Missiles Felt 'Round the World

The story of Israel vs Hamas is not a new one, and it does not seem that it will be written down in history and tucked away just yet. As each side continues to bombard the other with missiles in "self-defense," noncombatants are being slaughtered in scores. The plight of these innocent people has been felt before, and those of us that empathize with them wish only for the fighting to stop.

Here in America, we are again being divided into "us" and "them" as pro-Israel and pro-Hamas supporters have gathered in Times Square to support their own cause and lambaste the other. Unfortunately, this will not help either side, and definitely will not lead to peace. In fact, the opposite is true. Most recently, a Muslim man was stabbed outside of a mosque in New York, his attacker yelling racial slurs.

Meanwhile, Barack Obama, during a conference in Burma today, has come out to openly support Israel in its actions, which he too labels self-defense. Now, I am no foreign policy expert, nor am I on the ground in Israel or Palestine to get a true sense of what is going on, void of any media bias or exaggeration. What I am, however, is a human being with strong morals who does not need to graduate from West Point to realize that the murdering of innocent people is not self-defense. Both sides are guilty. Both sides must end their godforsaken pursuit of victory, whatever that is. Their perennial struggle with one another is no more honorable than a fight between two second graders over who chose the blue crayon first. Moreover, the President of the United States should not support either belligerent. Instead, he should be facilitating negotiations between the two, for the sake of mankind.

The missiles felt 'round the world will not stop dropping anytime soon. Israel has already mobilized its army, I'm assuming in preparation for ground operations. How many innocent people must suffer before Hamas and Israel come to terms? I have always been a strong Wilsonian, a true believer that peace should trump all other interests. But as the fighting continues at the expense of civilians, my faith in humanity is dwindling. Like many in the region and around the world, I am hoping for the best but expecting the worst.