Monday, July 05, 2010

What is the goal?


I'm sure we have all seen the bumper sticker "COEXIST". For some it has been a positive message of peace and harmony. For others, it has been one of controversy, stirring up feelings of superiority and defiance. I used to like the sticker, myself. I believed it's message of tolerance and unity was one worth striving for. But then I started thinking about it more deeply. I remember watching some Zombie movies and what I found attracted me to the genre was this glaring commentary on the world and how we as humans often simply exist next to one another on a surface level but are really crying out for something real, something we can feel,
to feel alive. This brought me back to this popular bumper sticker. What is the goal? What is the message? I know on a surface level I would aggree that it is probably not a good thing to kill someone else because of their beliefs. I also aggree that tolerance and open-mindedness are good and positive qualities. But is that the underlying goal? I had a discussion with a friend of mine the other night on this very topic. It was good because we both disaggreed, but it allowed easch of us to see points that we hadn't considered before. But I had to return to my main point. What is the goal? For me, it has to be love. Love is what changes and shapes our lives. It is what brings us freedom and belonging. Love is the cornerstone to all of the fore-mentioned qualities above and is also the essence of humanity. So consider love and co-existence. After much contemplation, I came across the idea that love requires co-existence, but co-existence does not require love. In other words, co-existence is a natural product of true love. When one loves, they desire to not only co-exist with others, but invest in their lives. However, like the example of zombies, One can co-exist with another without any thought of care or love for that other person. I realize that I may be over-analyzing this thing, but I think it is important to ask what is the real goal? Is it peace , Is it harmony? because these things are also products of love but are certainly not of co-existence. Zombies have no problem tolerating one another, co-existing with each other, but I think we would all aggree that this type of life is far from peaceful or harmonious. Perhaps why we like this message so much it due to it's laziness. It's easy. To simply co-exist takes no effort whatsoever. But to love, to care, well , that's a bitch sometimes. But though it isn't a victory march, it is a cold and a broken Hallelujah!! So my hope is that we stop focusing on the by-products and begin dwelling on the foundation again. Let's dwell on the message of love and allow co-existence and tolerance to flow out of it, naturally. Please, let me know your thoughts. I look forward to reading all prudent comments that Don't include a link to the world of Asian porn. Take care.