"Shooting Dogs"

Or, the title of the film as it is called in the United States, "Beyond the Gates".

Why is it that the thought of shooting dogs is so disturbing to us, to the extent that a movie title would have to be changed? This question was posed by a young man from Rwanda, a young man who survived the genocide there in 1994. Why is it that the thought of shooting dogs is unacceptable, but the fact of children being slaughtered by machetes is something that we turn a blind eye to?

Each time i see a film about genocide or child soldiers or war (which is actually rather often, as those of you who know me know), I wonder, how is this possible? How can people turn into such monsters that they would commit such atrocities against one another? And especially, how is this possible right now in the world? Aren't we past that barbaric age? And how is it that we don't do anything to stop it? Each time, I leave with no more answers but rather a gnawing in the pit of my stomach.

This time, as i posed the question to my friends, silent as we left the theater, Heather said that the way to stop it is on an individual level, through our relationships with people. You know, she is right. I see these atrocities around the world (my latest conflict region of study is Chechnya) and wonder how can people turn into monsters and treat others the way that they do. I think that we do have a responsibility to act to stop genocide from happening all over the globe. We need to help in Sudan! But, these atrocities I think stem from the individual treatment of others. RIGHT NOW, I could be kinder to people. I could help more, donate things, take time to listen. I could forgive. I could expand my circle of friends. I could simply love more and buy local and volunteer in the community and adopt animals (while killing humans disturbs me more, i still don't want animals shot either). I can write to my congressmen. Nothing I do will make a big difference for someone in the Sudan. But I hope that it will make me feel a little bit more human, a little bit less hardened, and the world a little bit of a better place.

"Every man is given the key to heaven; the same key opens the door to hell." -Buddhist proverb

As human beings, we have the power to open the doors to suffering or the doors to peace.