Shortly after the bombing of Baghdad I heard the author, Amy Tan, speak about her home burning to the ground. She drew corollaries between the decimation of her belongings, her house, her historical markers and the looting of the main museum in Baghdad. She explained that there was conscious culpability in allowing all of the precious artifacts in the Baghdad museum to be stolen, destroyed and irreparably scattered in all directions. Such dissolution of continuity permanently dissolves the footing of the inhabitants represented in the collection, maintenance and artifacts themselves. Maybe all we saw was some hoodlum running down the street with an ancient ceramic pot, but it was actually the thread of a culture unraveling. It was intentional and served a very specific purpose; erasing a nation’s ethos forever.
As Donald Rumsfeld told the world, this would be swift, effective and complete. He used the terrible phrase, “shock and awe.”
Shock and awe, technically known as rapid dominance, is a military doctrine based on the use of overwhelming power, dominant battlefield awareness, dominant maneuvers, and spectacular displays of force to paralyze an adversary's perception of the battlefield and destroy its will to fight. (WIKI)
What is it that we believe, and behave as if, destruction can build? Heal? Solve? It seems insane at its core. But no matter the obvious insanity when examined, we continue to pollute, smash, break, disassemble, as if it results in claiming ownership. And lets not forget to consider if the original booty is so defiled, no one wants it, including the marauders.
It may seem like a leap but bear with me for a moment when I propose that this paradigm applies to a home, a neighborhood, a museum, a country AND a family. The Texas DA simply dispatched authorities to go in and disassemble the FLDS family. This had no resemblance to protection, healing, informing, saving or rescuing. If the people who grew up in the FLDS community were ever afraid of the outside world, this confirmed all of their suspicions ~ that the public rips mothers from children, has no respect for community ethos and, in some insane drive for rapid dominance, dissolves everything in their path.
It would have been so much better, effective, long-lasting to be the absolute opposite ~ to come in with kindness, inquiry, inclusion, education, openness. To be attractive not repulsive. To enter with books and information and movies and patience and, through these unexpected gifts and services, build a wider world vision, not destroy the community the FLDS members love beyond common understanding but present the possibility of expansion beyond Zion Ranch walls.
Jessop did what many faith leaders do, they fall in love with their own reflection in the eyes of their followers. He was removed. His community had lost their anchor. It was the best time, the correct time to offer a wider world view; to be examined and adopted at a pace that did not cause greater harm but safety; did not destroy but build bridges to the people on the other side of the fence; did not shame but showed that many people have faith in many ways and many of which lead to love and loving families.
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