I heard the other day that "we bombed Iran." And I heartily disagree. Because "WE" did not do anything of the sort.
Someone in the US military was ordered by someone who was ordered by someone (however far up the chain and around the procedures that goes) to fly over or program a bomb (or bombs) to be unleashed on a specific part of the Iranian country and the people therein.
It's so easy to lump people into groups. To reduce us all to labels of country or culture or religion; of sports team or school or even hobby. To remove the faces and the humanism and the individuality. I mean, it's easier to say THEY did that and WE did this, than to picture all the members of the group or political party or family as individuals.
And WE - where "we" means many humans, though I'm sure not all - love to assume membership. Our identity rests in the sports team, the fandom, the company. We assume unto ourselves the triumphs and the failures of the country, religion, or school. And we punish or reward ourselves accordingly.
And yes, as USA for Africa sang, "we are the world, we are the children." We are connected one to another. But we are also each unique individuals living our daily lives. We're committing our acts of violence and compassion on a very small, very personal scale. Most of us know the faces and the names and of the people we are affecting.
What I'm trying to say is I'm not going to accept blame for something I didn't do, personally. For something I had absolutely no connection to or influence over. I have enough things in a day to feel guilty for and proud of. Things I have definitely done or failed to do. I have no room anymore for assuming blame and guilt for anything else.
And yes, I firmly believe WE as a human society can evolve into something that eschews violence and conquest; that we'll learn how to co-exist, each individual together, without feeling the need to infringe on or judge each other for our differences, based on our fears.
But the only way I can contribute to that is to embody it every day, myself, as myself . To know that I am only responsible for my actions, and no one else's. And that no one else is responsible for my actions. And I get to celebrate my personal triumphs and make restitution for my personal transgressions as part of those responsibilities.
I can celebrate and mourn and sympathize and empathize and learn from and emulate others. I can strive to be part of the team or group, model a culture or faith or ideal. And I think collaboration is the most amazing thing ever! But I can only take blame or credit for my part of it, for the way I behaved or the work I did or the thoughts I expressed. For whether I did my best or not.
So no - WE did NOT drop a bomb. WE also did not win a gold medal at the Olympics (the US Team did, and that's pretty cool! Congratulations!!)
But I do believe that WE are the doing the best we can, every day, as we go about our day and deal with the weather and the news and the work and the other people who are doing their best every day. And I hope that every day, WE (where "we" means each and every single being on this earth) each find happiness and abundance and love beyond measure.
