Skip to main content

Holy Landmine

 As if we didn’t need another major news trauma to occupy our fearful minds, here comes that old nemesis  the latest version of the Arab-Israeli conflict to bring new heights of despair to the airwaves. Of course, what we are dealing with these days is the unprovoked attack by Hamas on the state of Israel. Yes, I know using the word unprovoked here is debatable, but for now it will have to remain.

This conflict is as convoluted and complicated as it is frustrating. It is not a simple matter of just making sure the Palestinians have a homeland. If that were the case, surely a compromise satisfactory to both sides could be hammered out. I turned an International Relations class of high school seniors loose on this conflict 25 years ago and after looking at the arguments on both sides, and spending time with maps of the region, they came up with a solution that allowed Israelis and Palestinians to live and prosper side by side in the land they have both occupied for centuries. Would that this was so easy to accomplish. 

What is not so easy to deal with is the mentalities both sides hold.  Golda Meir, the former Israeli Prime Minister once said that you cannot talk peace with “someone who has come to kill you.”  And now the media has a field day with confirmed and unconfirmed reports of atrocities. Most Americans probably don’t know the difference between the Palestinian people and Hamas, let alone the history and current status of the crisis. 

So, with Ukraine suddenly on the back burner, the world watches their news anchor of choice appear under night skies covered with the sight of deployed missiles and explosions. The helmeted news reporters    duck for cover, they shed a tear here and there, and report live on the 24 hour cycle. Programs are preempted, live war comes into your living room around the clock. Just in time for Halloween.

And what of innocent Palestinians who are not supporters of Hamas? The two way bloodbath that is sure to follow will, no doubt tighten the judgment of those who follow the daily array of bombings and atrocities. Who can take sides in a war that kills babies and the elderly without shame?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Writing on the Wall

       The first time I saw graffiti that was memorable was in a middle school bathroom.  As 6th graders I often walked home with friends by the middle school we'd soon be attending.  A stop by the boys bathroom near the boys gym placed me face to face with a piece of graffiti that immediately madame and my friends laugh uncontrollably.  On the wall above the urinals, was penned a short poem that read"                     This is a Teepee to take a pee pee,                         Not a wigwam to beat your tom tom      14 year-old humor at it's best.  The laughter my friends and I experienced was cathartic.  Being bottom of the barrel Freshmen could have dire consequences in the boys bathroom.  Those unpleasantries would come later, but for the moment, we were ecstatic and proceeded to read all the g...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Quality of Optimism

 I've returned to The Book of Qualities, by J Ruth Gentler once again to meet the needs of one of the senior students in my little Writing From Memory class I'm currently teaching in my local community center.  This little volume personifies various concepts and personality traits.  The particular student "in need" seems to be fixated on writing about her past relationships.  Apparently, there were many.   I'm OK with that.  I only hope that she picks a few qualities that are as revealing about herself as those that might describe her Ex's.  There is much to be learned by writing about a quality.  The aforementioned book seems to have survived well over the years.  I first encountered it and its author way back in the late 1970s.  I took a journal writing workshop from her.  Then, a few years later, her book came out and I introduced these writing exercises to my students.  11th grade Juniors seemed to do the best with it. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Mr. Greene v. Mr. Brown

I want to tell you about something. Something I've carried inside myself for a number of years now. Perhaps if I were a different kind of person I wouldn't need to talk about it. I'm not. My need to tell it is stronger than your need to hear it. Because, however, there are a number of teachers and former students of mine who may read these meanderings from time to time, I need to tell this story all the more. About 7 or 8 years ago I was asked if I would allow a university PhD. candidate to observe an English class. At first I decided against it because I was scheduled to have a student teacher placed with me the second half of the semester in question. After some urging, however, at the request of a respected colleague, I agreed. Soon I was committing to extra meetings, signing documents and explaining to the class in question who the young woman who thoughtfully pounded away on a laptop in the rear of the classroom three times a week was. I knew that the topic of ...
3 comments
Read more