Harmony Now

Harmony Now42913


We hear so much about bullying these days. It is frightening to read about young people being assaulted because they are not a party to an in-group. It doesn’t require that they have done anything wrong. It only requires that they are not like someone else or a group of someones. It is more frightening to think that group bullying results in attacks on an individual.

We need to look at each person, how they feel about themselves. A bully doesn’t have personal power and so, takes it out on others. This makes him feel powerful by having the ability to intimidate or physically harm another. In truth, the bully relates to the feeling of powerlessness that the victim has, and thereby, is causing the weakness within himself to suffer. It’s a case of, “I feel bad, you’re weaker than me, so I’m going to assault you so I can feel powerful.”
It would be nice if we lived in a world where each child was loved and valued for the individual blessing that he or she is. It would be nice if all parents loved and valued their children. But the truth is, we don’t and they don’t. Schools do the best they can to give children a positive self-image, but they can’t monitor all children at all times. Home for many children is a war zone. The bully himself is often responding to the environment in which he lives.
There is no easy solution. So long as parents ridicule children, use violence in the home, create an atmosphere of shame and abuse, and voice prejudices which set up their children to take hostilities out on others they see as less powerful, there is going to be bullying. Acceptance of the differences of others, no matter what those differences are, is the first step in a long line of creating harmony.
We need to set aside the mentality of good people versus bad people. Ok, we can agree that Darth Vader was a bad guy. But we need to recognize that it is the actions of people in harming others that are bad, and that is what we need to work at ending: no more assault, no rape, no verbal abuse, no more lack of tolerance just because someone is different in his or her beliefs, behaviour, appearance, lifestyle, or choices. We need harmony now.
May you be richly blessed.