The horrendous acts of murderous violence which took place in Paris on November 13 has left many feeling vulnerable and shaken. The 128 people who lost their lives in the attack will be forever mourned by their loved ones who will sadly miss their brother, sister, parent, or child. The world suffers because 128 potential contributors to the advancement of technology, science, and possible cures will not be released for the benefit of the global community.

What really killed these people? Was it simply a gun or a bomb? Is the real culprit an AK 47 or bomb making materials? Though these were the instruments of death chosen by the perpetrators, we cannot lay the blame at the feet of inanimate objects, it’s something much deeper hiding away in the deep recesses of the human heart. It is something called HATE! This is the emotion that spawns the action and becomes the motivator for such acts of destruction and violence. However, let’s go a little deeper. Something causes hate and creates this devotion to one’s cause in blinding them to the value of other human beings and their right to exist.

This kind of person has become educated in hate by a philosophy that instructs them in creating a  tiered system of human value. If a certain people group has a religion different than mine, then they are of lesser value than me. If a person has certain amount of wealth then they are identified as evil and lose their value in comparison to one who doesn’t have the same financial prowess. These universities of hate which can be defined as those ideologies and philosophies that determine human value based on a particular criteria. It’s a superficial standard that satisfies my fears and insecurities in justifying the termination of others who don’t think like me, believe like me, or live like me.

When I start looking at people as dispensable when they do not meet my criteria or standard then bigotry and racism becomes the lens I look through. The value I place on anything determines my willingness to protect it. I will leave wore out furniture out in the front yard  unprotected, but I will keep my jewelry in a locked box. The difference of location and protection was determined by my value placed on the two. People are not to be distinguished in value as wore out furniture and jewelry. ALL people are jewels!

The answer is the Golden Rule – treat others the way you want to be treated.

If I treat others the way I want to be treated then it requires me to sacrifice for the other person, not the other person sacrifice for me. If a religion, philosophy, or ideology, sacrifices others to benefit oneself, then it has a tiered value system of human life and has no place in a civilized world. The understanding must be understood that life is made up of relationships. Our relationships can either be like a bag of marbles that rub and irritate each other chipping pieces and leaving fragments of ourselves in the wake of our interaction. Or, be like a bag of grapes that are pliable and mesh together, drawing the goodness out of one another, producing one wholesome flow of nutrition benefiting others.

It’s not a choice! We must change the world!©