What about Sudan, for instance ...

July 2004

The genocide, aka "ethnic cleansing," in Sudan provides a good study in what this is all about.

Friends say, "there must be evil, look at what is happening in Sudan." It's so easy to ascribe dastardly deeds to evil; to say that acts we can't explain are caused by the devil.

But it is also too simple. Blaming rape and killing on evil is a cop out. Saying man is inherently bad is simply a judgment based on one's own limited point of view.

The truth is that the crisis in Sudan is the result of fear. The perpetrators are afraid that their way of life, their beliefs, their religion, their view of the world, are subject to attack or defeat by others. They think they're different than the ones they rape and kill. They want to make babies with their blood, their genes, to weaken the humanity of those they feel are inferior.

Why? Because they are afraid to be the same. They're afraid to live in peace. They are afraid that their view of the world and their religion will not survive and some historical perspective will be tarnished.

No one would kill another person if they were happy and at peace. No one would rape if they loved. No one would kill unless they were deeply afraid of something. Being afraid of something is succumbing to fear.

Others in the world say, "too bad about Sudan." We think it is not our problem.

In reality, any expression of fear in our world adversely affects all of us. We are all connected to the energy of the Universe. We are all the same creatures of the Universe, no matter what we look like or believe. We are the same as all things, living and non-living. When we exacerbate our perceived separateness, we give in to fear and do not see our unity in peace and love.

Can't you imagine a world where all people do see one another as brothers and sisters? Where we recognize our common humanity, and not just our "god given" right to make as much money as we can and to have what we want at the expense of the other members of our family. In such a world, there would be no such slaughter as now in Sudan. It's time to take off the blinders and see peace.