A New "Golden Age of Tolerance"
The late Hungarian critic Arthur Koestler, noted in his book, The Roots of Coincidence, that "probability theory is the offspring of paradox wedded to mathematics." Although totally out of context with his book's subject matter, somehow that theorem seems to apply here. This truly paradoxical conflict simply cannot continue into perpetuity. Resolving it is the burning moral challenge underlying the Palestinian/Israeli issue. Therefore, we must thoughtfully examine many different sets of possibilities as we step toward what's probable.
Certainly one way to begin to dispel what seems an ontogenetic blood-feud could involve either reparations or repatriation. Such a solution needn't require that Israel abridge its version of history, but to instead simply either accept the concept of Palestinians returning to their place of origin or to offer them fair monetary compensation for it. But the thought of simply eradicating them as one would some pesky, inorganic growth because they refuse to "get over" the loss of their territories should be an affront to any fair minded person's sense of decency and justice.
Of course it is proper to ask: who am I to express these views? After all, I'm not part of the Middle-East diplomatic cognoscenti, nor do I hold any credentials as a scholar on such matters. In terms of faith, I'm neither Jewish nor Muslim; I lean more toward the agnostic realm. I've never been to the Middle East, nor am I even remotely Palestinian. Heck, to my knowledge, I don't know a single Palestinian. I'm just a guy from inner-city America; thousands of miles removed from the nearest Palestinian refugee camp. What does all this have to do with me? Should this issue be considered something for me to be concerned with? Why should I care?
I'd like to believe that it is because I carry some degree of awareness of the extremes that vastly different cultures and societies are capable of reaching. They range from abominable wretchedness, to ambrosial compassion. Where does mankind fall in this clash of the extremes today? Which are we? The imprint of the Israeli/Palestinian issue indicates that mankind is both -- and neither.
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