Many women are not treated well in the Middle East, and this reality stands as an impediment to progress. Women are the givers of life, and the caretakers of life, and if you demean them, aren’t you in effect demeaning life itself? Women, as the protectors of their children are naturally inclined toward peace, and if you demean them aren’t you in effect negating the possibility of peace? Women, as the “managers” of their households are naturally predisposed to getting things done, and if you demean them aren’t you in effect paralyzing yourself into a state of inertia?

There is a natural balance intended between the feminine and the masculine. Each part comprises half of the whole, and the whole is intended to comprise more than the sum of its parts. That’s why a good marriage is a blessing for the generations.

When men throw that balance out of balance, with false belief, and a false sense of themselves, and a flase sense of entitlement, then they are bringing big trouble upon themselves, the kind of trouble that puts a society out of kilter, and that brings to the surface all the resentments that stain the fabric of love.

It is not only the role of women that has been put out of balance as a result of false belief. It is a lot of other things, like the environment, like ideological extremism, and like our indifference in seeing others suffer the ravages of poverty.

If we want to live good and worthwhile lives, we have no choice but to bring a semblance of order to our lives. And that sense or order cannot be predicated on false belief, such as the belief that we are somehow superior because we are men, or because we believe in this or that religion, or because we are wealthy, or because of our race, etc.

A sense or order will emerge in the world when people the world over begin to believe what makes sense, and begin to buy into an ideology of common sense. There are universal truths that have been put in place, and that we ignore at our peril. We have to somehow find the courage to let go of some of what we believe, in favor of what we know deep down to be true. The courage that we usually reserve for battle, is the courage we now have to summon for the battle that must be waged in our hearts and minds.