I recall telling a newly elected Congressman in 1994 that the genius of the Bible was that it began with telling us that we were all brothers and sisters, descended from Adam and Eve. That being said, the Bible continues with stories of how even in the best of families horrible things can occur, even that a brother can kill a brother.
The Hatfield-McCoy feud was a family feud, with relatives of a common ancestor engaging in a multi-generational vendetta. The Hatfield-McCoy conflict finally ended when the authorities arrested, charged, found guilty and incarcerated family members who engaged in unlawful behavior. The government intervened to enforce the rule of law, because the feuding family/clans engaged in a passionate dispute largely over money and property and sex.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one of those things where you feel like saying, "I don't care who started it. I want you both to stop it right now!" The problem is, there isn't anyone to step-up to be the adult in this crisis. No one to pull the children apart, and give them a time-out. So we just let them trash each other and the Middle-East.
No one, until the dawning of the age of Obama, has sought out every man and every woman's opinion about what it would take, to have a happy life, a happening life, for everyone. This is what the internet was invented for. The universal mind, linking all our minds togther, to find solutions to age-old problems.
You may think this is too simplistic but I think it's the right answer. Find the appropriate venue, arrest, charge, try, and incarcerate those engaged in unlawful behavior. Isn't that the point of a United Nations and a World Court? Establish laws, a process and a means to enforce it. Isolate those who defy the law. It's a complex process but if we can do space exploration we can do this.
At the source of all conflict is boundaries. Sexual boundaries, personal boundaries, family boundaries, societal boundaries. My rights end where your rights begin. Is there room at the table for all of God's children, even those children who don't believe there is a God or have a dfferent understanding of God? Can Obama do that?
Picture a Norman Rockwell moment, with Obama at the head of the table, surrounded by a rainbow of nationalities for a planetary pot-luck in a KUMBAYA setting. Picture Obama as brokering a peace and prosperity between Washington and the World. The rule of law, the process, a way for conflict resolution, promotion of values, enforcement laws. Work hard, live by the rules, share in the bounty.
It's too simple. There will always be among us those who will take the easy path, the criminal way out. Take things that don't rightfullyu belong to them, create a scene when they don't get their way, throw a temper-tantrum and kill someone or start a war.
Obama was the change we were waiting for. He asked for our grassroots support, our grassroots opinions, and he has promised to listen to what we think. He has held out the promise of peace and prosperity, not just for some, but for everyone.