Truth and Knowledge

In the 1300's people were actively hunting for witches. The black death, or bubonic plague, had killed over a third of the population in Europe. What we know now is that the plague was spread by rats who carried fleas, and it was the fleas that infected them with the plague. The witch hunters at the time didn't know this. All the people knew was fear. They were afraid of becoming sick and dying. They began to notice something. It seemed there were two groups of people who wasn't affected by the plague like everyone else. The two groups of people, they were the Jews and single widowed women. Once this was noticed and caught on, rumor's and talk began to spread and people were saying things like, they aren't suffering like us, or they must be evil. People were saying the ones not getting sick must have made a pact with the devil. Words of the tongue travel fast and these words compounded with fear led to the Jews and single widowed women to be blamed and hunted. The truth as to why these two groups were not affected by the plagued had not yet had a chance to reveal itself. Today we know the reason they weren't effected by the plague is that the Jews kept a kosher kitchen and because it was so clean they didn't have rats. As for the single widowed women, most of them had pets, mainly cats. The cats kept the rats away. People didn't know this or take the time to find out. They acted out of fear. The blame comforted their desire to have an answer. So single widowed woman, cats, and witches became intertwined and they became persecuted. Fast forward to our modern, technical worlds where answers often come immediately and you would think because of this we should have more patience and understanding, but some things never change. How many times today do you see people post an opinion or take a side when they don't even know the truth yet. Most of the time the truth is out there, but they haven't bothered to do a little self research. They see or read something that strikes a nerve in them and they act out. They just seem to strike out at others. How often have we ourselves done this? How many people have been emotionally hurt or relationships ended out of this striking out. Peace and Understanding is more then words, its an every present mindset you have to keep with you and practice all day. If we truly want to live in a better world, have the patience to overcome the initial urge to react, and form an well thought out decision with full understand, then we will have a better road to peace. I see this all the time in the macro and micronational world. Due to our technology and the interconnectivity of our world today, that means now we interacting with people from totally different geopolitical areas, different culture thoughts and ideas, in short a totally different way of thinking than ours. That in itself should make you stop and try to have more patience and understanding, but so often people just lash out from their own limited point of view. That's a thought to ponder on.