To listen to an audio of this article and find other articles by this author, visit: theinspiringrevolutionsblog.blogspot.com American Foreign Policy: Where People Have Become Objects Written on July 8, 2008 Back in early April, General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ray Crocker testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the state of the Iraq war and their recommendations for moving forward. During the meeting, Petraeus was questioned about the loyalty and trustworthiness of local Sunnis who had been recruited by the U.S. military to help fight against those they have come to call “insurgents,” and in the midst of the discussion, a quote from retired General William Odom surfaced. About a week earlier, Odom had said: “Remember, we do not own these people. We rent them.” Do we “rent” people? What does it mean to rent someone? What does it say about the Iraq mission that we have to “rent” Iraqis? And more importantly, what does it say about our view of and approach to other human beings? Typically, when we use the word “rent,” we use it to mean paying for the temporary use of an object that another person owns. We then use that object toward an end, or “purpose,” of our choosing. So we rent an object so that we can use it to fulfill a role that we (or our organization) cannot fulfill ourselves and that is necessary toward the accomplishment of our purpose. But people are not objects. People can make choices. Objects can’t. People can think and reflect on principles. Objects can’t. People can use their minds and hearts to choose higher purposes. Objects can’t. So this begs some questions: Whose principles are we fighting for? Whose purposes are we fighting for? And are the Sunnis who are said to be fighting with us fighting because we are alignment with each other, or are they doing so because we are “renting” them? Furthermore, when our mentality is at the point where we can conceive of ideas like “renting” humans, do we even care whether they support our principles, whether we support their principles, and whether we are united in the same common and mutually beneficial purpose? Or do we see them and treat them like pawns in our game, objects that help us fulfill our purposes? Supposedly, a major part of our mission is securing freedom for Iraqis. But if we are seeing, speaking about, and approaching Iraqis as if they are objects, then how can we really be attempting to secure their “human” freedoms? It is certainly a worthwhile action to give money to a group of people who might deeply need it and who might use it toward a valuable cause of lifting the quality of lives of their people. It is also a worthwhile experience for people of two different cultures in two different worlds to accept each others’ principles, perhaps share the same principles, and unite in a mutually felt, mutually supported common purpose (though I might not myself advocate for it to be a violent one). But when we bypass the path to true unity and use, or “rent,” each other for our own principles and purposes (and in neglect of theirs), we strip each other and ourselves of our humanity, of what makes humans unique among living things, of what defines us above our material needs and wants. When we are in a “cause” with other people, it might be a beneficial and meaningful step to realize that those other people are people (I know, quite a revelation!) and to treat them – in your mind, in your heart, and in your actions – with the respect that each and every person (yes, each and every person) deserves… by seeing them for all of their humanity. To give this article the nice touch of a cliché… Our world might be a more just, joyful, and prosperous place because of it. Be clear that I do not mean this article to be a commentary on the war. And I do not mean it to be a criticism of any specific individual alone. I mean it to be a reflection on our way of thinking, our neglect of feeling, and our avoidance of the actions that build true unity and resolve our conflicts at their deepest levels. We all can reflect on our lives and notice ourselves playing out this pattern. There may perhaps be no one who has never neglected to pierce through the mask of their interests and look beyond the veil of their perceptions to see the whole and unique humanity of another person or group of people. And so we can all use these global events to learn what we can do in our own lives to change the course of our global fate. To learn more about the trends of our constantly changing global world, purchase Thriving at the Brink of Disaster at: www.inspiringrevolutions.com/thriving.php To begin applying these ideas to your own life, answer the questions below: - Where in your life are you engaged in a project where you “rent” someone, having them perform a role without regard to their true interests, their honored principles, and their deeper sense of purpose? - Where in your life do you “use” someone, taking advantage of the fact that they are dependent on you for something you have, to have them fulfill a role toward your own “higher” end rather than your combined and united higher end? (By “higher” end, I mean an end that goes beyond the basic physical needs and wants to the higher emotional, mental, and spiritual aims.) - What prevents you from having these people voice and represent their principles and purposes? What do you believe would happen if you did? Is there anything you fear in opening that aspect of your relationships in life? - If you have the “right” and opportunity to express your own principles and purposes in your projects, do you not believe that they have a “right” to do so in their projects as well? If not, by what rationale? And if not, can they really said to be “fully” living, living in the fullest way that a human can? - Where in your life have you been objectified in the same way? How did you feel? What did you think? What would you have liked to have seen changed? - What are the conflicts we must resolve, the fears we must dissolve, and the principles we must involve in order to create projects that can include the interests, principles, and purposes of all people involved so that each of them can express their full humanity?