Fighting is Fueled by Hate and Greed
Fighting has never really solved anything for anyone. Yes, for a short time a conflict may be resolved for the winning side, but that is oppression, not resolution.
I am sitting comfortably on my couch writing this post because I am privileged enough to not have the threat of war breaking out at any moment. There is still violence that I have been the target of, but I have never had to flee my home for fear of the fighting escalating to the point where I would be directly harmed.
This post is not going to cite anything as it is much my own opinion on things that are going on in our world and perhaps if we all start talking about it we can put an end to it.
When I see conflict in the news I tend to tune out the announcers, to some extent, and I try to concentrate on what the people involved are saying. Time and again there is always one, or both, side(s) that want something from the other and the one with more guns and bombs tends to use this as a threat. Then the other side gets more guns and bombs. At some point both sides have enough guns and bombs that they call each others hand, using the innocent lives around them as their ante and wagers.
The US is an Arms Dealing Nation
Many here in the US try to ignore this, but when ever foreign conflict comes about, our government is right there with tools of war at the ready to support one side or the other. Not too many weapons though as we don’t want them pointed our way when the smoke clears.
Sadly, there are other nations that the US has continually sent support to in the form of weapons. The American people pay for this and you know that somewhere a lot of other people are making a lot of money off of the production of these weapons. In their eyes, war is just good business. Yes, I am calling out the US alliance with Zionist Israel and it’s continued support of genocide.
All of this is orchestrated by a small number of very rich people that know war is a great distraction for all the other horrible things they are doing. Most, if not all, of them have ties to the war industry and only thrive when people are killing other people.
Pretty sick huh?
Nothing We Do Stops the Fighting
With everything else going on in our lives it seems like nothing we, as individuals, do has any effect on how our government acts. It can seem daunting when we watch someone we voted into office support things that we do not. What do we do then? Give up and tuck our heads in the sand?
Hell NO!
We all need to do everything we can to show our governments that this is not okay. We need to stop supporting politicians that talk their way into office and then work against our morals.
One voice may seem small, but when we all start refusing to maintain the status quo we start to see change in effect.
Start by writing letters. Show up to town-hall meetings where your local, state, and federal elected officials are meeting and make your voice heard. Don’t be afraid to speak because many times your voice may be the catalyst for others to do the same.
When the last attack from Hamas took place and Israel responded I took to writing my Federal Elected officials, this is what I sent:
“The conflict between the government of Israel and extremist groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad has gone on for far too long and at the expense of millions of innocent lives over the conflict.
The government of Israel has only been able to keep their end of the conflict going because they have support from strong countries like ours. This support needs to change now.
I am writing you to encourage our government to change how we have handled this conflict and stop providing weapons to either side, defensive or offensive. Providing anything but humanitarian support will continue to fuel this fire that has burned for too long.
Please, I implore that you, the rest of Congress, and our president draft support that actually does something to end this conflict in a peaceful manner. I and so many other Americans are tired of being complicit in the atrocities that our government has taken part in and we need to hold ourselves accountable for our actions.
No more war! Bring peace to our planet!”
So far I have only gotten a response from Mike Thompson in what I am pretty certain is a standard form letter:
Thank you for contacting me regarding the Israel-Hamas conflict. I appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts.
As you know, on October 7, the terrorist organization Hamas carried out an evil and brutal surprise attack along Israel’s southern border with Gaza, killing Israeli soldiers and civilians alike. Currently, at least 4,881 people have been killed, 31 of which are U.S. citizens. Hamas terrorists are committing horrific war crimes, killing children, raping women and attacking innocent civilians in their homes. The terrorists have also taken more than a hundred people as hostages, including U.S. citizens.
I condemn in the strongest possible terms the terrorist attacks by Hamas. Like you, I am heartbroken over the loss of 31 American citizens, and I am horrified at the attacks on civilians and the hostage taking.
You may be interested to know that I have coauthored a bipartisan Congressional Resolution to condemn Hamas in the strongest possible terms and to express unwavering support for Israel. In addition, I have attended a classified briefing to learn more about the situation in Israel. The United States will continue to stand with our ally Israel and support their right to defend itself its citizens from Hamas terrorists.
Like you, I stand unequivocally for the protection of civilian life during conflict. Civilians are not to blame and should not suffer for the savage attacks committed by Hamas terrorists. President Biden has successfully negotiated the facilitation of $100 million in humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza. As we continue to stand with Israel, I support President Biden’s urging of abiding by the rules of war and that civilian lives must be protected, and assistance must reach those in need as fast as possible.
Our nation has a long relationship with Israel and a deep commitment to finding a two-state solution for the Palestinian people. Please know I support continued U.S. diplomatic engagement in the peace process. I will continue monitoring the situation closely and will keep your thoughts in mind should any legislation related to Middle East peace come before the House of Representatives.
Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts. Please continue to contact me on all issues of importance to you and to our district.
I responded to this with:
Hello Rep. Thompson,
Thank you for your response, I am pretty sure you are getting a lot of messages regarding this issue.
Though I stand behind the Israelian and Palestinian people, I do not stand behind the Israeli government or terrorist organizations operating within Palestine. Israel currently has a tyrant at the head of their government bent on the genocide of the Palestinian people and we cannot support that with additional military support.
Send food, send medical supplies, send diplomats. Do not send more tools to wage war upon innocent people under the guise of fighting terrorism, lest we become the very terrorists we want so much to defeat.
I have not gotten any further responses. Guess who is going to show up to events when Rep. Thompson is running for re-election.