For the Love of Humanity

For those of you that know me a bit more “intimately”, you know that I have a podcast where I share my life’s purpose, and spent most of season 2 focused on the topic of LOVE. I discussed love from different places, different points of view, what it means to love different things. I shared my understanding of the meaning of love, different types of love, learning to love, and (most importantly) how to express love.  Love, I feel, will be my legacy. The love I have for all of humanity, is what this entry is about. 

In the past month, I sat down to write this more times than I can count. Every time I tried to write, I would get swallowed up by feelings of sadness and all I could write was “why?” Why are people sitting by so quietly while evil prevails? I went to my social media accounts and shared stories about the devastating events happening in Palestine, Congo, Haiti, and Sudan. I received hateful backlash and comments from people I once perceived to be my friends. As I continued to share stories, I started to get banned. I shared my personal thoughts and received quiet praise in my messages for my beliefs but, on the flip side, it changed nothing for those who are suffering. You still posted your meal, you still posted your art. My anger and frustration grew. I cried for a week straight. I barely slept as I prayed and continued to pray for mankind. I don’t know them personally, but I always think, “What if it were me? What would I want another person to do for me?” Finally, I decided that I had done enough crying and finished feeling helpless. I realized that it is my duty to speak truth to power. So now, I sit here with extreme clarity as I write this. 

The Oxford dictionary states this as it pertains to the definition of humans:

As an adjective:

relating to or characteristic of people or human beings.

“the human body”

As a noun: 

a human being, especially a person as distinguished from an animal or (in science fiction) an alien

As it pertains to the definition of humanity, the Oxford dictionary states this:

the human race; human beings collectively.

If we can all agree that these definitions are correct, then we should also agree that we are all brothers and sisters in humanity. Yes, I know. We don’t want to be related to each other in that way, but the truth of the matter is — we are. 

Although we are all brothers and sisters in humanity, we can probably agree that we do not have many similarities beyond that. We have different skin tones, different body parts, different hair textures, different upbringings, different circumstances, and (maybe) most importantly, different religious beliefs. Despite our  religious beliefs, the Holy Bible, the Quran, and the Torah are all clear on one thing: LOVE ONE ANOTHER. 

Holy Bible:

John 15:12: My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.

Luke 6:31: Do to others as you would have them do to you.

Corinthians 16:14: Do everything in love.

Quran: 

Quran 49:10: The believers are but brothers, so make settlement between your brothers. And fear Allah that you may receive mercy.

Torah:

Leviticus 19:18: One of the core commandments of Judaism is “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

That’s it. Nothing more, nothing less. Love One Another. It is our duty as humans to love other humans. We don’t have to like each other. We don’t have to agree with each other. Listen — we don’t have to do ANYTHING else with or for each other, but we do have to Love One Another. Not in the way you’ve been taught to love, but in the way our Creator has commanded us to love. That means we have to care for the rights of others. An injustice against your brother is an injustice against you. 

Yes, there is evil living among us; we know that the devil hides in plain sight.

So here’s a question — If your neighbor was a terrorist, would the government be justified in wiping out your entire neighborhood because of your neighbor? Or would you scream for your rights as a human to be spared death because of the actions of your neighbor? Would you then fight your government for all the lives lost? Does Karen’s life not matter? What about little Susie? She was at school when they attacked, so she lost her mom. Do you fight for her? Or do you turn away and post your lunch for likes? Why isn’t outrage the same when the kids aren’t yours?

While we are here, let’s also examine the meaning of the word terrorist. 

The Oxford dictionary defines terrorist like this:

As a noun:

a person who uses unlawful violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims.

As an adjective: 

unlawfully using violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims.

So now we must think critically and ask ourselves, who are the actual terrorists?

Finally, on to the topic of government. This government would rather ban books because of their fear of the truth coming out than give access to information to the public. This same government would rather ban teaching kids empathy because they fear that the hate they have instilled in us for so long will dissipate, and we will start to act more like — dare I say it — humans towards each other. This same government has slowly been killing and poisoning us with the foods that they approve for our consumption. The foods that are banned in EVERY. OTHER. COUNTRY… but ours. We know that the government can’t be trusted with our lives. So why are we sitting by and trusting them with this?

• “The United States and European Union have designated Hamas a terrorist organization because of its armed resistance against Israel, which has included suicide bombings and rocket attacks.”

This is directly from the Council on Foreign Affairs**. But please, read that again and read it out loud. 

BECAUSE of its armed resistance against Israel. 

What are they resisting you ask? They’re resisting being treated less than human. They’re resisting having to live in a concentration camp for the past 75 years. They’re resisting being kicked out of their homes because settlers have decided they want the space for themselves. The truth is, they are acting in defense of being attacked by Israel because Israel is constantly attacking them. Am I justifying what happened on October 7th? No, and I NEVER will. I AM saying that the U.S. once labeled the Black Panthers as a terrorist organization and then went on a witch hunt to kill or silence every single leader of every single chapter and killed many others for helping their own community. We ALL know that the Black Panther Party/Movement was a group of people resisting oppression and didn’t want to harm anyone. They wanted to provide food and aid to their communities, for people that looked like them that were also being oppressed.   

I mean, let’s be honest. There are so many terrorist organizations right here in the good ole’ U.S. of A – The KKK, Proud Boys, MAGA, and Moms for Liberty just to name a few. I can go on, but I think you see my point. Many of these groups live amongst (and go to church with) us and we know who they are. Should we wipe out all of 5th Avenue in pursuit of that one?

