Dove Blogging

The Dove wonders sometimes why keep up a blog devoted to "signs of hope in the Middle East." A common reaction from new readers is disbelief, i.e., "you can find some hope?"

Richard Silverstein just emailed me about a lovely music event he hosted in Seattle, with selections from across the middle of the world. He expressed some doubts in passing about whether such efforts make a difference. I wrote back:

"In fact, every such effort is aided by angels. We do not know what ripples we send forth when we make an effort for unity, for love, for humanity.

"There's no way to know how long peace could take. We could have horrific war for another generation and suddenly have peace and reconstruction. Look at Germany amidst the rest of Europe.

"In the meantime, we here in America have to shine our lights the brighter. We have to continue to hold the thoughts - the reasonable, true, honest, pure thoughts - of peace and justice on behalf of those who are too oppressed/tyrannized/frightened to hold them for themselves."

When I post a sign of hope, I hear inside my head the voices of the angry and the resentful, attacking me for daring to assert that peace on earth and good will toward humanity can grow out of the chaos of modern affairs. I've read enough of my troll commenters to know what some of them might say - the names change but the voices of fear, hatred, self-righteousness and anger remain the same.

I am only human and I succumb to fear, hatred, self-righteousness and anger as easily as anyone. But the point of this blog is to assert, for the record, that peacemaking, diplomacy, good sense and old-fashioned brotherly love do work. They have worked in the past and they can work for us today. Our leaders are blinded by their own fears, ignorance and ideology; they make terrible mistakes that cost lives and treasure. But peace is always possible. And even if our societies go mad all around us, we still know that human beings are capable of better behavior; we still cling to principles of tolerance, democracy, human rights, intellectual freedom and the rational, peaceful resolution of differences.

This blog is an attempt to document good behavior. Signs of hope. I post them, and then they get archived, and the months and years pile up. January 2007 will be three years of Dove's Eye View. I have come very close to abandoning this project more than once. For the new year, I plan to continue, insha'allah.

Keep the faith, baby!

Comments

[badgervan]

Leila: I've studied philosophy, with an emphasis on religious philosophies, for many years ( still am ), and a few years ago finally came to a personal conclusion of how to live and act responsibly and authentically.
Distilled to the bone, Spike Lee said it best: do the right thing. Along with the Golden Rule, you can't go wrong. Your writings and actions have opened the minds of thousands to some truths that would otherwise have remained hidden to us.
Just maybe, you've inspired a young future Martin Luther King of the Middle East.
It's voices like yours that inspire. Keep up the good work, and know that you are "doing the right thing".

[Nizo]

Dove,
I recently discovered your blog, and what a welcome respite it is from all the cynicism out there.

After the collapse of Oslo, the hearts have indeed hardened. There's a certain comfort to be had from sticking to old positions and closing one's mind to new ideas.

Keep it up!

[Ibn Bint Jbeil]

Dove,
I pray that the heavans hear your voice for peace. common people of the arab world (not their governors) long for the day when peace dominates in their homelands, but not a peace that lacks justice and dignity. let us call for peace, justice, dignity and freedom for all.

[Leila]

Thanks Badger, Nizo, and Ibn Bint Jbeil. I'm glad you dropped by, and grateful for your comments.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good winter holiday.

[Frank]

Leila,
Rebecca Solnit at tomdispatch.com has a lovely ruminative piece in the form of an imaginary letter from 2026, where from an eco-progressive future she looks back with some nostalgia on the events of the late 90s, early 2000s that gave rise to that culture. A good, electrifying read.
Cheers,
Frank

[Richard Silverstein]

Leila: I've been out of town on an execrable family visit to Florida & so didn't see this post--which used our conversation as a lauching pt--till now.

Thanks for shining yr light through the stormy night that is Mideast politics. I'm still as bummed out as I was when you tried to cheer me up. But part of that is that my dear little 2 yr old girl is in the middle of the worst virus bug of her short life (not severe, but just plain enervating).

Actually, the news of the past few days (if you lv. out Peretz's idiotic decision to allow a brand new W. Bank settlement) has been fairly positive. But it can always get worse as we know.

Sorry, it's the new year & all. I've got to get a better attitude. You keep up yr great, hopeful writing. That'll help me to stay focussed on the good things.