Love my neighbor?
One of the core teachings for Jews, Christians and Muslims is to love our neighbor as ourselves. In the New Testament which for Christians is a holy book, in Matthew, Mark and Luke there is a version of the twin commandments to love God and to love your neighbor as yourself. In the Sunnah, the collection of words and deeds by the Prophet of Islam which were put together and transcribed two centuries after Muhammad’s ministry the commandment is “love for your brother what you love for yourself. “ (“(https://www.oasiscenter.eu/en/love-thy-neighbour-in-islam)
In Buddhist philosophy there is also a recognition that we need to treat ourselves and others with unconditional love.
It is, of course, not surprising that us humans are very creative in convincing ourselves we are doing the work of the God of our understanding without having to give up or let go of or biases and prejudices. Obviously, if we are required to love our neighbor as ourselves and all people are our neighbor (brother/sister) then the choice is to either treat ourselves as badly as we treat our neighbor or treat ourselves and our neighbors well. The third option, of course, is to redefine who is our neighbor. This is the option we most often have chosen. Historically nations have used words like enemy, insurgents, terrorist, Jap, evil and many others to dehumanize and thus, allow for the killing of others. Both sides in conflicts do this.
In the United States historically we have crafted and enforced laws which treated women, people of different genders, people of different races or colors, people of different sexual orientations, or people with particular addictions as less then -non-human - and thus, not our neighbor, excluding them from the commandment. Many of us want to be considered good people who obey the laws and rules of the God of our understanding. We must appear to do so or even convince ourselves that we are doing what the God of our understanding requires. I have previously referenced the work of Jay Lifton in The Nazi Doctors where he reports that the death certificate of those killed in the gas chambers was signed by a licensed physician to “prove” they were doing what was right.
Some would suggest the prophets and other sacred teachers clearly understood what the work of science is clearly validating; the universe (s) is a system. One cannot take an action or a non-action (which is an action) without affecting the entire system. Not taking care of ourselves affects our neighbor and the rest of the universe. Not taking care of our neighbor and the rest of the universe affects the entire system. Every part of the universe is interconnected. I cannot, as some would suggest, claim an action is just affecting me and, thus is no one’s business.
If we are to love our neighbor as ourselves and if all are our neighbor then we must wear a mask and we must get a vaccination. Obviously there are those few people who cannot medically safely wear a mask. There are those who have severe allergies to egg-based vaccination and possibly other ingredients. They may not be able to safely take the vaccine. It is my experience and understanding that before administering any covid-19 vaccines those administering it are asking if one has a history of a reaction to the flu shot or any other vaccine or shot.
For those who maintain that it is their right to not wear a mask or get a vaccine I suggest you try to function without any connection to the rest of the community. Even when I worked in Alaska individuals and families who were attempting to live off the grid called for help from the coast guard when someone in the family, especially children, were sick.
One woman with whom I recently talked claimed that she was not a threat to anyone because she never went out, but she had just gone out to her hair done. The fact that she was the only one with the beautician did not prevent her from passing along some illness or vice versa. Another person to whom I talked claimed that the vaccine was designed for population control. Obviously this is true. The vaccine is designed to keep more people alive.
I have yet to hear a cogent argument for not loving ourselves as we love our neighbor and not loving our neighbor as ourselves . It is perhaps time we either accept all of us as equally deserving of love or decide none of us are deserving of love. The later will ensure the quicker demise of the planet which will make this teaching null and void.
If we are all deserving of love and respect I suggest all who are medically able wear a mask and get a vaccine as soon as they are are able.
Written January 12, 2021
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
One of the core teachings for Jews, Christians and Muslims is to love our neighbor as ourselves. In the New Testament which for Christians is a holy book, in Matthew, Mark and Luke there is a version of the twin commandments to love God and to love your neighbor as yourself. In the Sunnah, the collection of words and deeds by the Prophet of Islam which were put together and transcribed two centuries after Muhammad’s ministry the commandment is “love for your brother what you love for yourself. “ (“(https://www.oasiscenter.eu/en/love-thy-neighbour-in-islam)
In Buddhist philosophy there is also a recognition that we need to treat ourselves and others with unconditional love.
It is, of course, not surprising that us humans are very creative in convincing ourselves we are doing the work of the God of our understanding without having to give up or let go of or biases and prejudices. Obviously, if we are required to love our neighbor as ourselves and all people are our neighbor (brother/sister) then the choice is to either treat ourselves as badly as we treat our neighbor or treat ourselves and our neighbors well. The third option, of course, is to redefine who is our neighbor. This is the option we most often have chosen. Historically nations have used words like enemy, insurgents, terrorist, Jap, evil and many others to dehumanize and thus, allow for the killing of others. Both sides in conflicts do this.
In the United States historically we have crafted and enforced laws which treated women, people of different genders, people of different races or colors, people of different sexual orientations, or people with particular addictions as less then -non-human - and thus, not our neighbor, excluding them from the commandment. Many of us want to be considered good people who obey the laws and rules of the God of our understanding. We must appear to do so or even convince ourselves that we are doing what the God of our understanding requires. I have previously referenced the work of Jay Lifton in The Nazi Doctors where he reports that the death certificate of those killed in the gas chambers was signed by a licensed physician to “prove” they were doing what was right.
Some would suggest the prophets and other sacred teachers clearly understood what the work of science is clearly validating; the universe (s) is a system. One cannot take an action or a non-action (which is an action) without affecting the entire system. Not taking care of ourselves affects our neighbor and the rest of the universe. Not taking care of our neighbor and the rest of the universe affects the entire system. Every part of the universe is interconnected. I cannot, as some would suggest, claim an action is just affecting me and, thus is no one’s business.
If we are to love our neighbor as ourselves and if all are our neighbor then we must wear a mask and we must get a vaccination. Obviously there are those few people who cannot medically safely wear a mask. There are those who have severe allergies to egg-based vaccination and possibly other ingredients. They may not be able to safely take the vaccine. It is my experience and understanding that before administering any covid-19 vaccines those administering it are asking if one has a history of a reaction to the flu shot or any other vaccine or shot.
For those who maintain that it is their right to not wear a mask or get a vaccine I suggest you try to function without any connection to the rest of the community. Even when I worked in Alaska individuals and families who were attempting to live off the grid called for help from the coast guard when someone in the family, especially children, were sick.
One woman with whom I recently talked claimed that she was not a threat to anyone because she never went out, but she had just gone out to her hair done. The fact that she was the only one with the beautician did not prevent her from passing along some illness or vice versa. Another person to whom I talked claimed that the vaccine was designed for population control. Obviously this is true. The vaccine is designed to keep more people alive.
I have yet to hear a cogent argument for not loving ourselves as we love our neighbor and not loving our neighbor as ourselves . It is perhaps time we either accept all of us as equally deserving of love or decide none of us are deserving of love. The later will ensure the quicker demise of the planet which will make this teaching null and void.
If we are all deserving of love and respect I suggest all who are medically able wear a mask and get a vaccine as soon as they are are able.
Written January 12, 2021
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
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