A conversation with a close friend last night touched on many global political, philosophical, and religious topics. And it touched on my 'fear nerve,' one which I will admit, may be slightly more activated than others but then again, I'm the one living in Bosnia and Herzegovina right now so... I continue.
I know the world is governed by hidden truths and hidden political, even psychological motives. In trying to answer the question about why wars still exist, my own thinking has vacillated between blaming extremist, politically genius and manipulative leaders to foreign interests and greed for resources, to even pride and ego. Why did the U.S. invade Iraq and Afghanistan? And has Iran ever attacked another country? There's even the economic reason that wars make money and that is why wars continue, because states want them. But then there was another statement that was made, that the West used the Jews as pawns to hold onto the Holy Land (Israel). Do you really think Britain cared about the Jews? They were only using them. And ISIS. That's another plot of the West. And then there's the issue of cultural imperialism, that contradicting Western values is a political assault, an immoral statement, impermissible. The West is destroying local culture and community in Sarajevo.
This is not the first conversation I've had like this. Indeed, in a lesson about Christmas in the United States I shared with my students demographic data. Less than 2 percent of the U.S. population is Jewish, less than one percent is Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist... essentially, we are a majority Christian country and we have some religious minorities. My students did not believe me, and even said they thought the statistic was wrong pertaining to the number of Jews. They thought it was much higher. I told them, "No, American Jews are a minority" but still the pervasiveness, and attachment to, false information was troubling.
I never deny many of the dangerous and harmful impacts of Westernization, of neoliberalism, and yes, American culture. Western culture is deserving of many many criticisms. Indeed I feel it's dangerous presence here, and it is palpable how Sarajevo in many ways remains "an old city" different from it's nearby EU counterparts. I was wondering the other day about poverty. Does Sarajevo indeed have more poverty than other comparable European cities? Or do more modern cities simply hide their poverty better, relegating it the edges of the city where more wealthy citizens and tourists would never venture?
I listened as my friend painfully described how 'the West' knew what was happening during the war here in Sarajevo, indeed there were many many journalists here, staying in The Holiday Inn Hotel. "They just laughed and when we needed help the most, they blocked us." I know too that international forces controlled Sarajevo's airstrip and the only entry and exit to the city. The level of corruption among these international forces led Sarajevan citizens to build the Tunnel of Hope. It was built by everyday people, engineers, shop owners, taxi drivers... "It was a miracle that the city was able to pull together to defend itself" according to my friend. I could not agree more. The Bosnian Army, was a conglomeration of everyday Sarajevans, of all religions and ethnicities (representative of the city) which fought to defend Sarajevo against the nationalist Serb army, which had an ethnically pure agenda (far from the reality and ethnically mixed history of Sarajevo). If everyday citizens had not bravely come together to defend the city, it is very likely history would be different.
Many people here feel that the West did more harm than good here. At the moment when the Bosnian Army was about to defeat the nationalist Bosnian Serb army the United States demanded a cease fire and the parties were forced into peace talks. People have told me this situation would have been if the United States had demanded the Jews have a peace talk with the Nazis. The ethnic agenda of the nationalist Serb army was not democratic, pluralistic, and had successfully carried out a Muslim genocide in many eastern Bosnian towns. To my knowledge, many of the individuals who carried out these war crimes still walk free, and even hold political power in towns where no Bosnian Muslims exist anymore. In some towns there is genocide denial, and the war is spoken about as if no Muslims ever existed. History is told by the victor so it goes...
There is also the high unemployment here, the poverty, the lack of opportunity. I read an article recently about European millennial feel more disillusioned than Americans, they feel less hopeful about their future, they have much less faith in education or credentials to do anything for them. I definitely feel this here and I wonder if there is a danger in it. With so much time to think, to not be productive, is one more prone to dangerous conspiracy theories? And then...there is this dangerous problem I see that all conspiracy theories are born from the tiniest grain, the tiniest grain of truth, but then it gets blown up, enlarged, exaggerated to incredibly untruthful proportions, and then this spurs more hatred, more resentment, more feelings of righteousness. When we lack opportunity, we look for a scapegoat?
Conversations like the one with my friend make me feel uneasy. I always felt safe from global war in America. There were moments I felt unsafe in a neighborhood, or perhaps at a party, but these were small, largely controllable environments. And the neighborhoods I thought to be unsafe, I could avoid. In essence, living in my comfortable bubble of physical safety and privilege, was easy. I know not all Americans have that privilege and how many young children wake up or have to walk to school in neighborhoods where their physically safety is threatened. My immediate neighborhood does not feel unsafe here. But beyond the cozy walls of my little apartment it feels like there is something bigger growing, swirling, maybe swelling. Something behind the Internet waves, behind Facebook posts, everyday conversations. Something psychological. Or even religious or spiritual. Something I can't control. Stopping hate in this new millennium feels like the scariest thing I have ever encountered.
