Ideological fights are exhausting

Richard Rohr has a daily meditation. Recently he quoted Barbara Holmes, who had this to say:

“Throughout recorded history people have subjugated, enslaved, and at times even exterminated one another. Sometimes these acts were committed in the name of a king or queen, other times in the name of a tribe or country. Often they were committed in the name of God. Always they were done to consolidate and expand the power of a select few. Always, vast numbers of people died for no good reason. Always, even a greater number of people needlessly suffered to sate the appetites of that select group. These are crimes against humanity, and these crimes continue to be executed across our planet to this day.

“Furthermore, these crimes are perpetrated in a seemingly never-ending cycle. The powerful oppress the less powerful, who in turn oppress those even less powerful than they. [ RR: We see this often even within families!] These cycles of oppression leave scars on the victims and victors alike, scars that embed themselves in our collective psyches and are passed down through generations, robbing us of our humanity. . . .”

Right on target Barbara. How often are we fighting battles that are ultimately pointless? Why are we so prone to fighting anyway? Especially when it is someone else’s battle.

There are plenty of people who go around and say “Don’t tell me what to do,” yet I often hear these same people who seem more than willing to fight someone else’s fight.