Peace.

I am so disheartened and ashamed of the way that the world is dealing with the Israeli bombing of Lebanon that I haven't been able to write about it. It doesn't take personal stories or a personal connection to realize how unjust this whole situation is. It just takes a couple of steps back to see the big picture, and to see the conflict as an extension of the colonial aspirations that the radical Zionist project in Israel and in their diaspora continue to push as public policy (in the name of national security). The impact on individuals, families, and communities have been well-catalogued, by people far more knowledgeable and eloquent than I, but unfortunately, the global mainstream sees this as a fight against "radical Islam" which is hardly divorced in their mind from the faith as a whole.

Nevertheless, this isn't only about politics. This is about real lives, torn apart, or tearing. This is about the millions on the run, the millions more who do not know what tomorrow holds. It is about the family members here, desperately clinging to hope and searching frantically for news about the neverending nightmare. To us, this is a "conflict" or "flare-up." To many, this is the next chapter in an ongoing continuum of fear, terror, and oppression. Your own government is one thing. A neighboring government is quite another. And the United States sits idly by as Israel has free license to bomb whomever, and whatever, it wants.

But I still have faith that someday, the millions of Israelis who do not condone these massacres and widespread human rights abuses in their name will rise up, as have so many soldiers in the Israeli army, and said "enough is enough." We want peace.

Just want to give a shout to friends and family who are currently watching and waiting to hear about their loved ones caught in this crossfire.