Part 3: Understanding the Culture War

Part 3: Understanding the Culture War May 24, 2013

I was reading a short, yet fantastic book on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict the other night. This topic has been of interest to me for some years now, as I can always glean profound bridge building insights between opposing worldviews from, historically, the most notorious cultural, political and religious disconnect in history.

This book is filled with succinct and nuanced insights on the conflict, but also profound thoughts from Israelis and Palestinians on how they think the conflict can finally come to an end. One of those thoughts was the following:

We must think differently, look at things in a different way. Peace requires a world of new concepts, new definitions. -Yitzhak Rabin

Then, in one of the best books I have ever read, Chris Hedges argues that

Language is our first step toward salvation. We cannot fight what we cannot describe.

I couldn’t have stated either of those sentiments any better myself.

The moment we buy into the long-standing and unsuccessful cultural systems deemed acceptable by the dominant majority–that have gotten us to this current place–is the same moment we lose the right to create a new category, language and ultimately a new engagement that builds bridges and makes peace.

Only through a mass intentional opting out of the broken systems and options forced upon us can there ever be a possibility of a large enough shake-up to make a new medium of engagement stick. Faithfulness is always success–it’s just a matter of who believes in it enough to see it through. And right now, the only “mass seeing anything through” are those too scared to push back against the structure that makes them comfortable; not because it does any good, but rather because it’s all they’ve ever known.

Read Part 1

Read Part 2

Much love.

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