Moving Mountains
How do we make things right? Westerners have a lot of work to do. For others, not ourselves.
Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. —Jesus of Nazareth, Matthew 17:20
Moving Mountains
by C. A. Matthews
“How do we do this? How do we make things right?” a friend earnestly asked me the other day.
I had just bombarded her with facts about what’s actually happening in Palestine and Lebanon. I told her the latest death toll estimate in Gaza—approximately 200,000+—and emphasized that it was probably on the low side since so many are still missing under the rubble and so many have been shredded by bombs into unrecognizable bits. Some have even been burned alive. I could tell that she was distressed at the news, but I told it to her anyway. I felt like she really needed to know.
After I got home, I regretted overwhelming my friend with so much information at once. She probably hadn’t been following the genocide in Gaza over the past year as closely as I had. She probably gets her information from mainstream media sources, not independent journalists like I do.
Hearing too much bad news at once can be quite a shock to the system. I owe her a big apology. I’ll try to make it up to her somehow, but how? I can’t change the statistics or the stories of whole families being wiped out in Gaza, the West Bank and now Lebanon, can I?
How do we make things right?
This haunting question echoes in my mind.
I told my friend as we were departing our meeting that voting for the duopoly wasn’t going to change anything, and, in all likelihood, could make things worse, much worse. I told her that the true powers-that-be, the oligarchy, want eternal Wars for Oil and constant conflict between peoples because it makes them richer and gives them more control over us. I told her that we are nothing in their eyes. They don’t care how difficult it is for ordinary folks to survive in the f***ed-up world of their making.
I told her that perhaps the French had the right idea in 1789. It’s time for us to make these baby-burning sociopaths pay for their war crimes. We certainly have enough for-profit private prisons in the US to lock the bastards up in until it’s their time to climb the scaffold to meet Monsieur Guillotine and receive a final close shave. I know, I know! It was a very negative suggestion to end on after such a info dump of depressing details, but it was all I could come up with. I was in a dark place.
That same evening, I attended a talk given by two Palestinian American doctors who have worked in Gaza and the West Bank this past year. The second speaker told us he has gone on three separate trips into Gaza to help at what remains of the hospitals there. I didn’t think their testimonies would lighten my somber mood, but I was happily surprised to find the opposite.
I found some degree of solace in the second doctor’s talk when he spoke of the wonderful resiliency of the Palestinian people he encountered living in such dire circumstances. Their hospitality is legendary. They willingly share food with visitors when they barely have enough for themselves. So many are dying of malnutrition and related illnesses. They take care of each other’s needs as best they can with what little they still possess. They watch over each other. Many neighbors have “adopted” children who have lost both their parents. They aren’t wasting energy on plotting revenge for the loss of their loved ones. They have faith that they will see their lost friends and family members again in Paradise and that they will remain true to Allah in spite of the hardships they’re currently facing until that happy day when they are all reunited.
Resiliency: “the ability to recover from or adjust to adversity or change”, according to Merriam-Webster. It’s not a word that I use on a daily basis. It’s not something that comes to mind whenever I think how I, as an American, a Westerner, would react to such a devastating series of situations that comprises a genocide. Modern Americans aren’t all that resilient.
I’m sure our ancestors were very resilient or else we wouldn’t be here today, but today we are… Well, let’s face it. We’re all fat, wealthy, and lazy by comparison. Americans have nothing to complain about compared to the hell on earth we’re allowing to happen to the people of Palestine and Lebanon that we view daily on our cell phone and computer screens. Absolutely nothing.
I agree with the doctor—these humble Palestinians are to be admired for their strength and integrity under adversity. We have a lot to learn from them. There’s no time for us in the West to go around acting so dark and moody. We have our work cut out for us to make things right. Whining and belly-aching aren’t going to help us. Self-centered activities don’t help anybody, let alone those who need our full attention and the best of our abilities placed at their service now, not later.
Another piece of the puzzle fell into place a day later when I came across this five minute video on X/Twitter:
https://twitter.com/HotSpotHotSpot/status/1843997436664267000
Here’s the complete interview:
Watch the short excerpt or the entire interview. This video gave me five minutes of what I really needed to hear. Hopefully it will help Americans focus on what it truly important in this upcoming election as we deal with what we need to do to make things right.
Those who try and guilt-trip you into voting for a duopoly candidate who fully, fully, fully supports the genocide in Gaza and expanding the bloodshed to Lebanon, Iran, and elsewhere are just plain wrong. Sami Hamdi has convinced me to support only those candidates like Dr. Jill Stein who call for the immediate halt of armaments shipping to Israel and for cooperating with international authorities to turn in all war criminals so they can be tried for their crimes against humanity.
Sami Hamdi’s passionate pleas really resonated with me. He’s absolutely correct. Whatever the outcome of our election process in 2024, Americans won’t suffer anything like the Palestinians are suffering right now.
We will still be able to sleep in our own beds. No one will be coming for us with snipers and 2,000 pound bombs to pulverize us or drive us from our ancestral home. Most of us will have more than enough to eat. Our little children won’t be shot in the head or chest like so many Palestinian children have been, as so many Western doctors have noted in their time of service in Gaza’s hospitals. Wealthy white Americans in particular don’t have targets on their backs because of their race or religion.
What have we as Americans got to whine and bellyache about? We should be ashamed of ourselves!
We should be ashamed of ourselves that we would even remotely consider voting for a candidate whose political party has been in charge of arming and funding this horrific genocide of innocents from the start. We shouldn’t be forced to go against our own conscience and deeply held belief that genocide is immoral. Voting for any candidate who approves of this genocide of the Palestinian people should be totally repugnant to us.
“But we don’t like the Orange Man!” the neoliberal brunch-eaters will whine over their mimosas.
