Let us condemn violence as a way to solve issues
On Oct. 7, the world awoke to horrible images from the Middle East. These images showed destruction, death, and abject human suffering. On Oct. 13, there was a response, with more images of the same.
We generally refrain from weighing in on international affairs as a town. All too often, people in positions of authority jump to render editorial comments stating their personal perspectives, despite the reality that many within a community might disagree with their views.
It occurs to me that within a welcoming, diverse, and academic community like ours, it is far better to foster a climate where people can decide for themselves where they stand on particular issues, be it the situation in Gaza, the election of a U.S. president, the future of a dam, or the wording on a New Hampshire state historic marker.
Accordingly, notwithstanding what we are all witnessing in Gaza and Israel, I have evaluated the threshold question of whether to speak out, and if so, what to say. Members of the Town Council and I have been hearing from members of the Durham community, some counseling us to say something, and others urging that we take no position.
Through my many years of work in local government, I understand that issues can be difficult, multi-faceted, nuanced, complicated by time, emotion, experience, religious or political belief, incomplete information, and driven by economics, power, or personal benefit. While there is no perfect system of governance, I believe in the merit of the rule of law and legal norms derived through a democratic process ultimately answerable to the people.
Regardless of an actor's rationale, disrespect for the law solves nothing. Taken to the extreme, it creates an unending cycle of cruelty where all reason evaporates. Bullets, missiles, and bombs eventually replace dialogue.
We should all condemn a circumstance where violence supplants discourse. There is no justification for killing innocent civilians, anywhere. This is as true in the Middle East as it is in Ukraine, Sri Lanka, Darfur and other places where violence and genocide occur.
Many members of our Durham community are deeply affected by these tragic events, and I urge community members to reach out and support one another. Hatred, whether antisemitism, Islamophobia, racial animus or in any other form, has no place in the Durham community, nor anywhere in a civilized society.
Let us condemn violence as a way to solve issues, no matter how complicated or longstanding.
To quote a section of the Oath of the Athenian citizens on the wall at Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship, “We will ever strive for the ideals and sacred things of the city, both alone and with many; we will unceasingly seek to quicken the sense of public duty; we will revere and obey the city’s laws; we will transmit this city not only less, but greater, better, and more beautiful than it was transmitted to us.”
On behalf of our Human Rights Commission and the town of Durham, I encourage members of our community to work together to promote and provide equal opportunity for and good will toward all people. Todd Selig is the long-time administrator for the town of Durham.