ISRAEL: "Bloodthirsty jihadist terrorists attack Israel. AGAIN! Naturally worried for the safety of her people, Israel defends herself. Terrorists in turn escalate their horrific attacks. Israel escalates the vigorousness of its defense for the security of its people. Both sides keep escalating and a lot of totally innocent Earthians die." (49 words. I think.)
PALESTINE et al: "The Occupiers step up their campaign to repress the Palestinian people and take yet more of their land. AGAIN! Palestinian freedom fighters respond however they can to such an overwhelming force. Israel in turn escalate their destruction. Both sides keep escalating and a lot of totally innocent Earthians die." (49 words. I think.)
There you have it, folks. Each has their own series of dates that they can come to the table with and heap all the blame at the feet of one another and the really ironic part is that they're both right, and, consequently, both wrong. All of which adds up to this weird, mutually suicidal cycle of Mayhem and Death, each contributing towards their own demise and each other’s. It's like they were made for one another, but only to destroy? There's nothing more similar to the Arabs than the Israelis. And vice versa. Maybe a little bit of a struggle to wrap your mind around but, I think, undeniable given the shit we've all now watched happen all our lives.
And here we all are. All my life I've heard it will never Change over there but I'll tell you something, I came to not just believe but to know on a very rational and cognitive basis that this is not the case, that in fact the very opposite is true. Why? Because they only thing that never changes is that fact that over time everything changes. Mammoth empires come and go like the tides or the wind. Ideologies rise, clash, reign and die, each one as sure as the other that theirs is the one true path for human collective organization. Each one, as mere human constructs, nothing more nor less, can only fail miserably. Over time.
All of which leads me to the inescapable conclusion that some day Arab and Israeli will bury their missiles in the desert and hold hands as brothers, as nuts as that may now sound to you and me. Maybe we drop our labels and flags and Nations and see ourselves as humans that have to collectively halt the awful things that we are doing to this earth, for example, let alone one another. Maybe Hillary Clinton, who tried to get universal healthcare for Americans as first lady and damn near became President a few years later is a person with the scope of mind to tackle such a herculean task head on and maybe that's why a forward thinking, Change-oriented dude like Bama picked her as Secretary of State in the first place. Not that she needs the help but throw Bill into the mix and the very savvy Joe Biden and you've got as good a shot at mideast Peace and, consequently, a spot on Rushmore as there's ever been.
Sure, he's got a handful of things on his plate, the worst inheritance from one President to another in American history: Wars, economic disparity, a reputation in tatters, a populace under seige, a world uncertain and afraid. And you're going to take on, what? World Peace? Really? Well, what if it's all related to one another, what if it's like a global situational ecosystem in which all things are not just related but interconnected in this newer, smaller planet of ours? I mean, really, isn't it that way? What do you think Darwin would have to say about it?
Darwin would of course say that we are still evolving, of that much I can assure you, not as much physically but spiritually, sociologically, psychologically etc. Where the prime variable on Change is Time, the prime variable on Evolution is environment and my feeling is that the Internet has changed our environment. I'm a Canadian that blogs on the American Kos. You get my perspective and I get yours. And we all now have friends in the UK or Australia and wherever else when maybe we've never been there, maybe never will be there. Bonds are made, ideas shared on levels and quantities previously unfathomed. The Net just breaks down barriers and it is barriers that define environments from one another, and environment that in turn dictates Evolution.
Bit of a ramble there, I know. Don't quite know how I ended up evoking Darwin on the Middle East but it's just weird enough for me to stick with.
Peace to you, fellow earthlings. I wish you and yours a paradigm changing 2009.
-iSC