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January 03, 2008

Is the World Safe for Moderates?

Simon Gikandi has a heart-wrenching editorial in today's Business Daily in Nairobi, Kenya regarding the shocking, sudden chaos that has come to Kenya following what many perceive to be a stolen election. Gikandi compares Kenya's current situation to the circumstances leading up to the horrific Rwandan genocide in the 1990s and in the process, intentionally or otherwise, demonstrates what a dangerous world it has become for moderates. It makes me weep.

Hatred is growing around the world, and it seems that even here in our own country, people are increasingly bent on hatred and deepening divisions. We might like to believe that what is happening in Kenya could never happen here, but then nobody thought this level of violence could come to Kenya, either.

Lest you think tribalism is a phenomenon confined to the African continent, I would remind you that not only do we have strong undercurrents of hatred over race and sexual orientation in this country that occasionally surface, but the divide between liberal and conservative is becoming extremely dangerous, with more and more people whispering about the need for urgent, deadly action against the other side to "save the country." We must do all we can to build bridges of understanding between people or this world will never see peace.

Posted by Becky at January 3, 2008 03:15 PM