When I read the news I generally just skim the headlines. I don’t delve too deep into the articles unless I find a news item or opinion piece that really peaks my interest.
I do this to preserve my sense of perspective and reason. The modern media machine is designed to draw people into a sensationalistic, black and white view of the world. Not all media can be painted with the same brush but for the sake of this article I am talking about the mainstream media that is consumed by the majority of people in the western world.
Our human reality is never truly presented in mass media but they instead create a distorted view of a world filled conflict, fear and imminent disaster.
I won’t allow myself to be sucked into it all. This doesn’t mean I am putting blinders on to what is happening in the rest of the world. I consider myself well informed as to the state of the world without the misplaced urgency of it all.
The ideas or news items that affect me or interest me I will investigate thoroughly before I believe what is portrayed.
My ”who, what and why” will not generally match what the headlines say.
I try very hard not to form conclusions about a subject until I have done my own research.
We live in an age where information about anything is at our fingertips. It can be a bit confusing and hard to sift through sometimes especially with all the rubbish that the internet spits out. If you are really interested in a subject it is not so hard to get to the truth about something.
I learned my lesson to question everything many years ago during the war in Yugoslavia. I was very fascinated with this war as the media drew me in with tales of genocide and ethnic cleansing. Initially it seemed very clear who the good guys were. I don’t know why but I wasn’t completely satisfied with just what the media told me. I felt there was more to the story. I needed more information.
The first thing I did was pretend to be an independent journalist and made an appointment with the Yugoslav Ambassador to interview him about the war. I spoke with him for about an hour and was delivered a very sterile explanation to the war except for one thing. Before I left he handed me a self-bound book and said I should read it ‘off the record’. It looked to be someone’s dissertation.
When I got home I started reading a fascinating expose on a region that had a very complex narrative. This started me on a quest to find out what was really going on. I spoke to journalist friends who were covering the conflict and who told me stories in direct contradiction to what the media was saying. I studied books, read articles and was consumed by this subject.
The result of this journey was that in the end I had to admit that as a moral, sensible human being I could not truly take any side in the matter. Atrocities were committed and all sides were guilty and this infuriated me. There was no innocence in this conflict besides the civilians that suffered at the hands of the warmongers.
I had to learn that it is very hard to truly understand something until you experience it first-hand. I had to learn that sometimes we can expend way to emotional energy on a subject that we in no way understand or can hope to influence. I had to learn to separate the big picture idea from the true day to day struggle of living. I continue to struggle to prioritize what I should spend my passions and abilities on.
The world we live in is at war with what is right and what is true. It tries to steal us away into complacency while telling us what to believe. It wants to lull us into simplicities and forget how deep and complex things really are.
The answer is in: 1 Thessalonians 5:21 “”Test all things; hold fast what is good”.
We are equipped to know what is good and what is false. We need to test and illuminate every idea and subject to allow our ‘spirit’ to know its truth. We need to choose what is worthy of our quest as well. Otherwise we spread our efforts too thin and the truth can get confused and diluted. We must be passionate in everything we do and to be passionate we must be able to focus our energy and emotions.
The subject of Israel and its conflict is a worthy subject that needs a focused ‘Passion’ for finding the truth! To truly appreciate the “Truth” about Israel you are required to examine the whole of its History which is inseparable from its Historical Biblical roots! You are equally required to examine the whole History of the Arab world and its Islamic roots.
I have tested intimately this subject and I have found a large portion of what is ‘good’ and true. I will continue to test this subject as it is so complex. I will hold fast to what I have discovered despite the constant assault on of the ‘truth’ by Israel’s enemies.
While this conflict is complex in many ways the real ‘truth’ is exposed and easy to find if you are true to your quest for what is ‘good’!
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