We live in a continuous culture of blame; and it is based on this culture of blaming the ‘other’ that we define our existential worldview. This tragic and disastrous worldview nurtures a stand-point that constructs the meaning of right and wrong, not on values and principles which are life giving, but on very narrow and concrete understanding of humanity that is fear driven. This is often responsible for dichotomizing human life into pockets of insular thinking that clearly differentiates between ‘us’ and ‘them.’
Considering that the polarization is defined along the lines of ‘us versus them,’ the culture of blame inevitably leads in creating an unforgiving society which simultaneously breeds a culture of impunity for its own. Frequently in such knee jerk process of thinking, the polarization has little or nothing to do with the initial differences itself. Rather the fear and hate for the perceived other lies at the heart of its ideology. It doesn’t take much imagination to see how people find brief moments of unity when they have successfully identified the ‘other’ as the real source of their own insecurity.
This practice of naming and branding has been quite evident in international relations, when the Democratic countries unleashed a campaign of hate and alienation against Communist states. In more recent times, repressive and insecure groups in the Islamic world demonize a mythical Christian ‘West’, while culturally confused, sceptical and frightened European and North American societies cling to the picture of a global militant Islam, determined to “destroy our way of life.” At the ground level, don’t you hear about locals blaming migrants and non-locals for their disadvantaged situation? It is not surprising that the concept of fear and the culture of blame have formed a mechanism that fuels most of the conflicts in the world today.
This is not to dismiss the fact that some of the fears are real. Sure, some of these fears are very real and frightening. Yet, it is the exploitation of these fears that are the problem. And it will not be wrong to say that in a culture of blame, the exploitation of fear is a silent accomplice. It is the deliberate exploitation of fear that prevents the possibilities of finding a solution; and this breeds a collective untruthfulness, which makes any rational handling of such fears infinitely harder.
The culture of blame and fear creates a mechanism which breeds a mentality that always seeks to mirror the one who is threatening you. It produces the zero-sum situation that criticizes and renders negotiations to futility. Worst of all, it gives a fragile society an interest in keeping some sort of conflict ongoing with the other. Consciously or not, political leaders in a variety of contexts are so reluctant and adamant to let go of an enemy who has become indispensable to their own stability. Invariably it only yields self-destruction and further chaotic fear.
We are all guilty of immense evasion, and for colluding with the system of fear. No doubt the mechanism that keeps the culture of blame and fear running is universal and has been ingrained and conditioned in how we behave. Yet there is hope because this mechanism can be changed. It begins when we recognize that our complicity has ensured its continued survival and when we acknowledge that we do not have to perceive those who do not think like us to be a threat to everything. We must believe that there are certain life-giving values that will survive no matter what may happen to human history. We need to re-create a culture of hope that helps us to embrace and accommodate all of life.
