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The
Root of All Evil: An Exposition of Prejudice, Fundamentalism and
Gender Imbalance |
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About this book... |
Excerpt from Chapter One: "What force prompts human beings to destroy other people, nations and our environment—ignoring the results and knowledge gleaned from thousands of years of evolution? Our history reveals that religious, political and economic institutions have continuously conspired to denigrate, demonize and destroy the other, despite the fact that all of the world’s religions teach love and respect for one another, and that our legal institutions were created to assure ethical standards for social relationships. If we are to survive as a human family, we have to become more accountable for our actions and eliminate religious, racial, ethnic and gender prejudice, selfishly motivated political power and economic greed. This effort requires an in-depth examination of the various forces that motivate human behaviors..." Four women set out to investigate the current state of world affairs and the historical events that have brought us to the brink of human destruction. These women are not educated historians or politicians. Sharon Mijares is a Psychologist, Aliaa Rafea is an Egyptian Anthropologist. Rachel Falik is a specialist in Organizational Psychology. Jenny Eda Schipper is an artist and Yoga instructor. Each one of these women cared enough about our common humanity to go beyond the spoon-fed daily news to see what is really taking place in political realms. They took on the task of examining the root causes of prejudice and fundamentalism, tracing back to the onset of patriarchy and its hierarchical emphasis. The patriarchal paradigm is built upon hierarchical principles, the belief that someone always has to be superior to another. Although hierarchy is a natural process in nature, within the human being it appears to motivate evil behaviors; for example, one religion, nation, race, neighbor or gender has to be superior to another. Together, these four women track what has happened since the onset of patriarchy through the neo-cons’ vision for “full spectrum dominance.” The book also addresses each of the world’s major religions, illustrating the message of each founder and then stressing the religion’s inability to fulfill this message because of patriarchal influence. Many of the world’s problems will begin to shift in a positive direction as women take a larger role in both parliament and religious leadership. Women have a natural understanding of relationship. Our ideals and visions cannot be realized until we have gender balance in this world. The future of the human race is dependent upon this paradigmatic shift. From the Preface by Sr. Joan Chittister: We live in an era when over two-thirds of the US population says that this country is going in the wrong direction. And with good reason! We now have over 10,000,000 children in this country without health insurance, Social Security is at risk, the national deficit is higher than at any other time in US history, and billions of dollars have been spent recklessly and lavishly on a war waged without reason, fought without success, and, in the end, managed to do more to create terrorism than to end it . The situation seems clear: it is, indeed, time for a change. But of what? Simply the administration that has been so clearly and foolishly committed to such a situation? Or is there something far deeper than present policies that demands attention?... This book, “The Root of All Evil,” exposes the problem under the problem. It says, in brief, that the world is being consumed by a fundamentalism that strikes at the heart of every major religious tradition on earth. It says, too, that societies, in league with religious fundamentalism, have repressed the gifts and advancement of women–and so the feminine qualities that moderate violence. And it says finally that the gender imbalance that marks every major human institution as a result of the repression of women and the gifts of women must be righted if the human race is ever to become fully human. If the human race is to survive its own violence, racism, fear and prejudices. What’s more, “The Root of All Evil” brings theology, history, psychology, anthropology, systems theory and the models of the great religious prophets themselves to the bar of the questions. It is a stunning overview of ideals supported by science, embodied in history and ignored by groups and leaders, institutions and nations everywhere in the race to power, greed and human destruction. There is an answer to why we do it, there is a solution at hand. The only obstacle now is ourselves. Knowing all of this, will we do what we can to change the world one heart at a time, beginning with our own? What can people like us, women, who understand struggle and conflict and powerlessness like few others–but who also know better than most, as well–that violence has never solved violence and never will–do about it? Taken from the Preface by Sr. Joan Chittister, OSB From the back cover of the book: The work of Sharon Mijares, Aliaa Rafea, Rachel Falik and Jenny Eda Schipper is a collective journey into being human. A Muslim from Egypt, a Christian mystic from America, a Jew from the U.S. and a Jew from Israel (but currently living in the U.S.), they have been able to transcend their differences in the search for common ground. This book is therefore very much a labor of love, and a journey of self discovery and of understanding the other. They demonstrate by their words and deeds that the essence of love and tolerance at the core of all religions, of all great traditions, is universal. They are deeply committed to ensuring that the patriarchal viewpoint that dominates so much of the world today does not obscure women’s rights as human rights. Their book rings with honesty and a desire to learn from the past to create a new future. All of us who are unhappy at the state of the world today, can appreciate their taking the time and trouble to share their caring and compassion, their journey of discovery of the self and the other. The world needs many more like these four courageous authors. See Table of Contents...
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