We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Israel's 'street apartheid'

from Al Jazeera. The article focuses on street life in Jerusalem and the glaring contrasts between the Palestinian and Jewish settler sections.
A young Israeli Jew, fresh from army service, simply remarks, "It's a kind of psychological warfare. The idea is to get [Palestinians] to leave."