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Hoosier United Methodist News Archives
| Hoosier United Methodist News |
May 2002 |
Commentary:
Listening to the 'bad guys'
By Kathleen LaCamera
Why are Americans giving money to terrorists to kill our children?"
That's a question I've been asked over and over during the nine years I've been coming to Northern Ireland as an American journalist based in Britain. Today the question comes out of the mouths of Loyalist paramilitary members, people who are themselves labeled "terrorists."
This question is about the perception that Americans are helping fund the Irish Republican Army's fight for a united Ireland.
My answer relates to the need inside so many of us to label some of the worst atrocities in Ireland, the Balkans, the Middle East, in Rwanda and even at Ground Zero as "pure evil" or "senseless destruction." For someone out there, those actions made sense. Understanding how that is possible does not condone it, but gives us a power to prevent such horrors from being repeated.
With regard to Americans raising money for the IRA, guess what? It's true.
However, it is worth listening to Loyalist paramilitaries talk about the loss and pain their community has suffered at the hands of the IRA. Hearing those accounts helps us understand why such a seemingly senseless conflict continues. That does not in any way justify the Loyalists' equally destructive activities against Catholics and Protestants over the years.
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"For someone out there, those [evil actions made sense." |
So where does that leave us in a world full of conflict and terror? It leaves us with a mandate to listen, particularly when we don't want to. Especially when the actions of those asking for our ear (and sometimes they do that with violence) repel or baffle or terrify us. We have to talk to those we think of as "the bad guys" as well as those who are their "victims." We need to know more about who they are and what they are thinking. To use the old cliché, we need to walk a mile (or two) in their shoes. And we need to do it as directly and as personally as possible.
We also must turn to more than just our local newspapers and regular television news and radio reports for information. Through the Internet, the world's media are at our fingertips. Why not log on and see what both Irish and South African newspapers are saying about peace talks in Northern Ireland? While you're at it, have a look at what newspapers in England are saying about the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan. Then check out the Hong Kong papers for stories about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Don't forget you can log on to radio worldwide through the Internet as well.
As United Methodists, we say we are a worldwide church that preaches a gospel that knows no borders. To do that effectively and respectfully, we need a worldwide perspective, even if that means making a bit more of an effort. Even if it means listening to those who deeply offend us by their actions, and their political and even religious perspectives.
While specifics change, the basics of conflict and reconciliation are remarkably similar, whether you're in Northern Ireland or the Middle East, Kosovo or Afghanistan, South Africa or New York City. The way to peace almost always involves sitting down, talking and then listening to those we see as the bad guys.
We don't have to wait for Colin Powell, Yasser Arafat or Gerry Adams to enter into the process of making peace. We can begin today, listening deeply to people on all sides, even the ones we suspect are the bad guys.
Last updated on 01/14/2004Kathleen LaCamera is a United Methodist News Service correspondent based in England.