Submitted by antarchi on November 11, 2007 - 00:09.
The temptation is to think that it will be enough to show people the crimes and terrible injustices that are being done around the world, and they will be so appalled that they will try to act to put a stop to them. The temptation is to think that they will be particularly keen to act, particularly active even, when the crimes are being carried out with their support - conscious or unconscious, active or passive.
But it is not enough. Most people (in the comfy west) don't want their comfy lives disrupting. Most people don't have time or space to have their lives disrupted, particularly not for people who are miles away, a different colour, and whom they will never need to see. Disruption is particularly unappealing if it needs to happen from the roots and if it takes away the comforts we have become accustomed to, the comforts that make our lives tolerable, and the comforts that we have won at the expense of those whose lives are now intolerable.
So - rather than be troubled night and day by thoughts that we contribute to the misery of other people round the world, we close our eyes. We have to close our eyes, because the troubled thoughts would overpower us otherwise, would make our comfy lives intolerable. So the choice becomes a comfy life which is intolerable; a less comfy life - which we would find it hard to tolerate; or else an eyes-closed attitude.
But if you have your eyes closed, you have to close your eyes to the fact that they are closed, or else the troubled thoughts come back to view. An eyes-closed attitude needs to be undertaken with an eyes closed attitude. We mustn't know that we are only managing to continue living comfy lives by shutting out the troubled thoughts that might destroy them.
