The Conflict We Don't Want to End
El conflicto que no queremos terminar
A reflection on how identity fuels chronic conflict, both internally and on the political stage, and why those involved often unconsciously resist resolution.
The Conflict We Don't Want to End
A reflection on how identity fuels chronic conflict, both internally and on the political stage, and why those involved often unconsciously resist resolution.
There's all this turbulence all over the world. I'm going to Israel next week for three and a half weeks, and it's heavy duty there. It always is, every day, even on the quietest day, but now it's the most heavy duty I've known: political unrest and everything else. I happened upon a phenomenal quote, of all places, in a letter to the editor in The Economist. Not even a full article. Just a small letter. The writer quotes a psychoanalyst who was a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize. He devoted much of his life to chronic ethnic conflict, and he discovered that the people involved often unconsciously do not want to end the conflict.
Exactly.
Because who will they be? It's not just "who will I be," but "I'm part of this group," and that's even more powerful.
The dragon and the bridge
This connects to something we were just discussing. You go from a death battle with this beast, and suddenly it becomes a relationship of connection, empathy, love. He just walks across the bridge and says goodbye to the dragon. But that's internal, right? That's what I'm referring to: the benevolent presence. And it starts with yourself.
Identity as the engine of conflict
For the Jewish people, one of the most basic underlying patterns of thinking is: we need to survive as a people.
And that's identity. Because it's this people and not that people.
Exactly. And with that naturally comes the sense that we're special. The more special we feel, the more entitled we become, and the more problems we create. It's never-ending. I haven't spoken this openly about some of these things with most people, because I feel like they're just going to attack me: "You're against us. You're a traitor."
They will. Exactly.
But what I found so interesting is that this psychoanalyst, in my opinion, said one of the most intelligent things I've heard in a long time about these political issues. In other words: get off the political surface and get real.
It would be interesting to read that. If you have the article, send it to me.
I'll send you the quote. Thank you so much.
Very lovely, as always. A pleasure.