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

Friday, July 25, 2014

Live Free or Die: Palestinian Unity Resurrected

Click here to access article from Muftah.
As the death count in Gaza crept even closer to 1000 today, it seemed the imprisoned, ghettoized residents of the Strip were more alone than ever. But their Palestinian brothers and sisters in Occupied East Jerusalem and West Bank sent them a strong and clear message tonight: Kill one, kill a million - our resistance will continue. #Palestine demands justice
Also, from Muftah, "Palestine: Is It Resistance or Not?"
I believe is the only meaningful question for understanding and stopping this nightmare and its inevitable recurrence: “Do Palestinians have a justifiable reason to resist Israel or not?”
It is the most basic of questions, but it is astonishingly unaddressed by the official discourse. Confronting this question would finally frame the arguments and narratives faithfully enough to make progress possible, and encourage a discourse that is not hijacked by unproductive, nonsensical, and defaming perspectives.