Interesting Op-Ed from an Anthropologist in the NYT.

[varjohaltia]

Ending Religious Conflicts.

Comments

[haikujaguar.livejournal.com]

Interesting in what way? In the amount of cluelessness it exhibits? Or in how sad it is that there are people in our culture who have forgotten that ideals and immaterial things are worth fighting for?

[varjohaltia.livejournal.com]

Interesting in that if the research really is valid, that the conflict really seems to be practically entirely about value beliefs. It's obvious that it's about values, but what wasn't obvious to me was the sheer disgust at material compensation or that the issues of wealth in the form of land really didn't seem the be the issues disguised as battle of the holy land as much as the real belief in holy land to the exclusion of material / practical consideration. This obviously suggests that land-swap deals etc. are off to a bad start to begin with unless the land to be swapped miraculously is meaningful to one party but not the other.

Also, while it did sound positive, it didn't approach how to solve such conflicts if one or both sides aren't willing to give up core values or if both would have to give up a significant amount of them to reach consensus.

[haikujaguar.livejournal.com]

I continue (I admit) to wonder why this isn't common sense. Say you were trying to defend something dear to you... and then someone came up to you and said, "Hey, here's some money, that's a good trade for what you believe in, right?"

Wouldn't you be offended at the intimation that you could be bought? And wouldn't increasing the amount only offend you more, as if the idiot making the offer couldn't comprehend that, no, the AMOUNT of the material reward isn't the question?

[hyanan.livejournal.com]

Another interesting read! Thanks again! :)