When are we really gonna talk about it?

Kudos to Lindsay for linking to this blog by a Lebanese jazz musician attempting to cope with the craziness going on around him.

This conflict is scary and Mazen cuts right to the heart of it. People of the region have learned to live with the constant conflicts, the constant fear. The feelings he describes are almost numbness. He can't bring himself to react except w/ explatives, and who can blame him? Bombs, attacks, peace talks, cease fires...then do it all again. And again, with this conflict, the world reaction is the same. Rally up some troops, drop 'em in the middle, and force everyone to back off. It seems that the only other existing camp is the few that are calling for the US/UN to use it's "influence" to force a ceasefire and let things cool off. (What's that pop-definition of insanity, again...doing the same thing over and over expecting different results?)

This conflict has roots that run much deeper than a kidnapped Israeli soldier or Syria pulling out of Lebanon last year. We're talking roots in the Biblical sense, here. And until we start talking about them and working through them we're doomed to this cycle...that is...unless the other extreme occurrs first. Religion can't be brushed aside as a footnote to the "political" or "economic" forces as play in the region. Religion is the culprit...so let's hash it out. Trouble is...who's going to be the first to bring it up in a meaningful way???