To be continued.
I know the world is governed by hidden truths and hidden political, even psychological motives. In trying to answer the question about why wars still exist, my own thinking has vacillated between blaming extremist, politically genius and manipulative leaders to foreign interests and greed for resources, to even pride and ego. Why did the U.S. invade Iraq and Afghanistan? And has Iran ever attacked another country? There's even the economic reason that wars make money and that is why wars continue, because states want them. But then there was another statement that was made, that the West used the Jews as pawns to hold onto the Holy Land (Israel). Do you really think Britain cared about the Jews? They were only using them. And ISIS. That's another plot of the West. And then there's the issue of cultural imperialism, that contradicting Western values is a political assault, an immoral statement, impermissible. The West is destroying local culture and community in Sarajevo.
This is not the first conversation I've had like this. Indeed, in a lesson about Christmas in the United States I shared with my students demographic data. Less than 2 percent of the U.S. population is Jewish, less than one percent is Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist... essentially, we are a majority Christian country and we have some religious minorities. My students did not believe me, and even said they thought the statistic was wrong pertaining to the number of Jews. They thought it was much higher. I told them, "No, American Jews are a minority" but still the pervasiveness, and attachment to, false information was troubling.
I never deny many of the dangerous and harmful impacts of Westernization, of neoliberalism, and yes, American culture. Western culture is deserving of many many criticisms. Indeed I feel it's dangerous presence here, and it is palpable how Sarajevo in many ways remains "an old city" different from it's nearby EU counterparts. I was wondering the other day about poverty. Does Sarajevo indeed have more poverty than other comparable European cities? Or do more modern cities simply hide their poverty better, relegating it the edges of the city where more wealthy citizens and tourists would never venture?
I listened as my friend painfully described how 'the West' knew what was happening during the war here in Sarajevo, indeed there were many many journalists here, staying in The Holiday Inn Hotel. "They just laughed and when we needed help the most, they blocked us." I know too that international forces controlled Sarajevo's airstrip and the only entry and exit to the city. The level of corruption among these international forces led Sarajevan citizens to build the Tunnel of Hope. It was built by everyday people, engineers, shop owners, taxi drivers... "It was a miracle that the city was able to pull together to defend itself" according to my friend. I could not agree more. The Bosnian Army, was a conglomeration of everyday Sarajevans, of all religions and ethnicities (representative of the city) which fought to defend Sarajevo against the nationalist Serb army, which had an ethnically pure agenda (far from the reality and ethnically mixed history of Sarajevo). If everyday citizens had not bravely come together to defend the city, it is very likely history would be different.
Many people here feel that the West did more harm than good here. At the moment when the Bosnian Army was about to defeat the nationalist Bosnian Serb army the United States demanded a cease fire and the parties were forced into peace talks. People have told me this situation would have been if the United States had demanded the Jews have a peace talk with the Nazis. The ethnic agenda of the nationalist Serb army was not democratic, pluralistic, and had successfully carried out a Muslim genocide in many eastern Bosnian towns. To my knowledge, many of the individuals who carried out these war crimes still walk free, and even hold political power in towns where no Bosnian Muslims exist anymore. In some towns there is genocide denial, and the war is spoken about as if no Muslims ever existed. History is told by the victor so it goes...
There is also the high unemployment here, the poverty, the lack of opportunity. I read an article recently about European millennial feel more disillusioned than Americans, they feel less hopeful about their future, they have much less faith in education or credentials to do anything for them. I definitely feel this here and I wonder if there is a danger in it. With so much time to think, to not be productive, is one more prone to dangerous conspiracy theories? And then...there is this dangerous problem I see that all conspiracy theories are born from the tiniest grain, the tiniest grain of truth, but then it gets blown up, enlarged, exaggerated to incredibly untruthful proportions, and then this spurs more hatred, more resentment, more feelings of righteousness. When we lack opportunity, we look for a scapegoat?
Conversations like the one with my friend make me feel uneasy. I always felt safe from global war in America. There were moments I felt unsafe in a neighborhood, or perhaps at a party, but these were small, largely controllable environments. And the neighborhoods I thought to be unsafe, I could avoid. In essence, living in my comfortable bubble of physical safety and privilege, was easy. I know not all Americans have that privilege and how many young children wake up or have to walk to school in neighborhoods where their physically safety is threatened. My immediate neighborhood does not feel unsafe here. But beyond the cozy walls of my little apartment it feels like there is something bigger growing, swirling, maybe swelling. Something behind the Internet waves, behind Facebook posts, everyday conversations. Something psychological. Or even religious or spiritual. Something I can't control. Stopping hate in this new millennium feels like the scariest thing I have ever encountered.
To be continued.