Faith in Humanity

I hitchhiked in Israel. I hitchhiked in Palestine. I hitchhiked in Russia. I hitchhiked in Ukraine. Do you know what all of those places have in common? Every single person I met there was awesome. Often we had lifestyles, beliefs, or opinions that contradicted each other, but that was no barrier to having a great time together. I found myself on the receiving end of huge acts of generosity from people who were supposed to hate me; Palestinians who were told by the media that Jews want to kill them yet when a Jew showed up on their doorstep they invited me in for dinner, Russians who were told by the media that everything American is shit yet when an American appeared in their passenger seat we laughed about the ridiculousness of our prejudices and they went out of their way to take me to my destination. 

When I went to Israel, I expected to be offended by the general attitude towards Palestinians. I don’t support walls or armies or any sort of oppression, and if you open instagram, you’ll probably get the impression that the country is full of aggressive hateful murderers. My experience was exactly the opposite. I spent numerous nights sitting around campfires with Israelis and Palestinians who have lived their lives together advocating for peace, and countless days hitchhiking and meeting people of all sorts of backgrounds who could only be described as genuinely nice humans. I felt an indescribable sense of love and belonging. I had so much faith in humanity. 

Fast-forward several years. Now what? I got old. I generally opt for the comfort of taking the bus or driving my own car over hitchhiking. When I travel, I sleep in my camper van isolated from the people around me or visit friends who share a similar perspective as mine. I rarely spend time with people who have vastly different beliefs from myself, and even less often do I give them an opportunity to express their generosity and humanity to me. 

Instead, I consume their hateful messages on social media. Some of them are acquaintances that I never got to know. Others are people who I used to respect but their online personas have become consumed by the impulse to jump on the bandwagon of the team considered more “cool” in their social circle and prove to the world that everyone should hate everything about the other team. Except it’s not about sports teams, it’s about countries and ethnicities and human lives. 

I’m triggered. I’m angry. I’m scared. I lost my faith in humanity. Everything I’m reading contradicts my own lived experience. The Israel that I experienced is exactly the opposite of the Israel in the propaganda. The Russia that I experienced is lightyears away from the Russia on TV. I know, they must be talking about the actions of the governments—governments which I am outspokenly opposed to—but it doesn’t read that way. When I open social media and see the very narrow and biased picture of what Joey is outraged about today, I perceive the brewing hatred that he is emanating into the world towards entire populations, ethnicities, and individual citizens. That’s probably not his intention, but it’s his reality. The armchair activists of Facebook and Instagram claim to call for peace yet effectively perpetuate war by spreading hate and dividing people along ethnic/national lines. Isn’t that ironic? 

Imagine for a second, what if I encountered these people in a different situation? What if I invited one of them to lunch and we chatted about our love for pizza and kittens? What if they helped me fix a flat tire and bought me an ice cream? That surge of anger wouldn’t be there. We’d bid farewell with an enlightened faith in humanity and personal proof that the world is filled with nice people. That’s why I deleted social media apps from my phone. I enjoy living in my happy world filled with nice people. I encourage you to try it too. 

The greatest form of activism is to love. Instead of sharing a triggering post about why everyone should hate Israel, try hugging an Israeli. And then hug a Palestinian. And then hug someone else without knowing where they’re from. Seeing the humanity in those that your Instagram acquaintance says you should disagree with is the ultimate way to have a real positive impact on the world.