When we remember ourselves as spiritual creatures, we realize nothing is wrong and we have all the power we need. When we forget, we judge violent folks while justifying our own hate. In an advanced state of forgetfulness, it’s easy to see violence as natural/supremely just/imperative if we consider the person being blow up, tortured, shot to be worthy of hatred; the enemy. That’s why wars work a lot better if we demonize the enemy. It’s hard to blow people up if they don’t somehow deserve our hate.
Spiritual amnesia allows us to condemn killing if the person killed was someone we love or if we consider the victim on our side in a conflict. We also make distinctions between an innocent person (non combatant) but still our enemy, and those actively taking up arms against us. This got very tricky during bombing runs in Gaza. Nuclear detonations present the same problem on steroids. We think it good to feel guilty when we do collateral damage to civilians but perfectly okay to kill the kid carrying the AK47.
The fearful mind instructs us when hatred is justified. Many people told me I was justified in hating the murderers of my wife. Unfortunately being given a reason to hate offers no gift. Justification adds an additional burden to having the impulse to harm. Somehow you have to make it right and others must agree with your action. Now truth is outside you again. What if people change their minds about the acceptability of your violence? This frequently happens to soldiers who fight in the wrong war (Vietnam) or the wrong side (Germany).
The issue of right attack or right violence churns us up emotionally and physically. Wrong for Hamas to rape, murder and kidnap. Right for Israel to destroy Hamas. Wrong for them to kill thousands of women and children in air strikes. When is revenge enough? When is it too much? The more I wanted to shoot, stab and club the people who killed my wife, the more physically ill I got inside. I felt guilty for wanting to murder and also wanted approval from my world for wanting to do so. Gets a person going two ways at once. The soldiers of Gaza and Israel get torn apart inside and the whole world is confused, saddened and sickened. Many on both sides are getting angrier.
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