Cheering 9/11 - The Power of a Singular Story
I met a student on Friday who, during the course of our conversation shared with us that her father was celebrating in the streets when he saw the World Trade Towers come crashing down that fateful Tuesday morning.
(Shock. Gasp. Outrage. Pick your jaw up off the floor. Feed your political fire)
Background - our new friend is from Palestine.
America is a part of a small minority of governments that would not like to recognize Palestine as a nation. We are allied with the nation of Israel and the Israelis have, since achieving nation status in 1948, aggressively resisted Palestinian statehood. "Palestine" is a place that is difficult to define, impossible to demarcate, and challenging (even for Palestinians) to navigate.
Our new friend told us about her neighbors whose house was littered with bullets and those piercing the walls of their living room did so just above where little girls were innocently playing on the floor. These bullets of course were fired by Israelis and bore the marking of being funded by America.
Palestinians have been told a singular story of America, and that singular story has caused them to dance in the streets upon witnessing our suffering.
Americans have likewise been fed a singular story about Palestinians (and Iranians, and Sudanese, and Chinese, and...). This story has been spouted by politicians vying for votes and news outlets competing for ratings. This singular story fuels our American egocentrism and would conjure all sorts of paranoid thoughts when introduced to an Palestinian or Iranian.
A singular story never tells the whole story. A singular story only enhances the good guys (my side) vs. bad guys (the other side) mentality. It gives us permission to launch bombs. It justified slavery. It allows us to turn a blind eye to suffering. It gives you consent to put inflammatory political bumper stickers on your car.
I am not here promoting Israel, Palestine, a 2 state solution, or any other political stance. This is an apolitical blog. However, as a follower of Jesus I am obligated to look beyond the singular story. Palestinians are not the bad guys, they are not terrorists. They are obstetricians and school teachers, construction workers and students. They have hopes and dreams, struggles and failures. And most importantly, they are a people for whom Jesus died, not to far from the place they are struggling to call home.
If you also call yourself a follower of Jesus then you must look beyond the singular story - whoever is telling that story and whoever that story is being told about. Whether it is Palestinians, "illegals", democrats, or Yankee fans. Disciples of Christ are not allowed to sit back and judge based on stereotypes and media hype. Jesus didn't listen to the singular story the Jews were telling about the "sinners", instead he hosted them for dinner. If we are to be Christ like then we must open our minds, open our homes, and open our hearts to those who are being labeled the "bad guys". I am glad Jesus did.
Romans 5:8
(Shock. Gasp. Outrage. Pick your jaw up off the floor. Feed your political fire)
Background - our new friend is from Palestine.
America is a part of a small minority of governments that would not like to recognize Palestine as a nation. We are allied with the nation of Israel and the Israelis have, since achieving nation status in 1948, aggressively resisted Palestinian statehood. "Palestine" is a place that is difficult to define, impossible to demarcate, and challenging (even for Palestinians) to navigate.
Our new friend told us about her neighbors whose house was littered with bullets and those piercing the walls of their living room did so just above where little girls were innocently playing on the floor. These bullets of course were fired by Israelis and bore the marking of being funded by America.
Palestinians have been told a singular story of America, and that singular story has caused them to dance in the streets upon witnessing our suffering.
Americans have likewise been fed a singular story about Palestinians (and Iranians, and Sudanese, and Chinese, and...). This story has been spouted by politicians vying for votes and news outlets competing for ratings. This singular story fuels our American egocentrism and would conjure all sorts of paranoid thoughts when introduced to an Palestinian or Iranian.
A singular story never tells the whole story. A singular story only enhances the good guys (my side) vs. bad guys (the other side) mentality. It gives us permission to launch bombs. It justified slavery. It allows us to turn a blind eye to suffering. It gives you consent to put inflammatory political bumper stickers on your car.
I am not here promoting Israel, Palestine, a 2 state solution, or any other political stance. This is an apolitical blog. However, as a follower of Jesus I am obligated to look beyond the singular story. Palestinians are not the bad guys, they are not terrorists. They are obstetricians and school teachers, construction workers and students. They have hopes and dreams, struggles and failures. And most importantly, they are a people for whom Jesus died, not to far from the place they are struggling to call home.
If you also call yourself a follower of Jesus then you must look beyond the singular story - whoever is telling that story and whoever that story is being told about. Whether it is Palestinians, "illegals", democrats, or Yankee fans. Disciples of Christ are not allowed to sit back and judge based on stereotypes and media hype. Jesus didn't listen to the singular story the Jews were telling about the "sinners", instead he hosted them for dinner. If we are to be Christ like then we must open our minds, open our homes, and open our hearts to those who are being labeled the "bad guys". I am glad Jesus did.
Romans 5:8
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