Counter culture

I haven't had the energy to blog lately. I seem to have had a bug, which left me extremely tired and feeling giddy whenever I started to move around. Great excuse to sit a the computer all day, but unfortunately I didn't have the energy to string 2 thoughts together.

However, I seem to be well again, having managed to go shopping for the first time in nearly 2 weeks.

I have been moved to write by what I'm hearing on the radio. I feel sad and angry about the latest Israeli air strikes on Gaza and the numerous deaths of women and children that have resulted. The Israeli authorities must accept responsibility for their actions and must face up to the fact that they were out of proportion to the damage being done to Israeli citizens by rocket attacks from Gaza. I'm pretty sure God doesn't buy their feeble excuses, and while he may consider them his children, along with the rest of humanity, I doubt he's amused by their playground excuse of 'they started it' or 'they made me do it'.

On the other hand any Palestinian firing rockets into Israel knows that Israel is likely to retaliate and that many innocent people are likely to suffer, so those guilty of such activity and those who condone it must accept their share of the blame.

The problem is our worldwide culture of violence, which tells men they aren't 'real men' if they don't fight and that it is natural to fight back and to take revenge.

What Israel and Palestine, and the whole world, needs is someone who can teach them how to be peacemakers, to turn the other cheek and forgive those who offend them. I think someone once tried to do this, but very few people, if anyone, listened.

Blessed are the peacemakers . . .