Magic Words
A picture is worth 1000 lives.
I can’t find the magic words.
The ones to make the world turn right-side up.
To make the obvious become apparent.
Others have much better words than me. But they don’t work either.
The U.N. has more precise words. Do they work?
Genocide means ANY of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:
(a) Killing members of the group;
(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.
Bold emphasis is mine.
Apparently not.
They say “A picture is worth a thousand words.”
Each of these pictures are worth a thousand lives…of those whose words will never be heard again.
These were magic words once. They don’t seem to work anymore.
The Ten Commandments1
I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me.
You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth…
You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God…
Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy…
Honor your father and your mother…
You shall not murder.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet…anything that belongs to your neighbor.
(Bold emphasis is mine.)
This is Netanyahu citing his own magic words from Exodus.
Apparently, he stopped reading before he got to the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:2-17). Never mind The Golden Rule.
The Golden Rule:
“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” (Matthew 7:12)
I struggle for the right words. There is no magic.
My words can’t turn the world right side up.
I can’t make people see what they don’t want to see.
I see human beings killing other human beings. Humanity at war with itself.
The difference is that for me, humanity includes everyone, not just some of us.
“We will set up the scales of justice for the Day of Resurrection so that no one can be wronged in the least, and if there should be even the weight of a mustard seed, We shall bring it out: We take excellent account.” (Qur’an 21:47)
I take comfort and consolation in my God — the God of Truth, Justice, and Love — who created ALL of us with equal worth and value. God sees everything and everyone, and is taking down names. I know that God will not let any person, regardless of religion, skin color, or ethnicity, be extinguished unjustly without consequence. May God comfort, vindicate, and forgive us all.
Paraphrased from Britannica.com: The Commandments are recorded virtually identically in Exodus 20:2–17 and Deuteronomy 5:6–21. This is the rendering in Exodus (New Revised Standard Version).
I liked this piece. Im a long time pacifist. Thanks for sharing Anani’s work. Imho It exemplifies hope in profound loss. So vibrant in contrast
brightest light mid the deepest darkness,we are heart wrenching witnesses to.🙏i come from christians but ive long since moved into my own personal relationship w/ god & the universe.
Thanks . These are some twisted humans to even think much less carry out such atrocities against innocents,mostly young children ? Evil running rampant in the light of day. This is my problem w/ religion ( the leadershit mostly) I guess it’s always here under the facade. Im “glad” its being exposed we must keep at it &
Help end this madness any way possible. This sick Genocidal collective mental illness has at least
inspired so many to seek Justice finally.🙏Try to Keep health & find happiness in the new year