We are on the brink of a new age of American politics. Barack Hussein Obama will shortly take office and take a giant step at fulfilling the dream that so many African American men and women has dreamed about for oh so long. Will he be the great leader that so many Americans voted for? I don't know? In time, we shall see, but my question is bigger than the domestic wants for U.S. citizens. With change coming to America, who is going to bring change to the rest of the world's unfortunate. Who is going to bring change to Palestinians?
In recent history, American foreign policy has been a rubber stamp of approval for Israeli political and military decisions. This comes at a price for the Palestinians and their territories, who have perished by the thousands at the hands of the Israeli military invading Gaza. If you look at it this way, Gaza is a prison for people who have never been convicted of a crime besides being Palestinian. 79 percent of the households live in poverty, food and resources are obviously scarce for children and parents alike. Not to mention this is the region's punching bag, or missile test site for Israel; bridges, schools, power plants, and roads are destroyed on a regular basis.
This is not to say that all of the violence is unprovoked. Recently, the strength of the world's third strongest military has been on display in Gaza with their retaliation effort to the rockets fired by Hamas (democratically elected governing body of the Palestinian territories). Sadly, Hamas has decided that it would rather provide its people with bullets instead of butter. Sometimes, it is easier to start a battle than battle your domestic issues, like poverty.
I believe in one's right and ability to defend itself, but where does it end? The latest records display 13 Israelis dead and a staggering 1350 Palestinians, 80% of which were civilian. Since 13 people have died, does that give Israel the right to kill 1300?
In the states, we have heard a lot about change. Change has come to America. The only problem is that change can not just come to America. Change has to come to all those who live without justice. President Obama needs to stand up for more than just American lives and jobs, but stand up for the light in which The United States of America can still shine on the rest of the world. A continuing support of all that is Israel, is not change for those in Palestine.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Our New Years Resolution: Put the Human Back in Humanitarian
Every new year, I am inundated with questions about my new year's resolution. Do you want to save this much money? Do you want to buy your first home? Maybe Lew, you should start thinking about getting married? So for this year, I am going to declare a new year's resolution, and I think it is one we can all embrace. For 2009, we should put the human back in humanitarian.
This year, we shall no longer stand for homelessness and hunger in the Unites States. We live in the richest country in the world, and their are 34 million people living in poverty right here. If you listen to or watch the news, you would get the impression that poverty is for people in 1 dollar a month infomercials. It is not, it is right in our front and backyards! In the nation's capital, you don't have to travel five blocks from the White House to see homeless people sleeping on a park bench. This is absolutely disgusting! This is not what we should stand for.
For most people, a humanitarian is a person with a kind heart who will go out of their way to bring kindness to those around them. This kindness falls short on too many counts for too many people though. We live in a society where people will pick up a dog on the side of the road or alone in the park, feed the dog, take the dog in for shots at the vet, and will walk right past homeless people on the street. I wonder how many of those people have ever stopped to help a man or women down on their luck in the park? Would they bother to ask a homeless person where they are from or if they are in need of medical care? Where is the human element in picking up a stray dog or cat, but walking past a man or woman?
So our new year's resolution for 2009 is to put people first, no matter what creed or color. We can combat hunger and homelessness. Last year, there were so many voices carrying the chant "yes we can" and this year we can follow through by putting the human back in humanitarian.
This year, we shall no longer stand for homelessness and hunger in the Unites States. We live in the richest country in the world, and their are 34 million people living in poverty right here. If you listen to or watch the news, you would get the impression that poverty is for people in 1 dollar a month infomercials. It is not, it is right in our front and backyards! In the nation's capital, you don't have to travel five blocks from the White House to see homeless people sleeping on a park bench. This is absolutely disgusting! This is not what we should stand for.
For most people, a humanitarian is a person with a kind heart who will go out of their way to bring kindness to those around them. This kindness falls short on too many counts for too many people though. We live in a society where people will pick up a dog on the side of the road or alone in the park, feed the dog, take the dog in for shots at the vet, and will walk right past homeless people on the street. I wonder how many of those people have ever stopped to help a man or women down on their luck in the park? Would they bother to ask a homeless person where they are from or if they are in need of medical care? Where is the human element in picking up a stray dog or cat, but walking past a man or woman?
So our new year's resolution for 2009 is to put people first, no matter what creed or color. We can combat hunger and homelessness. Last year, there were so many voices carrying the chant "yes we can" and this year we can follow through by putting the human back in humanitarian.
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