Here’s my advice: Go back and watch the interview with Sami Hamdi above again. Who cares what you don’t like or what you worry possibly could happen to you in your well-fed, non-firebombed existence? Children in Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon are dying today. Shut up and go donate some of that money of yours from your bursting-at-the-seams bank account to UNRWA.
I realize it’s a waste of energy to get angry, but it’s an easy state to fall into when dealing with selfish sociopaths. So I was very lucky when the last piece I needed to get my mind back on track on how to make things right arrived a short time later. The following wise words come from Green Party Vice Presidential candidate Professor Butch Ware:
https://twitter.com/ButchWare/status/1844846593545007524
Hating the oppressor does not make one a more efficient resistance fighter. Anger in itself does not aid freedom. We must cultivate outrage, not rage. Rage blinds the heart, outrage propels us forward. We move mountains out of love, and in solidarity with humanity.
“Anger in itself does not aid freedom… Rage blinds the heart… We move mountains out of love, and in solidarity with humanity.”
This is what I must tell my friend about how we make things right—We must move mountains. But we must tackle this hard work out of love, in solidarity with our brothers and sisters, and not simply because we’re angry with the baby-killers who have brought about this genocide.
We must tackle this hard work out of love for the oppressed and suffering, and not simply because we are angry with our Western governments and their corrupt leaders. We must take action not to make ourselves feel comfortable in this immoral situation, but because we love our fellow human beings and wish for them to live in peace and harmony alongside us. We must strive to defeat an evil and sociopathic system of governance because we are outraged at how it has lied and duped us all into thinking we live in a democracy instead of an oligarchy.
It’s a big task, but we mustn’t shirk from it. We have to face it head on. As one in spirit. In solidarity.
The mountains we must move are large, but we can do it with the help of wise and moral leadership from leaders such as Jill Stein and Butch Ware. So, let’s not tire in doing good, for in time the whole world will reap a harvest of true joy and happiness that we can share… Together.
And never forget that Opposing The Western War Machine Is The Most Important Thing You Can Do. See you on the protest line.
Related Articles and Other Interesting Links
War on Gaza: Israel wants to finish the job Washington started after 9/11 jonathancook.substack.com/p/war-on-gaza-israel-wants-to-finish
Gaza Doctor Corrects CNN Anchor: 'This Is Not a Humanitarian Crisis... This Is Genocide' https://www.commondreams.org/news/media-coverage-of-gaza
The American Dilemma: Elections Amid Gaza War youtu.be/pzdBVnDAPU0
Israeli forces fire on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/10/1155551
Israeli Snipers Routinely, Deliberately Shoot Palestinian Kids In The Head https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/israeli-snipers-routinely-deliberately
"Never Again!" Cried The Israeli While Doing It Again https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/never-again-cried-the-israeli-while
I Have Seen The Insides Of Too Many Dead Kids https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/i-have-seen-the-insides-of-too-many (poem)
Slaughter In Gaza And Lebanon As War With Iran Approaches https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/slaughter-in-gaza-and-lebanon-as
The Media When IDF Soldiers Get Killed Vs When A Hospital Patient Is Burned Alive In Gaza https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/the-media-when-idf-soldiers-get-killed
Global South denounces genocide in Gaza, Nicaragua breaks relations with 'fascist' Israel, Latin America supports Palestine https://geopoliticaleconomy.substack.com/p/genocide-gaza-nicaragua-fascist-israel-latin-america
Failing Gaza: Pro-Israel bias uncovered behind the lens of Western media https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/10/5/failing-gaza-pro-israel-bias-uncovered-behind-the-lens-of-western-media
Leaked: How MI6 Exploits Palestinian Refugees https://www.kitklarenberg.com/p/leaked-how-mi6-exploits-palestinian
SCOTT RITTER: The Fall of Israel https://consortiumnews.com/2024/10/08/scott-ritter-the-fall-of-israel/
Hurricane Season Rips Into US War-Spending https://consortiumnews.com/2024/10/09/us-hurricane-season-rips-into-us-war-spending/
Grayzone Journalist Charged With "Aiding the Enemy" for Reporting Same Info as PBS https://censorednews.substack.com/p/grayzone-journalist-charged-with
Israel Jails US Journalist, Fires On UN Peacekeepers, Bombs Beirut, Kills More Kids, Etc https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/israel-jails-us-journalist-fires
Everything We NOW Know About Oct 7th (That Was Hidden From Us) youtu.be/nyqUFREv7hc
Why US Muslims are Abandoning Harris with Sami Hamdi youtu.be/OQUK_wgNJhQ
Israel's Motto Is "We Can Have Peace Tomorrow If We Just Kill A Few More People Today" https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/israels-motto-is-we-can-have-peace
Welcome to the stage of capitalism where we charge sick people to rent wheelchairs https://www.councilestatemedia.uk/p/welcome-to-the-stage-of-capitalism
We Must Purge Genocide From The Marrow Of Our Bones https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/we-must-purge-genocide-from-the-marrow
Newsweek and Jill Stein Q & A https://www.youtube.com/live/0GaPWz_izOw
'Abandon Harris' group press conference with Jill Stein in Dearborn, MI https://www.youtube.com/live/m6b_ESCBrgc
A fascinating look into the future: "Where were you, Grandpa, when the genocide was happening?" https://twitter.com/owenjonesjourno/status/1843593372558094415
US Arms Dealers Witness ‘Record Profits’ From Israel’s Year-Long Genocide in Gaza, War on Lebanon https://orinocotribune.com/us-arms-dealers-witness-record-profits-from-israels-year-long-genocide-in-gaza-war-on-lebanon/
beautiful writing ..and a tonic for these horrific times
You're right. We must move mountains. Thanks for posting.