August 24, 2003 - 12:06 p.m.

It Makes Me Sick

Yesterday, I was in my car, listening to NPR whiel they were doing a story on the continuing and escalating violence between Israelis and Palestinians. They were describing the recent suicide bombing of a bus full of mostly ultra-orthodox Jews. It actually nauseated me. Not because I was picturing the carnage or anything like that. It simply disgusts me that people do such horrible things to each other. I am not so naive as to think that such people are simply psychopaths and should be dismissed as horrible aberrations of humanity. I realize that there is a long and bitter history between the groups in the Middle East that has helped bring them to their current state of affairs, though I am woefully uneducated about the details of that history. Still, I simply cannot comprehend, exiled, disenfranchised, impoverished or not, how someone could blow up himself along with a score of innocent bus passengers. What purpose does that serve? Sure, you've proved to the world that you are angry and instilled fear in many of your enemies. However, you have also proved you are ruthless and vindictive and probably made life even more difficult for the rest of your own people.

I realize it is easy for me to be judgmental of the perpetrators of violence in the Middle East - and believe me I do not only blame the Palestinians; the Israeli army has proved itself quite ruthless and vindictive as well, though perhaps slightly less guilty of intentionally targeting innocents - being a privileged American who has never really known prejudice, war, hunger, or terror. But I refuse to justify killing no matter how horrible the situation. I think over the years is has become clear that terrorism is getting both sides exactly nowhere. What is worse is that even when the leaders actually get together and try to make some progress away from the violence, some smaller player goes and mucks it up. You hear about young people from both sides befriending one another and hoping for peace and breaking through the barriers of generations of stereotypes and prejudice, but as heartening and noble as that is, I don't see how much it can help when settlements are being bulldozed, markets bombed, and so many lives lost or destroyed.

I am no politician or diplomat, but, despite my usual optimism, I cannot see how the people of the Middle East can disentangle themselves from the vicious cycle in which they are ensnared. That is what really sickens me. Not only are people dying, but children are being born into that situation with little or no hope that it will ever get better. Even after September 11th, I cannot imagine how it must feel to leave your house each morning not knowing whether it will be there when you return, whether your child will be caught in sniper crossfire, or whether you will be the one to climb onto the wrong bus.

We are so lucky to live in such a comfortable, peaceful country. Certainly, the United States has plenty of problems, but most Americans live their lives free of the concerns that are a part of daily life for these people. Part of me still hopes that eventually the people of Israel and Palestine will know at least a taste of that sense of security, but as the years pass and the violence continues, that hope shrinks.

today's project: making tomato, basil, and mozzarella salad with the heirloom tomatoes I bought at the farm store ye

musing about: why can't we all just get along?

�

flutter back - fly ahead