Over 25 % of men in a recent South African survey admitted to rape. The article quotes a government official as saying that this behavior is so ingrained in the culture that it isn’t a law enforcement issue, it is a deep-seated cultural issue. At issue is what it means to be a man – and, without putting too fine a point on it, a human being. So this is barbarism.
In the Swat Valley, villagers have taken up arms against religious thugs who think that throwing acid in the faces of school children, and stoning girls for unspecified offences is the way to honor god. We’ve got to find a way between these two extremes.
We’ve got to find a way to have discussions about deep-seated differences without resorting to violence. Can you be vocal about a pro-abortion stance without risking murder? Can you be gay without risking being mugged? If our history has shown us anything, it is that we cannot know the truth (though thinking we know is something else again). Given that, we need to admit a certain amount of tolerance, a certain amount of latitude – until we can no longer put up with it. Then we need a set of laws to sanction the behaviour, and if required, to protect us from evil.
Open the gate too wide, and we are awash in aberrant behaviours that are not good for civil society. Too narrow, and we demonize anyone who thinks or acts differently than we do. And in any event, laws enforce norms – what we need is to adopt and promulgate a series of norms that strike the right balance. To do this, we need a comprehensive education aimed at more than getting a job, a democracy encompassing engaged, informed citizens, sensible curbs on the power of money to buy votes and a functioning balance of power.
We need a nation of people convinced of the necessity of civil liberties, of economic justice, of common courtesy and respect. We need to throw off the attempts of corporations to drive the culture into shallow consumerism and voyeurism – we need an American dream, a global dream that is attainable, affordable, sustainable and ultimately satisfying. We do that by seeking, and finding, this for ourselves and our community – and then from that base, reaching out to the world around us, and working to provide that same opportunity for everyone – even people who have a different dream in mind. Not any dream – there are limits, as we are learning as we watch the men of South Africa or the Taliban of Swat valley pursue theirs. Not any dream, as we watch corporations horde more and more of the world’s wealth, and squander more and more of our dwindling resources. Not any dream, as we watch our culture descend into narcissism and opportunistic materialism, valuing neither themselves nor the people around them.
The answer cannot be to descend into religous fundamentalism – exchanging chaotic horror for relgiously-sanctioned horror. We’ve got to open our eyes to the fact that only as each one of us behaves less selfishly, as each of us promotes peace, and practices tolerance and mercy can we build a better society. We can begin to change the game by ourselves playing by different rules, and by working to ensure that the rules apply to everyone. The alternative is chaos.
