I have been blessed because the class also has a "World Religions" broad course as a secondary part of the class beyond philosophies..I have learned about the world of religion and things that people think about particular faiths. It has been an eye opener. There seems to be one common thread though among humanity that no matter what we think or believe, if we allow ignorance about other religions to continue, it allows fear to be birthed. People like to assume things and that fear from their assumptions can ruin us if we let it. I have also learned that as long as people accept ignorance about these subjects we have less of a chance to find peace that the world so desperately needs.
We learn fear at an early age. Parents shout "don't touch that!" or "Hot!" so we will be afraid of getting burned (and rightfully so)..we learn to be careful around things, afraid of breaking stuff crossing the street. We learn to fear our weird aunt Bessie when she comes over, mostly because she smells funny and pinches our cheeks.. After a while as we learn more about the world, we spend a lot of time developing a list of things to be afraid of. In the world that we live in the list of fears gets longer and longer with the blast of media control on our lives. Kids are exposed to hours and hours of horrific news on social media and they hear stories at school from their class mates about things.. and of course it is the "blown up" version of whatever happened. It is a wonder that the school lunch programs have not started passing out Prozac with the chocolate milk. Between all the "buzz word" reports and hype, our kids are getting the wrong message about everything from Islam to what it means to be in a loving committed relationship. Adults affirm these fears in a number of ways.
As a parent I admit my fears. I worry about my kids and the kids they go to school with. I worry about their futures and their hopes and dreams. My husband and I worry together about the bills and many things as he is going back to work and we will be three weeks with out money. Some how in my mind robbing a bank to solve my issues is not okay in any country, and my religion confirms that for me. (so do many others) I have a strong faith and in my personal theology I believe God loves us and cares for us. I believe He cares for my children even when they are in my presence but my mind always runs back to that fearful place when things happen. It says "what will you do about?!!?..." I know that our needs will be met, but this is just an example of daily fears that come up to many people...... Hinduism says that if I act on an impulse to rob the bank my actions make my world worse. Karma is not "what goes around comes around" It is about living in what we have made of the world.. While I am mostly grounded and logical "What if's" run wildly in my head and my mind paints a stupid picture about the worst of everything. The mind is a mad monkey and I have tried to meditate to reach nirvana like many Buddhist to find my place in the midst of my stress. Nirvana by the way is a state of mind "outside the mind", not a rock band. (That is another discussion...) I am thankful for my faith and my friends in faith because it keeps me grounded. I am thankful for others who choose not to do harm to me for having mad monkeys and a "nirvanaless" life.. Others though don't know how to cope with their own mad monkeys (fears) so they make it up as they go... it gives stupid a racetrack in the human mind. Then they sell tickets and invite the neighborhood.
This class about religions that I have been taking, has helped me to learn many things about the world's major religions and what people don't really know about them and most of what they think they know is very skewed thanks to media and ignorance in general. Most of us are "religion stupid" for lack of better words and it is beginning to have devastating effects on our world. I have learned that religion, no matter what form, keeps us grounded. It helps us to develop our morals and to develop a sense of rightness. This is true even if our rightness is not what others accept or agree with, there has to be a place to start. Religion keeps us connected with others along a common thread of belief..
Along time ago I decided to nip certain "religion fears" in the bud with my children. I did not want them to grow up bashing any religion because many faith communities do so in trying to prove their "rightness"(also people who choose to not believe anything at all have very defensive positions). I did not want them to think that religion (or lack there of) blanket statements are okay, just because it is the norm on television or other places in life. . I also tell them that they should ask about what they don't know from someone who does so that they are not disrespectful in the face of ignorance. I made it a point to introduce my children to people from many cultures and places so that they would have respect for life beyond the scope of their own eyes. I also taught them that you cannot assume that some one holds a particular belief, just because they live somewhere that others commonly hold them. It seems to be paying off as we have people from other countries in our home and my kids are at ease with them.. I want to say that am not touting my perfection as a parent here. Parenting is a tough job and sometimes I fail miserably, but I wanted to give my kids a fighting chance at being good people that the world could benefit from.
The media has blindly mixed countries, authenticity, religions, and nationality in verbiage. It for me sits as well in my stomach as four day old fruit salad in 90 degree weather. Media seems to use invisible trash cans for what the world doesn't understand or like. Often the message says "if you don't like someone, stick them here in the can and you can make it disappear in the push of a button". So many cartoons now days show places being blown off the map and mass killing of species at war as the norm .. I have issues with my kids thinking that annihilating any part of the world is okay, especially if it is just because we are afraid of what others "might" do. Television also shows using violence towards a neighbor is okay to settle disputes when you have an issue, especially if that person is from a different religion or country. To me this is utter stupidity.. and stopping it needs to be in the forefront of our to do list. My campaign is "Stop Stupid in its Tracks". This is for my children, and yours.
While many people think that they are powerless to stop this kind stuff... actually you can. Opinion matters, and studying counts! Letting networks know when a show rankles your conscience is good place to start. Refusing to watch abusive television is very effective because ratings are everything. When news papers identify people or places incorrectly retractions and corrections are possible and are made when mistakes have been verified. When people you know are talking about things that they don't know, kind but firm words about stereotypes can go a long ways. When sharing on a topic admitting that you are not an expert in the religious or cultural area is helpful too. Letting people know what you need to learn more of is no thing of shame. Most importantly for your kids, talk to them! Turn off the tube and have some conversations.. I often interrupt my children even when they are not arguing, but have said things that are stereotyped or learned from uneducated class mates. I remind them that they do not want to be stereotyped and how they have felt when they were. I ask them why they felt justified in their feelings and try to help them become more educated about people and their religions, after all our neighbors come in many varieties. It won't cure the world's religion issues over night, but at least it is a place to start.. no ticket sales here!
