In the aftermath of yet another mass killing hate crime in the U.S. and the ensuing inevitable debate about gun control, the underlying issue—the real problem—is rarely addressed. Even if the NRA was not the most powerful lobbying group* in the U.S., and the country could enact strict gun control laws, it would not eradicate the cause of violence and racism. We can’t legislate away hate.
But the problem is also more complicated than hatred, more insidious than racism. Hate is an emotion that is hardwired into the human brain. Scientists** say hate is triggered in the same region of the brain that triggers romantic love, lending credence to the adage: there is a fine line between love and hate.
Apathy is the deeper problem that allows our country—our world—to remain unsafe for entire ethnic groups and children and women and people with disabilities. The problem is that we as a society tolerate everyday racism, bigotry, and prejudices silently until something catastrophic occurs. And then we exhibit appropriate outrage on social media, feel like we’ve done our part, and forget about it until the next tragedy. And nothing changes because we don’t change. Our problem is guns in the wrong hands, yes, and hatred, and racism, and apathy. Our problem is spiritual.
The problem requires a spiritual solution.
Amazing Grace, the play, opens soon on Broadway. The play tells the story behind the song’s lyrics. In 1748, slave ship captain John Newton was transporting hundreds of human beings from Africa to deliver into slavery in the new world when his ship was battered in a storm off the coast of Ireland. He prayed for mercy, and while his ship was being repaired, wrote the first verse of his famous song.
A spiritual mentor told me the story 15 years ago. She said that Newton had a spiritual awakening, turned his ship around, and returned his human cargo to Africa. This is not true. Newton continued operating his slave ship for another six or seven years. His spiritual awakening was not instantaneous. It took years before he saw his evil-doing clearly, and stopped.
As someone who is seeking a spiritual solution to my own evils, I can relate. I’ve been driven to my knees by my selfishness and envy and impatience and hubris over and over. My awakening is little by slowly. Changing from I was and am to what I hope to be does not happen in one night. It does not happen after being saved from one (in my case, metaphorical) storm.
I imagine Newton didn’t hate the people he was committing into slavery. I imagine he was driven by greed and selfishness. I imagine that as long as he felt comfortable profiting from the suffering of others, he didn’t even consider their plight while he commanded his slave ship. His greatest sin, I imagine, was apathy.
Apathy, not hate, is the opposite of love. And apathy is systemic in our society.
But we can’t outlaw apathy.
When a problem is too big for my tiny humanness I turn to a power greater than myself. There are three ways I reach out to this power: prayer, meditation, and practicing conscious compassion for everyone I think of, everyone I meet. I set aside time to send metta**** to individuals, groups, and countries that are suffering. I can’t say my sending metta out into the world has changed the world. But it has changed me. And all change starts within. Peaceful, caring people create peaceful, caring societies.
And yet, it’s not easy for me to do my simple practice daily. I’d rather watch TV. I’d prefer to ignore most people, keeping my own petty concerns front and center in my mind. But I know when I am able to avail myself of the universal benevolent power (which I call “God” because it’s a short word), I experience a shift in my thinking, a deepening of my caring about and for others. I feel sadness for the rampant injustices in our society, in our world. But, this sadness differs from my self-centered concerns. It’s a sadness that makes me feel more deeply connected, rather than isolated. When I pray and meditate and practice metta regularly, I really get it: We are all one.
It’s painful to acknowledge that I’m part of a social structure that is built on racism and prejudice and that, to some extent, I benefit from it.*** For years, I supported Teddy Kennedy’s futile raison d’etre, gun control. Now, I can see that the problem is so much bigger than guns. It’s bigger than hate. And yet the solution is much simpler than fighting powerful lobbyists. Now, I focus on being part of the spiritual solution.
For more solutions to help end racism, read 11 things white people can do to be real anti-racist allies, salon.com.
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*How The NRA Became The Most Powerful Special Interest in Washington, Business Insider, December 18, 2012
Why Is the NRA So Powerful? Slate.com, June 29, 2012
**The Origin of Hatred, Scientific American, August 19, 2009
***11 ways white America avoids taking responsibility for its racism, salon.com, June 16, 2015
****Metta: May you be safe from all internal and external harm. May you have a calm, clear mind and a peaceful, loving heart. May you be physically strong, healthy, and vital. May you experience love, joy, wonder, and wisdom in this life, just as it is. (Many versions of metta exist. This one is from meditation teacher Phillip Moffit.)
Lovely, thanks.