I thought I would change it up a little bit today. My topic concerns something I am rather passionate about, and I believe most people are similarly passionate with regard to theirs. But recently, I came to a disturbing realization regarding this topic, which I will elaborate on now.
We all have belief systems. In general, it is dangerous to suggest that everyone possesses something or thinks a certain way, but in this case, I feel confident in my claim. While all our respective belief systems might be incredibly varied and different from one another, we all still have something we believe in. We all have something that guides our actions and our choices, whether it is our culture, our religion, or perhaps even simply the rules and laws of our particular society. We all believe something.
Ironically, I am not going to discuss any particular belief systems or whether any particular system is correct or incorrect, save for one aspect that this article will be concerning itself with. I am going to discuss the idea of converting others to my belief system.
In the Christian faiths, there are the Missionaries who travel to far away lands and try to convert the indigenous populations of those places to Christianity. The Crusades from under a thousand years ago were focused on this idea: to change the belief systems of others to their own belief system.
When the Europeans (the English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese in particular) crossed the Atlantic Ocean to colonize the “New World,” they too were on a mission to convert. However, for them, it was not so much about changing the belief system of the indigenous peoples to the European ways, so much as installing a belief system where there was none in the first place. This couldn’t have been further from the truth of the situation, and we continue to see the repercussions of this ongoing project to this day. Here in Canada, the Residential School fiasco has continued in one form or another to this day, with no signs of slowing. The only real progress that could be said to be made under the circumstances is that more people are aware of the situation than before.
One more poignant example of this is the American “War on Terrorism,” which lead to the war in Afghanistan. At this moment, America (and its allies) are in the process of evacuating the devastated country in an attempt to undo one of the biggest mistakes they’ve made in a while. Ultimately, what this war was about is precisely the topic I am discussing: the Taliban have a belief system, which the Americans disprove of, and hence the Americans used the excuse of the 9/11 Attacks to try and impose their own belief system on various peoples on the other side of the globe. Certainly there are many, many more reasons for the choice to go to war, including economics and establishing a presence near Russia, however, it is the desire to change the belief systems of the local Afghani population that is at the heart of the occupation.
For myself personally, I have been appalled by each and every one of these situations. It took most of my life to realize the gravity of my own privilege and situation, to see how many people have to suffer so that I can live the life of luxury that I live to this day. I understand, now, the path that many people have taken to produce me and get me to my present circumstances I find myself in. The truth is, I really shouldn’t exist at all.
That all said, I do exist. I am here, and I am trying to make a difference in the world. I am trying to fight to make this world a better place. But what I recently realized was that I am no better than any of these other people who have done these horrific things. I to am focused squarely on imposing my belief system on others.
There are many aspects to my beliefs that I honestly wish I could share with others. Other aspects that I feel would ultimately result in a significant improvement of the world were others to share those beliefs with me. However, as I suggested at the outset, there is really just one aspect I will focus on for this article: the belief in imposing my beliefs on others.
This is a bit of a meta topic, but I want to be clear about what my concern is here. I hold a belief that others need not share my beliefs. That is, while I expect others to allow me my beliefs, I don’t necessarily expect them to share in my beliefs. I expect them to allow me to retain my belief system, in spite of their own. I believe that we all should be permitted to hold onto our own respective belief systems. This is an aspect of my belief system, and it is important for me to recognize this. However, there is an insidious truth to my belief: while on the surface it purports to not require others to share my beliefs, it actually does.
If you were to allow me my beliefs, it would only be because you share in this aspect of my belief system. Your belief system would need to be such that it supports allowing me to retain my beliefs. This is critically important, and suggests that I am, on some level, expecting you to share in my belief system, at least in part. Furthermore, if you do not share in this particular aspect of my belief system, I will be inclined to fight you and try to alter your belief system to make concessions in this regard.
To put this all another way, let us say that you do not share this aspect of my belief system. Like those groups above I mentioned, let us say you hold the belief that your belief system is in some way better than mine, and that you will make an effort to convert me; that you will fight and work towards making me change my belief system to match your own. Naturally, as should be expected, I will resist. I will fight back to retain my own belief system. But this amounts to me fighting to change your belief system to accommodate mine. That is, in order to defend my position, I have to alter yours. Even if it were the only aspect of your belief system I needed to change (which is highly unlikely as I’d likely have to reform many other parts of your belief system as well), this still amounts to me working toward changing your belief system.
What this all amounts to is that in any environment where there are individuals or groups who have differing belief systems, there will still need to be some commonality between those belief systems in order for them to peacefully coexist. In a heterogeneous environment of belief systems, they will all need to be tolerant of the other opposing belief systems. Because if there is even one belief system in the mix that contains an aspect that includes converting other belief systems to its own, there will be fighting and conflict as those holding that belief system will be constantly trying to impose their beliefs on the others. This is, in a nutshell, a description of Canada.
To be more specific, the overarching belief system that exists in Canada is an English, Christian belief system, originally inherited by the British during colonization of the Americas. Clearly, there also exists a French, Christian belief system and many others. However, many of the others are not recognized in their own right, such as the belief systems of many of the indigenous cultures throughout the country. And the primary issue that exists within this environment is that both the English and French systems DO include a belief that other beliefs need to be converted. This is the purpose of the Residential Schools, and of the various manifestations of those schools that continue to exist to this day. Their sole purpose is to take the local, indigenous cultures and convert their belief systems to one that is compatible with the English and French systems. And these projects are not exclusive to indigenous peoples. My partner’s mother underwent similar reeducation in her youth as her family’s belief system (which was predominantly Ukrainian) was in conflict with the belief systems at the time as well.
This is all a very large and hairy mess. So what might we do to resolve this situation? Unfortunately, what it seems to suggest is that all peoples and their belief systems need to bear a common thread. This thread needs to be an aspect that allows for tolerance of alternative belief systems. Any belief system that does not include this common thread would need to be extinguished or changed to include this thread. We do observe some of this sort of thing happening in our world today, where some belief systems do have to adapt to the times, lest they perish.
But what about those belief systems that refuse to change, and whose followers are so vast and powerful to prevent the actual extinction of their belief system? Unfortunately, their continued existence would seem to suggest a different sort of resolution: all out war. That is, those belief systems that will not tolerate competition will continue to fight until either they win, or they are exterminated. Unfortunately, this also seems to be the state of affairs in the world today.
This is what happened in Afghanistan: a belief system was attempted to be imposed upon a people, with the intent to exterminate the existing belief system. After 20 years, a significant portion of the population was actually converted to the American belief system (even in part). But the previously existing belief system still very much exists in the region, with a significant portion of the population still embracing that belief system. With the evacuation of American (and allied) troops, it should be no surprise to us that the previous belief system will likely overwhelm the region, as it did before the outside influence.
I admit, I do not agree with their belief system. As a large proponent of feminism, I too fear for the well being of the female population in Afghanistan. Aside from the suffering itself, I also worry about the serious waste of skilled labour and artistic contribution that will be lost to the reassertion of the previous belief system. To hold such a belief system would seem (to me) to be in direct contradiction to a progressive and successful society (after all, about half of your people’s potential is being dismissed and outright lost). However, as I have also been suggesting since the beginning, all of this is a part of my belief system. For the Taliban, I imagine they will not see it this way.