(no subject)
I think my mood has stabilized. I think I just needed to distance myself from the people who bring on these bipolar moments. Really, if you knew the details-- all of the details-- you'd understand why I have been rollercoasting lately. I have realized is that I don't really want what I thought I wanted. This is kind of a relief to me, because it makes for an easier detachment from the crises that I found myself in before.
It's amazing what lone scooter rides and coffee can do to help one realize what it is exactly that is antagonizing them.
On an unrelated note: What the hell does Israel think it's doing? I can't say that I am an expert, but I have followed the palestinian-israeli conflict for a long time. Israel's history is full of excursions such as these... the last time Israel attacked Lebanon was just around 1982.
It seems to me that they are only fueling the fires of hatred to further promote a cycle of chaos and violence in the region. The casualties in Lebanon are growing. The attacks are not going to stop anytime real soon, and that scares me.
The thought that the American Government and the Israeli Government think that they can weed out terrorism by bombing the shit out of everything is completely and appallingly wrong! This is not a way to secure safety in the region. War is never a means to peace. It is a means for control. It is a means to subjugate and frighten. It is a means to get rid of opposition, but these things are by no means peace. It is the obligation of humanity to realize this. In order to find real solutions, such as they seek, they must exercise vigilance, compassion, accountability, and trust-building. War does not inspire trust.
Israel says that it has the right to defend itself. I will not disagree. However, this looks less like a defensive campaign than it does an aggressive invasion. The weak democracy of Lebanon is bearing the brunt of the damage from Israeli attacks. It seems to me that this sort of behavior is going to lead to the disintegration of lebanese democracy and a rise in insurgency. AND LEBANON IS NOT ISRAEL's BIGGEST THREAT by any means.
The actions taken by Israel in the couple of weeks, can be reasoned out as much as possible, but that doesn't change the fact that what they are doing is just going to make the Middle East a bigger cess-pool of anti-western islamist fundamentalism.
I cannot imagine what will happen next in this terrible situation. It can only be terrible. The rhetoric coming out of the White House is nothing more than blind backing of Israel. And Hezbollah and Israel are both raising the stakes by their own special rhetoric. This happens as the violent cycle of hateful aggression is only entrenching itself deeper into the Middle East.
It truly is better to talk, rather than to drop bombs. The Arabs and the Israelis must get past their history... and must look at eachother as humans. They must come together as humans. Justice is the only thing that can guide peace in the Middle East-- justice not only for one side or the other... but for all of them. It will take a big compromise for all of them, but once they can see past the history and forgive previous transgressions then they will be able to establish peace in the Middle East.
Israel must get out of Lebanon. It won't but the only possible way to stop this from escalating would be for israel to withdraw troops and get its diplomats to those drafting tables. Each side has relevant claims...and each side has taken erroneous methods to try to protect their peoples' interests). Hezbollah, Israel, and the Palestinians need to learn to respect their opponents, because of the commonality of their desires. Their only hope to achieve stability in the region and prosperity for their people would be to trash the rhetoric-- to move forward.
Their humanity obligates them to seek solutions that will result in peace and stability-- this can only be realized if the needs of the people on all sides of the conflict are satisfied as much as possible.