upon, but I must continually strive against because I’m human. The evil in the world doesn’t need any god to champion it…it’s got humans. We’ll keep committing atrocities until we stop blaming others (either worldly or other-worldly), start recognizing our faults, and embark on self-improvement.

Do I think that’s going to happen? Well, not really. Not anytime soon. Not on a large-scale. Not until we’re brutally honest with ourselves. That’s tough for humans…we don’t like to admit we’ve made mistakes. But for survival, we need to start, from my house to the White House to….the entire planet.

Be brave. Be human.
Susan