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Ina Cawl's Reviews > How to Cure a Fanatic
How to Cure a Fanatic
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One thing I always in any conflict is that always paint one group as righteous and the other group as wrongdoers, one group as good guys and the other group as a bad guys, one group as a victim who deserve our sympathy and another group as a villain who will be denigrated and stand accused of everything.
But this equation sometimes doesn’t work and it doesn’t work especially in Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
There is no good guys versus bad guys in this conflict but two righteous owners of the same land in which there is two different claim about the same land
In the past both the Arab and Israeli denied each other existence and tried unsuccessfully in the Arab side to militarily erase Israel from the map,fortunately the failed and after six wars the neighbouring Countries have accepted the Israeli right ti exist in Israel.
But what about Palestinian who rotted in refugee camp around the world what would happen to them will they always be stateless for eternity.
It is easy to paint Israeli as the bad guys in the region as they are most developed nation in the region but who is Goliath and who is David depends in which scale you are looking at,
If it comes to Israeli Palestinian conflict we can paint the Easily the Israeli as Goliath but if you enlarge your perspective a little more and used bigger scale then Israel will be the victim in the region I mean being entrapped in region where almost three hundred Arabs hates it and vowed to destroy it in this case Israeli will be the nice guys in that region.
What the author tries to tell is compromise and negotiations is what this conflict need to end I mean to Israel to accept there would be no greater Israel and for Palestinian there would be no greater Palestine
This compromise which is hard to go through for both Israeli and Palestine is what this conflict needs as this conflict is real Estate problem not religious problem as many Muslim and Jewish extremist tries to paint.
About the Fanaticism which is now became like the virus spreading around Muslim world and also in Western world as far right is getting more and more chairs in Western government .
What about Fanaticism attracted me in my youth was the ability for the fanatic to sacrifice his life for his beliefs but in growing older I became more rational and kind scared for sacrificing my life for any goal whatsoever.
Being fanatic is easy for any human but being understanding and trying to put your self in other shoes, trying to imagine what the other feels and what being the other could be.
But sometimes it feels really tiring to talk with fanatic with people who believe Jews control the world and US with people who believe homosexuality is disease and throwing gays out of high building is great way to reduce homosexuals in the society,people who believe who believe every western nation are secretly trying to destroy Islam
Talking with people with this mindset and trying to be the devil advocate can be very tiring sometimes
But one the solution to fanaticism is literature because literature allows you to put yourself in the shoes of other and also humour you don't see Terrorist in who have good sense of humour and also trying to be with the people you have prejudice against them can heal fanatic in your heart
But this equation sometimes doesn’t work and it doesn’t work especially in Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
There is no good guys versus bad guys in this conflict but two righteous owners of the same land in which there is two different claim about the same land
In the past both the Arab and Israeli denied each other existence and tried unsuccessfully in the Arab side to militarily erase Israel from the map,fortunately the failed and after six wars the neighbouring Countries have accepted the Israeli right ti exist in Israel.
But what about Palestinian who rotted in refugee camp around the world what would happen to them will they always be stateless for eternity.
It is easy to paint Israeli as the bad guys in the region as they are most developed nation in the region but who is Goliath and who is David depends in which scale you are looking at,
If it comes to Israeli Palestinian conflict we can paint the Easily the Israeli as Goliath but if you enlarge your perspective a little more and used bigger scale then Israel will be the victim in the region I mean being entrapped in region where almost three hundred Arabs hates it and vowed to destroy it in this case Israeli will be the nice guys in that region.
What the author tries to tell is compromise and negotiations is what this conflict need to end I mean to Israel to accept there would be no greater Israel and for Palestinian there would be no greater Palestine
This compromise which is hard to go through for both Israeli and Palestine is what this conflict needs as this conflict is real Estate problem not religious problem as many Muslim and Jewish extremist tries to paint.
About the Fanaticism which is now became like the virus spreading around Muslim world and also in Western world as far right is getting more and more chairs in Western government .
What about Fanaticism attracted me in my youth was the ability for the fanatic to sacrifice his life for his beliefs but in growing older I became more rational and kind scared for sacrificing my life for any goal whatsoever.
Being fanatic is easy for any human but being understanding and trying to put your self in other shoes, trying to imagine what the other feels and what being the other could be.
