I was thinking tonight (while folding laundry, which is when I sometimes do my thinking) about all the recent diaries and then the related posts re. different aspects of the Israel/Palestine situation.
I've really enjoyed the diaries (well, if it can be said you are "enjoying" reading about suffering, but have enjoyed the read, and the discussion, and have learned new things) and wrote one myself. However, it seems that in every single discussion, there are voices "shusshing" the diarist, either for perceived anti-Semitism, for being "anti-Israel," or just that for whatever reason, "this" isn't something we should be debating here. And some heated discussion in the posts re. whether, indeed, this is the right place to talk about the issue or not.
So should we or shouldn't we?
What I thought about when I folded the laundry was about how I found DailyKos (very recently, during the election, when Kos first posted about Sarah Palin's baby rumors). What happened? It was posted here first, and then it literally changed the course of the national discourse.
More recently, the anti-Michelle Bachman diaries and fundraising. The Al Franken information. The pressure on the Dems re. Leiberman...
This place makes a difference! These diaries make a difference. Things that get attention here can get everyone's attention. We know our friends at MSNBC read this forum. Heck, even our favorite elected officials, all the way up to the top, right?
And I folded some more of my kids' clothes (dang, three kids make a lot of dirty clothes!), contemplating the posts about should we or shouldn't we be discussing the Israel/Palestine conflict here, and I thought: wouldn't it be amazing, wouldn't it be the most wonderful thing, if we as a community kept this topic on in the forefront, in a much more truthful way than it is covered in the MSM, out there, and often, with thoughtful, thought-provoking diaries and discussion? If we educated each other, the world's progressive community, and if the discussion somehow leads to more?
I recently met a man named Daniel Armstrong, who was appalled as a college student to know that Columbia University had millions invested in South Africa, then under the rule of apartheid. With nothing more than his conviction, he began a student organization that led to multimillion-dollar divestment from South Africa, and as I remember from that time, the movement grew and was a factor in the end of apartheid. We are the change we seek in the world, right? (for more on Armstrong, who is an advocate for making your dreams come true, with whatever resources you have, right now, see findatree.com).
We have so many great voices here, isn't it our duty to do what we can, to make a difference in whatever area we feel most passionate about, whether it is elections or social justice, environmentalism or peace?
I can think of nothing more appropriate than being a voice for the often voiceless, and you never know what might happen. Just look at all the amazing diaries that have happened here over the past week (some disappeared quickly, they are so worth a read. I don't agree with them all, but I appreciate the opportunity for open discussion, period. I'm sure there were more, these are the ones I saw and marked):
Trees of Hope, Trees of Justice
For Middle East Peace, Dennis Ross is Not the Change We Seek
Rahm Emanuel and his Terrorist Associations?
UN: end the 'inhuman' blockade of GazaWhat's the matter with Israel?
Hamas willing to accept Palestinian state w/in 1967 borders; Israel blocking UN Gaza food aid
(renamed) How a Boy Became My Hero (my diary)
Being a Jew, Pro Israel, and Progressive
Entering bizarro world: Israeli President praises Saudi King.
RE-BRANDING
A tale of three military heroes
The Moment is Now to Engage Positively on the Middle East
To those working hard to write and tell the truth about all sorts of injustice in the world, Thank You.
--gratefulmama