Love in the Face of Fear At the November meeting of the First Parish UU Youth Group, we watched Bowling for Columbine, a Michael Moore documentary about America’s relationship with guns.As the youth noted, there were a few stereotypical “gun nuts”/conspiracy theorists/anti-government activists interviewed. But the film went much deeper than that, asking important questions about why some Americans are so attached to guns and to the Second Amendment “right to bear arms.” There were some typical looks at the role of the media and the glorification of violence, and the role of violent video games, but then there some more surprisingexplorations: for example, the killers in the Columbine High School massacre did play a lot of violent video games, but on the morning ofthe shooting, they actually went bowling. Also, while gun violence is much lower in countries where fewer people own guns (like in Europe and Japan), it is also much lower in countries where many people own guns, like Canada.To me, the most interesting part of the film was a comparison of the culture of fear and distrust of neighbors in the US vs. the culture of ‘no locked doors’ in Canada. Even in Canadian cities, where populations are racially and socioeconomically diverse, there seems to be less fear of “the other.” Is it that the US was founded upon individualism and freedom and their Bill of Rights (including the Second Amendment) above all else? Is it that we are a more violent and aggressive (and thus also a more fearful and defensive)society? (The film showed lots of footage of Americans invading, bombing, and otherwise getting involved in violent ways in other countries.) Are we so oriented towards our own success and our own “stuff” and our own safety that we are more concerned with protecting those things than with making the world safer and healthier for others?The film didn’t ultimately answer these questions, nor did we, in our discussion. But it was a really important conversation, one that I think we should be having. In what ways does our culture promote fear, competition, and greed? In what ways does it promote trust, cooperation, and generosity? What is our role as Unitarian Universalists? As parents? As citizens? How can we practice love and care even when some of our impulses and habits are selfish and defensive, when fearmongering is rampant, when it’s so much easier to withdraw and seek refuge in our little corners or circles or comfort zones? Are there really such places of refuge, anyway, when we all share this environment, this internet, this human brain and body, this time in history, and whatever legacies we are leaving for future generations?Do we dare to care for each other’s children and great-grandchildren the way we care for our own?This is our path to walk, in faith. --Alison Streit Baron
Posted on: Wed, 03 Dec 2014 19:24:30 +0000
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