But sometimes it feels really tiring to talk with fanatic with people who believe Jews control the world and US with people who believe homosexuality is disease and throwing gays out of high building is great way to reduce homosexuals in the society,people who believe who believe every western nation are secretly trying to destroy Islam
Talking with people with this mindset and trying to be the devil advocate can be very tiring sometimes
But one the solution to fanaticism is literature because literature allows you to put yourself in the shoes of other and also humour you don't see Terrorist in who have good sense of humour and also trying to be with the people you have prejudice against them can heal fanatic in your heart
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Reading Progress
November 14, 2017
– Shelved
November 14, 2017
– Shelved as:
to-read
March 7, 2018
–
1.0%
"When it comes to the foundations of the Israeli-Arab conflict, in particular the Israeli-Palestinian conflicts, things are not so straightforward. And I am afraid I am not going to make things any easier for you by saying simply: these are the angels, these are the devils, you just have to support the angels and good will prevail over evil"
March 8, 2018
–
Started Reading
March 8, 2018
–
10.0%
"Especially among young idealists, who always regard compromise as opportunism, as something dishonest, as something sneaky and shady, as a mark of a lack of integrity. Not in my vocabulary. For me the word compromise means life. And the opposite of compromise is not idealism, not devotion; the opposite of compromise is fanaticism and death. We need a compromise. Compromise, not capitulation."
March 10, 2018
–
52.0%
"This is going to hurt like hell. So, if you have an ounce of help or sympathy to offer, now is the time to extend it to the two patients. You no longer have to choose between being pro-Israel or pro-Palestine. You have to be pro-peace."
March 10, 2018
–
53.0%
"SO, HOW DO you cure a fanatic? To chase a bunch of fanatics through the mountains of Afghanistan is one thing. To struggle against fanaticism is another one. I’m afraid I don’t have any particular ideas on how to catch the fanatics in the mountains, but I do have one or two thoughts about the nature of fanaticism and about the ways, if not to cure it, then at least to contain it"
March 11, 2018
–
55.0%
"this is a battle between fanatics, who believe that the end, any end, justifies the means, and the rest of us, who believe that life is an end, not a meaning. It is a struggle between those who think that justice, whatever they would mean by the word, is more important than life, on the one hand, and those of us who think that life takes priority over many other values, convictions or faiths"
March 12, 2018
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-6 of 6 (6 new)
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Steven wrote: "Hi Ina,You have written a very good review.
You have made two important points that I would like to reinforce. The first concerns the black and white type of thinking. This is often expanded by ..."
Thanks a lot Steven
black and white thinking really does a lot of trouble in this world and created many unnecessary conflicts around the world and what literature helps is that it helps you to think out of your narrow tribe and makes you fee what other person is feeling.
Ina wrote: "Stephie wrote: "Hi Ina,You have written a very good review.
You have made two important points that I would like to reinforce. The first concerns the black and white type of thinking. This is oft..."
Yes, I can see where literature can have this effect, but I do not usually read fiction for a number of reasons. One is just that I am more attracted to nonfiction. The other is more personal. I will share it with you privately, although I have openly talked about it in a group that I belong to on goodreads, if you wish. Let me know here and I will send you a message.
I agree with Steven, you have written a very good review indeed. Kindness is indeed key. I think you might fing This Narrow Space: A Pediatric Oncologist, His Jewish, Muslim, and Christian Patients, and a Hospital in Jerusalem good reading. It is much less about the fanatics, the politicians and the military and much more about ordinary people just working and trying to do their best. I have not been able to come with an adequate review or the book. Given this review here you might be able to do it justice.
You obviously read the book, as this is basically a summary of it, but you apparently didn't get the idea, judging from your last paragraph.
Great review! However, I have yet to see a fanatic who can be healed.
You have written a very good review.
You have made two important points that I would like to reinforce. The first concerns the black and white type of thinking. This is often expanded by people to more than politics, where it often blinkers people's eyes. There is very little in life that does not have shades of gray to it. This includes a person's individual life. I used to fall into the trap of black and white thinking, and it harm my mental health and wellness.
The second point, which can be seen as connected to the first, is that fanatics are often stuck in the black and white. I admire your ability to shake off fanaticism. I also think rationality requires gray zone thinking, except for possibly some forms of logic and mathematics. Even, science that is well done, is not a total black and white affair, especially in the human sciences like psychology. A good scientist will admit the weak points in their arguments.