War Outside My Window
Kim DeRosa
I can’t close my eyes, I can’t fall asleep. There is a war outside my window. Bombs are exploding and shaking my home. The sounds of gunfire fill the air, and the
only scent is that of gunpowder and smoke. The noise is frightening. Things seem to calm down, and then, all of a
sudden there is an explosion of some sort.
Each explosion sends my heart thumping so fast as if it was going to
beat out of my chest. The noise is
bearable compared to the fear. The fear of wondering if my family members and friends are alive or
dead. The fear of what happens
next. The fear of a
bomb landing on my home, or maybe a nuclear bomb exploding and destroying everything. Everything as in every
hope, dream, and good will of many people. Everything as in new,
compassionate ideas that could have changed the way that we are living now. What if?
What happens next? Goosebumps run
down my whole body and I’m unable to move as I lay on my bed, stiff as a
board. As I continue to shiver, I start
to develop a feeling of guilt for every time I thought of only my self
interest. As of right now, I know I'm not the only one who can’t sleep tonight. Everyone around me has the same fear and
guilt as I do. We want to hold each
other close and say I’m sorry and I love you.
I decide that if I survive this war, then I am going to be a better
person. My hands are soaked from the
salty tears that I am constantly wiping from my eyes. At this moment in time, we all have all come
to realize how alike we are. How we are
all part of one family.
The feeling of
fear when being caught in the middle of a war is too much for any mind to
handle. According to the writings of
both the Dalai Lama and Martha Nussbaum, compassion is one of the most
important elements in our world today.
Even though both their ideas support the idea of compassion, their views
are somewhat different.
Martha
Nussbaum believes that literature builds up our feelings of compassion. Her views on literature have a very powerful
effect on the world. Literature and the
arts give us an idea of many different events that could actually happen in
real life. These works also give us a
direct view of the way that we are treated and judged. Literature gives us a sense of wonder. It teaches us to look deeply into a person
and find the similarities between ourselves and that person. Nussbaum describes looking deeply, and
feeling for a person or character as our “sympathetic imagination” (Nussbaum
417). A good example of a literary work
that triggers our “sympathetic imagination” is Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird.
The novel focuses on discrimination against African Americans. Atticus Finch, the
single father of two children, is a very strong and moral character. He is also a lawyer defending a black man in
a very difficult court case. The black
man was falsely accused of a crime against a white woman and eventually found
guilty. No matter how much evidence supported
the fact that the man wasn’t guilty, the jury let prejudice have the best of
them. This story triggers our
“sympathetic imagination” by looking at how the situation in the story compares
to real life events. The story also
gives us a sense of anger toward the unjust jury and certain members of our
society today. This is only one example
of the way a work of literature can shape our imagination. Using our “sympathetic imagination” means
looking through people and seeing how circumstances shape everyone’s lives
(Nussbaum 419). It teaches us to look
past the circumstances and see that the person has hopes, dreams, ideas, and
morals just like everyone else. Many of
us just look at the fact that “others” may hope for or dream about something
differently than we do. Sometimes, these
ideas trigger what the Dalai Lama refers to as “self interest” (Dalai Lama 2). In “The Human Approach To
World Peace,” the Dalai Lama suggests the “training of the mind to endure
suffering and attain a lasting state of happiness” (Dalai Lama 2). This statement corresponds with Nussbaum’s
ideas of training the mind through literature.
The Dalai Lama tries to explain the fact that all human beings want
happiness, not suffering. He also
explains that we sometimes try to fulfill our happiness or “self interest” by
selfishly using others (Dalai Lama 2).
It is true that using other people can fulfill our happiness for the
time being, but will not help to achieve true happiness in the long run (Dalai
Lama 2). An example of this would be
poking fun at a less fortunate person in order to improve one’s
reputation. In the long run, this only
leaves us with a feeling of guilt when we have looked past that person’s
misfortune and found how alike we are.
We would also feel a sense of regret from not getting to know, and
learning from that person.
Both
the writings of Nussbaum and the Dalai Lama reflect the moral values of
compassion. Compassion is looking at
someone who is suffering and less fortunate, comparing ourselves to them, and
then realizing what it’s like to be in that person’s place. Compassion helps us to realize how alike we
really are, giving us sympathetic feelings towards others. The Dalai Lama writes that without compassion
“we can inflict suffering upon fellow humans and other human beings” (Dalai
Lama 2). This idea supports the fact
that we are fighting wars and still trying to reach peace in this world. Therefore, the Dalai Lama states that
“Compassion is the pillar of world peace” (Dalai Lama 2).
One
day, while taking a walk, take a look at the trees and think of the value that
they have for all living things. They
provide shelter, food, oxygen, and other needs to the many species on this
planet. If our society keeps working the
way it is now, we will never be able to look deeply into things and realize our
“humanitarian values.” According to the
Dalai Lama, our society today is focused on “material comfort” more so than
“humanitarian values.” As a matter of
fact, our society barely focuses on “humanitarian values” at all. For instance, technology is moving at such a
fast rate that pretty soon we could have computers that give us all the answers
to math problems, history questions, and many other things. We would no longer be able to exercise our
minds and reason which would make the human race very weak. We are also using things as simple as trees
for “material comfort.” Has the thought
ever crossed anyone’s mind that with all the deforestation, we are not learning
to live rationally? At this rate,
polluted air and other dangers will increase and so will the loss of shelter to
many species who can become extinct (Dalai Lama 3). The future outcomes of these problems are
very frightening.
Martha
Nussbaum also wrote about empathizing with others to bring about
compassion. The idea of empathizing
supports the Dalai Lama’s idea of “humanitarian values.” Without empathy and compassion, we will never
notice or feel strongly about our “humanitarian values.” When we look at someone who is suffering and
put ourselves in their place, we do not think of “material comfort.” In a situation of fear and guilt we tend to
focus on our “humanitarian values.” Did
you ever notice that when people are near death, they usually take a walk and take
in everything that they can? They look
at the world in an un-materialistic way, and feel guilt for the many times they
turned to “material comfort.”
It
is a necessity that each individual look past their own “self interest” and
into the “self interest” of others. We
must do this to establish “universal responsibility.” It is extremely unwise to only think about
one’s own happiness. Without empathy, we
will not be able to reach “mutual interest.”
I have noticed that when a person makes another happy, simply by understanding
their needs, the happiness is not temporary. Unlike selfish “self interest,” “mutual interest” will create a lifetime of
happiness.
Living
in the center of a war may bring about fear, but it also brings about
compassion and “mutual interest.” Many
of us are oblivious to the fact that a war can really break out here in the