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Standing on the sidelines of humanity may come at a hefty price, Iran's battle for freedom from oppression

Standing on the Sidelines



Abandon all hope, ye who enter here” -- Dante’s Inferno

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Standing on the sidelines of humanity may come at a hefty price. As the world stands by and watches the people of Iran battle for freedom from oppression, Dante’s vision and assumptions about the payment for indifference in his Inferno seem appropriate food for thought. Helen Keller said, “Science may have found a cure for most evils; but it has found no remedy for the worst of them all—the apathy of human beings.” “I’d rather not get involved, I have my own problems to deal with,” seems benign enough on the surface, but beware of its hidden dangers. The payment is great for a ticket to heaven. Every religion has placed a price on our immortal soul, but whose tag bears the correct price? For all religions good deeds enter into the salvation equation, but what about no deeds at all? I find it interesting that Dante in his epic Inferno carves out a circle in Hell for those who opt for a philosophy of indifference. In Dante’s opinion it seems the decision not to make a decision is evil enough to warrant entering the gates of hell, yet not so bad as to assign a deeper level to the wrongdoer. This marginal place for souls neither good enough for heaven nor evil enough for hell proper is an interesting conundrum. For, unless we decide to jump into the fray, we are doomed. And there, as Shakespeare says, lies the rub. For how are we to know which side of the battle is the one appointed for goodness, or for evil? These options were once quite a bit more clear-cut than today. Absolutes like adultery is bad, murder is evil, don’t talk back to your parents, maligning and usurping other’s rights, all bad and hatred not a good idea either. Altogether, pretty easy rules to discern for even the lesser educated. Not so today I’m afraid. The answers are fraught with paradoxes of all shapes and sizes: What is the true religion? What is considered murder? If you are killing others to enter heaven and check out some virgins, is that still bad? If you smear another race or religion, is it okay if it aids in your quest to for power? These are tough questions because they have no answers. Hitler evil. Or was he? Depends who you ask. Nazis liked the guy, killed and died for him. Murdered others in his name. Not so easy a question as you thought. But at the end of the day will Nazis escape the deeper level of hell because they got involved, took a side, albeit the side right thinking people believe to be the wrong one? And if a Nazi is a Christian and asks for Christ’s forgiveness before his death will he attain salvation for his sins? This is indeed a conundrum. And what of a man who is an atheist and lives a holy life, but refuses to accept salvation? Is he doomed to hell as the Nazi dances happily just inside the gates, forgiven for his sins, laughing and be-bopping around the clouds with Stalin? Who makes the rules? Used to be a consensus of the world decided what is evil and what is good. Now the lines have so blurred, they are almost invisible. North Korea threatens to kill its neighbors. Hmmm, some neighbors aren’t so concerned, others are. Is it the neighbor with the most people who wins the good/evil argument? Let us see, China has got us beat there I would guess. There are two billion Muslims in the world and a percentage of them say the 14 million Jews are bad, who wins? No need to scratch your head on that one, is there? Interestingly, there is a theological justification for Dante's limbo in Apocalypse (Revelation) 3:16: “But because thou art lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will begin to vomit thee out of my mouth.” Dante includes in limbo the cowardly souls of those angels who refused to choose between God and Satan. What does this say about Dante's view of human behavior in relation to the afterlife? Although it is important to note the various paths to heaven and their roadblocks are a matter for each human being and their spiritual mentors to debate, about one thing Dante is clear. Indifference does not rate a place in heaven. Martin Niemölle’s famous quote “First they came for the Jews. I was silent. I was not a Jew. Then they came for the Communists. I was silent. I was not a Communist. Then they came for the trade unionists. I was silent. I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for me. There was no one left to speak for me,” validates Dante’s theory. Although the seven deadly sins remain, the sheer numbers of population to disseminate these deeds have grown en masse. Does it seem as though the world is more evil because more people opt for sin? Or is it merely that a greater number of people allows more human beings to opt for sin? A minimal distinction I admit, yet proportionally quite relevant. I imagine the question Dante poses is his version of the Good Samaritan Law. If one sees his neighbors being harmed, or evil being inflicted upon the world and he sits by and refuses to become involved, shall the punishment be elevated to fit that serious crime? Perhaps this first circle of hell is a warning not to enter at all, as the gates swing only one way down there. Sorry everyone, I guess you need to pick a side, lest damnation be your lot throughout eternity. And to confuse the issue even further, I must give the last word to Friedrich Nietzsche who wrote in Beyond Good and Evil, “He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.”


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Norma Zager -- Bio and Archives

In the series “Postcards from Israel – Postcards from Home,” Ari Bussel and Norma Zager invite readers throughout the world to join them as they present reports about Israel, homeland of the Jewish People, as seen by two sets of eyes. This “point - counter-point” presentation has, since 2008, become part of our lives.  It can be found in numerous websites around the world as well as in print in the USA.


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