Well, there are good guys and there are bad guys

I haven't really said anything on either the Israel-Lebanon war or the foiled terrorist plot in Britain, and I probably won't say that much about them. I do have to say, however, that it disturbs me how people STILL insist on seeing such conflict as "us vs. them," with one side as Good and the other as Bad. I think we can all agree that terrorists are Bad Guys, but does that automatically make everyone they attack Good Guys? The thing with terrorism is that it can be perpetrated by anyone against anyone, regardless of religion, political philosophy, or national alliances. The United States is supposedly engaged in a "War on Terror" (which I'll generously de-dumbify to "War on Terrorism"), yet some people insist on saying, "We're at war with Islamic fascists!" That must come as a great relief to terrorists who belong to other religions and/or don't support fascism. [1] They apparently get a reprieve in this war.

Speaking of non-Islamic terrorists, during the period when I was growing up, I kept seeing news about the Palestinians and Lebanese attacking Israel, but also about Israel attacking THEM. I have trouble understanding why some people still hold to the idea that Israel is an innocent victim that can do no wrong. The thing is, after World War II, the Jews had been through one of the most heinous persecutions in history, and they needed some place to live. On the other hand, the Palestinians had been there for centuries, and to tell them, "Hey! Here are your new neighbors, who don't like you!" was most likely not welcome news. But it's been SIXTY YEARS! A lot of people in positions of power in that area of the Middle East presumably weren't even BORN in the time when Israel didn't exist as a nation. Can they REALLY not learn to peacefully co-exist in that amount of time? Okay, that's a stupid question. Of course they can't. It really makes it difficult to see ANY of those nations or groups as being in the right.

I tend to think nothing will get better unless we can get some leaders who stop seeing every conflict as an us-and-them affair. Obviously, that wouldn't mean an end to war or terrorism; but, if nothing else, it would be much less irritating for those of us who don't buy into nationalism. Also, people need to realize that negotiation is not the same as appeasement. It drives me to distraction when people act like there's no difference between "Let's talk this over instead of killing each other some more" and "Sure, you can have Czechoslovakia!"

[1] Considering that Al Qaeda is a non-governmental organization, whether or not its members are fascists seems irrelevant to me. Fascism is a political ideology. But it's also a term that's guaranteed to get people riled up, even when used inappropriately. Mind you, since I used the word "de-dumbify" is this post, I might not be qualified to be discussing matters of vocabulary. {g}