I logged in to TikTok and listened to a man living in Gaza. As he shared his story, all you could hear in his background was the sounds of gunshots and bombing. He shared his story of losing his entire family, but not losing hope despite being displaced. In fact, every Palestinian person that has been able to share their story shares one of resilience and faith. You see, most people lose faith the second something goes wrong in their lives. Lose a friend, lose faith. Lose your house or job, you lose faith. Lose a child! Oh — faith is gone! ‘Cause we can all agree that to watch a child die is quite possibly the worst pain. Palestinians have lost everything and yet, they start and end every conversation with “Alhamdulillah”, meaning, “Praise be to God”. THAT is faith.

As I watch on social media as people move on and post their lives, post their meals, post their overconsumption of fashion (which is destroying our home, EARTH), their homes, their art — my heart burns in pain. Tears continuously stream down my face and I continue asking God, “Why?” How can the same people that scream for gun control in this country be okay with the lack of gun control in Palestine, Congo, Sudan, Haiti, and so on… I refuse to believe this is a black or white thing. I refuse to believe it is about religion, because as I’ve already stated, even if we are divided by religious ideologies, all of our books say the same thing about humanity – LOVE ONE ANOTHER. I’ve started naming the slaughtered and maimed kids with american names to make them more relatable. There is a Johnny, a Timmy, a Patrick, a Susie, an Olivia, a Rachel, an Isabel, an Anna, an Alexis walking around Palestine. Some of these kids have lost both of their parents. Some of them are now angels. Is this okay? Would it be okay if that were _________________?  

(insert your child’s name here)

The real killers are the governments that sit idly by and watch as other people (not their people) die. But what if hate reared its ugly head towards us? We watched on 9/11 as “hate” (the more I read, the more I learn on this) took its turn on us. We ALL stopped and watched for days. So much so that I vividly remember there eventually being a worldwide event with music and laughs to shift the atmosphere from sadness and fear. Palestinians have never known that peace. 

The reality is this: this test is no longer for the Palestinian people. They’ve been tested over and over again. They remained resilient and, more importantly, they remained FAITHFUL. Filled with faith that the Almighty is with them and that the Almighty will continue to be with them regardless of the outcome. No, this test isn’t for them, this test is for us. Which side will you say you were on during the battle of good versus evil. This test is for us. How will you treat another human that doesn’t look like you and doesn’t share your faith? How will you LOVE ONE ANOTHER? Will you LOVE ONE ANOTHER…?

From my lens, while many people are waking up, the fight continues because so many are still sleeping. I read an article about how companies and governments are supporting Israel. Meta (which owns all of your favorite social media apps), has promised to silence the voices of anyone that is Pro-Palestinian Freedom. Essentially, that means silencing the voice of humanity. Yet, there you are feeding the machine exactly what it wants. It wants your personal life filled on the screen while another innocent child, parent, or grandparent loses their life. Does this feel right to you? If you’re a mom, you have probably screamed or cried at least once about school shootings and the fear our children have to live in. Does this feel right? I am a mom, and my answer is NO. 

To my Jewish brothers and sisters I say this: I am sorry that your history has to tell the story of the holocaust. I am sorry that you currently feel targeted in your homes, cities, and streets. As a Black Woman (Haitian-american to be exact) living in this country, I am not now and will NEVER be okay with hate of any kind. We watched Asians receive hate during the Covid pandemic, and that was NOT OK. After 9/11 our Muslim sisters and brothers received hate and that was NOT OK. I will always stand WITH you in defense against hate and anti-semitism. But what we are witnessing now is not and will never be the answer. Not in your name should innocent people die. Yes, there is an issue and yes it must be addressed, but is the killing of innocent lives the answer? Mainstream media has lied to all of us. They have painted the picture that has created hate and division and they’ll ban anything that shows you the truth. I urge you to seek the truth of what is happening in Palestine. 

Exodus 23:9 taken straight from the Torah:

וְגֵ֖ר לֹ֣א תִלְחָ֑ץ וְאַתֶּ֗ם יְדַעְתֶּם֙ אֶת־נֶ֣פֶשׁ הַגֵּ֔ר כִּֽי־גֵרִ֥ים הֱיִיתֶ֖ם בְּאֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם׃

You shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the feelings of the stranger, having yourselves been strangers in the land of Egypt.

And finally, we are now getting to witness as those we elected into government sit by in complicity and agree to the death of innocent lives. We should ALL be outraged because at any moment on any day, it could be us. 

To my brothers and sisters across the world living in an oppressive system, the world is now waking up. I am watching, I am working, and I WILL fight for your freedom. Please know that our struggles are all interconnected.

I pray FOR Palestine, I pray WITH Palestine, but mostly, I pray FOR humanity. I pray that we don’t lose touch with humanity so much that we don’t at least stop to reflect on the atrocities happening around the world. Because the second that we lose human touch, this all ends and it becomes the beginning of the end. Some might say we are living in the end of times, and perhaps they are right. This is the test of that. I will continue to pray that those who are so filled with hate come to know love AND peace. Because the reality isn’t that they are filled with hate, but that they don’t know the true meaning of love. 

Alhamdulillah, Shalom Aleichem, Peace be with you all

The Love-a-Lution continues…iykyk…

XX, CB 

**: https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/what-hamas