A
MEMORIAL DAY MESSAGE FOR PEACE AND GRATITUDE
This has been an odd Memorial Day
weekend for me. The weather here in the
D.C. area has been absolutely poifect.
But for nearly the entire time, I’ve been cooped up in my house working hard
on the computer – it might as well have been mid-January.
The time drain this weekend has
been, to be candid, a labor of love. I’ve
put the “finishing touches” on draft number N+1 of the manuscript for my new
book. It’s a “non-fiction book about
God.” How’s that for an oxymoron, my
skeptical friends? Every time I finish
a draft, I’m convinced that it’s getting better and better. But every time I begin working on the next
draft, I’m amazed at just how many additional edits I feel compelled to
make. Do you remember that scene from
Amadeus when the king tells Mozart that his composition has too many notes, and
Mozart retorts that in fact it had just the right number? All I can say is that it must be nice to be
so talented that you feel supremely confident in the quality of your art. For me, few things are as humbling as the
writing process – but since I can’t compose music, paint, or shoot a jump shot …
let’s just say that I’m looking forward to working on draft N+2.
While I’ve been preoccupied with
metaphysics and theology, I hope you all have been thinking a bit about the
reason why Americans were given this day off.
It’s a day to remember our fallen warriors -- and all the other warriors
who gave up their arms, legs, or psychic health in service to their
country. I may not always agree with
every war my country enters, but we always need to admire the courage and dedication
of the troops who risk everything so that armchair folks like me can philosophize
with security. Thanks to all of you who
have served in that capacity, or helped out anyone who has. And a special thanks to those who have lost
your loved ones – you, too, are in our thoughts.
My own work when it comes to the
topic of armed conflict is more in the Prevention Department than in the
Winning Department. There is not much we
civilians can do for the war effort, but we at least can devote a lot of time
to the fight for peace. As a Middle East
peace activist, I was thrilled to see that Secretary of State Kerry is apparently
getting serious about his goal of putting the Palestinian-Israeli peace talks
at the top of his agenda. How serious? He has now announced a $4 billion economic
development plan for the West Bank. It
alone won’t produce peace, but I cannot think of a better start.
The plan, according to Kerry, could
reduce unemployment in the West Bank by two-thirds. Who is to say if that’s overly optimistic,
but this much I think we can say: the more that the conditions on the ground have
kept Palestinians out of the labor force, the easier it has been for extremists
to fan the flames of Israel-hatred. Given
that the GDP of the Palestinian territories together add up to only $4 billion,
I have to think that Kerry’s proposal would provide a huge economic boost to
the West Bank.
It is easy to say that peace will
never come to that region -- that no less than poverty, war between the Jews
and the Arabs “will always be with us.”
But I’m not that pessimistic, and you shouldn’t be either. We need to build up the economy of the
Palestinian territories, support NGOs whose goal is to build trust between the
Israeli and Arab streets, and periodically bring the leaders to the negotiating
table. And we need to remember that simply
because no end-stage agreement has been reached, that doesn’t mean that progress
isn’t being made. Perhaps, under Kerry’s
leadership, we might just see such progress during the next four years.
On a day like today, we owe it to
our troops to support them not only with gratitude but with prayers and hard work. So let’s pray and work for peace, so they don’t
have to fight so many wars.
And
please, let’s make sure that these heroes get the mental health support and the
other vital services that they deserve.
It’s great to honor them when they’re dead, but it’s high time that we
stepped up to the plate when they’re alive.
From
a humbled non-veteran to all you heroes and your families, thanks again on behalf of the
Empathic Rationalist.
No comments:
Post a Comment