Thought-provoking via Shipler

Brief developing of some thoughts inspired by today's video, "Arabs and Jews: A Return to the Promise Land":

Thought 1: "It's not natural to live together" ...and later, "How to live together, how to learn to live together... maybe our children will know." Both comments were made by the Israeli teacher, and both are thought-provoking - and a bit disturbing, honestly. Any time there's talk of what is "natural" or "unnatural," there's cause for concern. Who decides if it's natural? What has made them decide this? What are the consequences of this kind of thinking? Well, in this case, the consequences can be seen in the second quote I noted - leaving the problem unsolved and hoping a future generation will be able to work it out themselves. Leaving aside the trouble of giving up on one's own ability to make even the tiniest difference for the better, I'll just say this - if the children in question are raised to believe that it is "unnatural" to live peacefully alongside someone of different backgrounds or beliefs, they will also be left shaking their heads at an unsolved and bloody problem, hoping that their children will solve the problem rather than dealing with it themselves.

Thought 2: The Israeli student (first seen at the age of 13, reading poetry) commented along the lines of needing to cut the strings of the marionettes we've become, tied to history, apparently held back by it... to which I have to agree to a certain extent, as sure, bitterness from old wounds isn't particularly helpful in a peace process, though we're served by history in other ways - as noted by several of the interviewees, that narrative is how they define themselves, for better or worse. Oddly enough, though, all I could think of as the woman spoke of cutting off these historic ties was one of the early Zionist thinkers, Micah Berdichevski, who also advocated a separation from history, only, for his purposes, declaring that Jews must come before Judaism and start anew. ...People before tradition.

Thought 3: The lawyer's comments toward the end are also noteworthy, including the realistic-optimistic comment of "It's all over but the body count," as discussed in class. Had to smirk a bit when he commented that this inevitable "divorcing" of people wouldn't be a cordial one - because really, what divorce is? I speak from experience; divorce is always an ugly process, the variation is really just in the extent. Or, to go by Tolstoy, "Every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way".... Can we apply that to nation-states? I think I'll have to mull that one over...