Influence…

I was going to post something light hearted today…. I think I will hold that though for a day or two because I can feel a flickering light bulb in my head…. normally indicates a better moment for me….

This post is going to be a slightly long one, and a little link heavy. But I want you guys to do me a favour today – ok? Click on the links which I have posted today; I really want to try and bring the essence of what others are preaching into the flavour of my post.

I don’t like to get to ‘political’ in what I write. This is because politics and policy to that matter are based on opinions, which like a coin ofcourse have two sides. I am certain that all of you have heard about the goings on in Gaza, and how the situation is out of control in that region. There are a lot of people who are trying to do ’something’, to try and calm the situation down…. I could even risk my opinion by saying attempting to resolve the situation.

There is one thing though…. regardless of what happens in the political arena, what matters to us everyday people is the behaviour, the views and opinions of our peers. Most people who will read this post come from liberal, free thinking communities and societies where opinion is valued. Or is it?

Like I said earlier – opinion is like a coin. There are 2 sides to this. With regards to this situation, there are a lot of people who are pro-Israel, and a lot or people who are pro-Gaza/Palestine (for some of you – you may want to read anti-Israel). However, there are a lot of people who are on the fence or do not have an opinion. This is worrying; and let me tell you how this affects the actions which could be taken at national and international level.

We live in an era of networking; be it social or live, I think our desire to venture, learn, adapt and accept others, makes us openminded and appreciative of the views of people from other arenas. In our hands, we have the single most powerful tool as ordinary people to voice sensible and logical opinions based on facts. Ofcourse, if we want to win those on the fence, we need to make them appreciate both sides of the problem; and as hard as it is, you cannot get the support of any person without simplifying or rationalising a complex situation like the one in the Middle East.

We also live in the culture of celebrity appreciation. Anything that is said by influential people on tv or a glossy mag, we stick to it like flies to poo. Well…. is that a bad thing? I ask because….. there are more people in the entertainment limelight who are championing the cause for peace than justifying the actions of Israel. I wrote about Jon Stewart covering this situation on The Daily Show, humorous as it may be, he is still coming out and talking some logic. There is a post on Sabbah blog related to Gilad Atzmon. It is a very interesting piece (link to the post) looking at things from a very different angle. I understand the position that Atzmon takes, but they are still very strong words coming from a high profile Israeli.

*Update*

The footballer Freddie Kanoute is voicing his support too.

The news media has been working hard to report both sides of the story too, but the fact that we are seeing only one side maybe reflects the fact that what is happening is so one sided. I personally don’t have a high view of the news and written media, but it is very difficult to doubt the integrity of a large majority of them. Al Jazeera always do a fantastic job end to end in the ME. In the UK, the BBC remains unbiased and is trying to relay the opinions on both sides (One side, and the other side, more other side, and even more other side) of the fence, but you have to ask yourself – the fact that journalists were not allowed into Gaza until a day or two ago and the fact that majority of the in-depth reporting is on what is happening within Gaza let alone outside it…. doesn’t it make you think – where is the suffering really happening? Another short piece in the New York Times summarises this very very well – have a read, and form your own opinions.

It has turned out to be a long post, but my message is this….

Look at the ‘truth’ which is being reported in the media, then listen to the people who are of direct understanding of the situation – bloggers like Mona and Gaza mom are putting in a tremendous effort in reporting the conflict via social media. They are 2 out of hundreds of thousands who are advocating peace as opposed to pointing fingers and attempting to reason with those with no logic. Finally, look and follow the work of human rights groups based in the region – one of the blogs which I am following is maintained by an Israeli human rights group campaigning for the people of Gaza. It goes to show that this conflict is not between religions, and not between Palestinian and Israeli. This WAR is between two sets of people with nothing but their own illogical and unreasoned interests, but the people who are suffering are innocent civilians.

Once you read all of this – form an opinion; if you have an opinion you can influence others by voicing your concerns; if you can voice your concerns, you probably live in a free country with the democratic right to select the people who can make the decisions to intervene much earlier than what is happening now. If you do all this with your family, friends, neighbours and community, we have a decent chance achieving peace not only in this unfortunate region, but also around the world.

I made a pledge to try and post everyday of this month, and the NaBloPoMo theme for January 2009 is Change. I think all of my posts so far are subtly campaigning for change in some form or other around me… we all got on the Obama bandwagon for something ‘revolutionary’…. what’d'ya say we try all over again?