This situation makes getting anywhere by metro extremely slow as in order to switch lines you must always go to Termini, the main station and the only one that connects them. In order for me to reach my dance class which should be about a 25-30 minute drive (without traffic and with a dependable bus system-which is not the case in Rome), it takes me about an hour each way. This is why I usually try to make use of this time by reading or answering emails, etc. However, the metro is packed during rush hour and it is a hotspot for pickpocketing, so you have to be really careful about what you are carrying on you.
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| Map of the Metro |
Even so, today I had an experience unlike any other. On my way back from Friday night services, a group of students on board, that were members of a religious group, started professing their strong religious faith on the train. I was on my own and it was late, so I just sat there listening to what they were saying. Although we have different faiths, I firmly believe in respect and I didn´t make much of it. A few minutes later, one of them approached me and started asking me whether I believed in Jesus, to what I responded that I was Jewish. He introduced himself and started asking me what I thought about what they had said, to which I replied that I had a different faith but that I respected his beliefs and that I thought that at the end of the day it was all about being a good person. He than asked me if he could pray for me and I said he could and that I would pray to him in return. To my surprise he sat down next to me and asked me to start praying. I looked at him in confusion and he said he meant right there. I wasn´t very comfortable with this so I told him I would pray for him in my own way which for me wasn´t on the train. I respectfully asked him to end the conversation there but he refused. I asked again and again until he finally agreed and walked away to join a different conversation on the train. At this point, the other members of the group which were sitting next to me and in front at me just stared disapprovingly, so I turned to one of them and in my rudimentary Italian told them that I thought each person should be able to make their own choices. None of them responded and they just kept on staring.
After a couple more stops, I realized that the girl sitting next to me was a native English speaker, so I turned to her and asked her about what they were doing. She said it was a group of students that wanted to spread their love for Jesus. Perhaps it was my mistake all along for engaging with them, but I felt very frustrated and decided to explain to her why I felt so uncomfortable with the situation in order for us to perhaps reach an understanding. So I told her what it was like being Jewish and living in a predominantly Catholic country. I explained to her that I had just left a religious service that was guarded by three soldiers and that by many I was not liked because of my faith. I told her that I appreciated that what they were doing was creating a much needed conversation to remove barriers and generate the understanding and tolerance the world desperately needs, so I thanked her for that. However, I also told her, that I felt a bit uneasy about the way I was approached because I felt as though they were preaching to me and not really hearing me out. I told her that I believe in being a good person above all and I thought she was a good person as well, however that I also believed in respect and tolerance towards people that may think a little differently than you do. She listened, however, once I was done, she responded that for her Jesus was at the center and that there was nothing more important. I told her I respected that and although I had different beliefs we were all striving to become the best version of ourselves, that at the end of the day, through our actions we reflect what our religions are about, to which she just shook her head and told me that Jesus was everything and that this is what her life was centered around. At this moment I got to my stop, I turned to her and told her that although we may not see I to eye I respect her and I wish her the best.
I don´t know why this encounter affected me so much. I admire people who have such strong belief systems in the same way I do, but to me the way she responded unwilling to even acknowledge my point of view was very frustrating. It felt as though she saw me as misguided or inferior because I did not ascribe to the same belief system. But to me it is confusing because at the end of the day, faith should lead you to become a better person and to make the world a better place. So what does it matter what exactly you believe in, if it guides you towards bettering your life and that of those who surround you. So many people have died because of ideology rather than actions. We put so much weight into the intangible regardless of how it manifests itself in the physical world. I respect others and want to learn from them, however, in order to create a fruitful environment, others must do the same and this is what I felt was missing. Especially when I was alone on a train with people who felt differently than I did.
Looking back, I could have chosen not to engage, to pretend I didn´t understand, or to just move to the next cart. Even so, to me this is the problem with our current system. We have been putting such a focus on political correctness and safe spaces, that we have forgotten the importance of honest dialogue in order to create understanding. However, in order to promote the kind of dialogue we are talking about we must be able to acknowledge and respect the other person's side, even if it is not exactly what we like to hear. To be clear, I respect these students for the way they think, but I wanted them to do the same in return, or at least acknowledge that there are other valid points of view.
I am not against any religion, and this is not an attempt to offend anybody, it is just a situation I lived through and an attempt to make sense of it. All I want is to be able to have a sincere conversation and to be understood as well as understand. It is very easy to just overreact, and I hope none of you do, as a matter of fact I would love to here your point of view. All I am saying is we need to shift our conversations towards learning, not just to say blank statements or get somebody to change their mind, but to create understanding and tolerance between people. The same way I respect other people's ways of thinking I would hope that others do not try to change mine just for the sake of it, if in the end its all about making this world a better place.
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