Stop Fighting and Start Talking

I'm really upset by the violence in the world today. It is bad enough to be constantly bombarded by stories of American soldiers dying in Iraq every day in an unjustified and poorly planned invasion. The current conflict in Lebanon and Israel is pushing me over the edge. What I will never be able to understand is how anyone thinks violence is the solution to any problem, including the three stooges (Bush, Rummy, and Condi).

Imagine if Dubya smacked Laura around when she disagreed with him. Would he be hailed as a strong leader demonstrating the power of his convictions or a cowardly spouse abuser resorting to violence? What's the difference in smacking your wife around and bombing and sending in military troops instead of negotiating diplomatically?

I know it's a popular position to side with Israel, but I can't get past the fact that more innocent civilians on both sides are adversely affected than the supposed terrorists who are targeted. I have friends who are Jewish and Arab and the inherent hatred on the basis of heritage and/or religion is not only ignorant, it's repulsive. It reminds me of a conversation I had with a friend from Lebanon who met a beautiful girl. They talked for a long time and he really liked her, then instantly lost interest when he found out she was from Israel. It makes no sense.

I equate this current conflict with the problem we have here in the United States with gang violence. Some gang members and former gang members acheive mainstream success and status, give back to the community and are applauded for their efforts in the same way as Hizbollah and Hamas. Imagine if the city of Los Angeles decided to eliminate the gangs and the city, county, and/or state response was to begin a bombing campaign to isolate and bring down the gang leaders. Would we stand idly by and allow our president to say they are free to defend themselves by whatever means necessary?

If the citizens of this world continue to allow hatred, prejudice, and discrimination on the basis of color, heritage, religion, or country of origin to prevail as an accepted premise we are destined to destroy ourselves. While I recognize there will always be ignorant elements in every society, those of us who strive for understanding and acceptance of cultural differences need to become more vocal. We need to drown out the voices among us whose goal is division and come together to celebrate our differences and recognize the common bonds of humanity. Without acceptance, there will never be peace.

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