Good and Evil; Perspectives and Narratives

“There are no facts, only interpretations.”

- Friedrich Nietzsche

Shalom everyone,

With the kidnapping and subsequent murder of three Israeli teenagers, suffice to say, the news has been perturbing, with riots, arguments, and grieving on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. I wanted to bring this up today because it reminded me of an important point that I learned from my Study Abroad trip that I took this past Winter. The topic was on philanthropy, and my cohort and I were hearing from several "Peace-Process" Organizations that facilitated discourse about the conflict.

There was one particular group called the "Parent's Circle". They consisted of parents, adults, and members who lost something from the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, mainly a child. From several narratives and listening to both sides of a story, hearing from these groups merely reaffirmed a precept that I always believed in ever since I was able to sympathize with characters from all sorts of stories and tales. This precept involved the concept of perspective and how no one is ever really "good" or "evil" in any sense.

In actuality, I believe that everyone is in this "grey area" that is characterized by a myriad of thoughts, feelings, intentions, and perspectives. I believe this because, while looking at the news and stories about conflicts and global disasters, each story has a side that interprets a narrative a certain way. That side, for better or for worse, leads to an interpretation that conclusively characterizes a person's moral dimension. But, it is ever really as simple as that? These sides believe that they are doing good for their people; so, if anything, can we ever characterize people by these "black and white" standards that have flooded media, literature, conversations, and aspects of our lives?

I think the truth is that "Good and Evil" are merely constructed out of our own perspectives, our own narratives that we consistently create, shape, and change. How do we begin to see other aspects of people, other than a "Good or Evil" characterization? Maybe through involvement, maybe through conversation, but most importantly, through understanding between others and other parties that have suffered the same consequences, which is why dialogue and cooperation, rather than immediate action, are so important in these types of situations. Even if sides do not agree to work with one another, there needs to be a mutual understanding and respect in order to move forward; otherwise, it seems like a circle that will inevitably cling to a problem.

On the same level, philanthropy aims to understand others through taking into account an individual's needs and what they need help with or what they want to work on, as I am learning through my research at the Institute for Philanthropy at Tel Aviv University. However, social-responsibility is not an easy concept to incorporate in many respects, especially when perspectives are irreconcilable and many are not willing to work with one another. That is an individual's challenge if one wants to be philanthropic in a world where misunderstandings are plentiful and the victims, abundant.

Until next time,
Joel