A Frightening Friendship

 Next Up: "Live From Gaza"

The problems in the Middle East have been going on since 1948, and they show no signs of lessening due to a decrease in murderous intentions nor due to a rise of intelligent leadership. Whether civilizations can find solutions for self-inflicted mortal problems is the real test of human society: whether we continue to be among the quick (the living and growing)... or the dead.

(In the USA we once again have the privilege of viewing our society on trial, as a self-inflicted "fiscal cliff" approaches, and we will see whether dead and intractable ideologies triumph over life.)

How mankind handles these challenges that have their genesis in mankind's own souls and minds and interactions and conversations - as opposed to and differing from challenges posed by nature, for example - is a measure of their true moral fiber.

In The Jerusalem Post, we read Ariel's Sharon's son:
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-EdContributors/Article.aspx?id=292466

...Why do our citizens have to live with rocket fire from Gaza while we fight with our hands tied? Why are the citizens of Gaza immune? If the Syrians were to open fire on our towns, would we not attack Damascus? If the Cubans were to fire at Miami, wouldn’t Havana suffer the consequences? That’s what’s called “deterrence” – if you shoot at me, I’ll shoot at you. There is no justification for the State of Gaza being able to shoot at our towns with impunity. We need to flatten entire neighborhoods in Gaza. Flatten all of Gaza. The Americans didn’t stop with Hiroshima – the Japanese weren’t surrendering fast enough, so they hit Nagasaki, too.

There should be no electricity in Gaza, no gasoline or moving vehicles, nothing. Then they’d really call for a ceasefire...

By the time we reach that underlined sentence, it is time that we stop the flow of emotions and ponder what we have accomplished here since 1945.

It is time to look at ourselves and many of those who call us "Friend".
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