What does Palestine mean for you.

What is Palestine to you? For many it is just a name for a far off place that they know nothing about. Maybe you just see it as synonymous to Pakistan or maybe you have never even heard of it. Maybe you do know of it but you never saw it is as relevant to your life, its just a spot on the map. This is all quite understandable, because what happens in Palestine has no indirect or direct affect on your life, although your choices may have indirect negative effects on the lives of the people living there.

How so? You may ask. What have you done to them? If they're miserable its certainly not your fault! Perhaps not but their suffering and misery is at the hands of a country backed by your government. Israel, one of America's closest pals, is violating a myriad of treaties and international law by intruding on Palestinian land, forcibly relocating the Palestinians and crushing resistance. This of course is all paid for with foreign aid from the USA. This leads to Palestinian armed resistance and violence from groups like Hamas which in turn is met with force from the Israeli government. These insurgent groups target largely populated areas, like public buses in Jerusalem, to use explosives to kill large amounts of civilians in a gruesome and morbid way. Thereby sending their morbid message of defiance and inciting terror amongst the populace. Thus creating a vicious cycle.
 
  So although you may not be adding to the issue directly, your government is using your tax money to pay for it and has (in recent years) chosen to neglect the issue. For years this issue has been a prominent one and countless solutions have been proposed and all have been rejected. Many people have forgotten about the issue or just given up hope. Something needs to be done in order to revive it in the eyes of the world. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has plagued earth for more than half a century. Therefore it should be one of the USA's top priorities to solve.

This should be an issue of paramount importance to the USA not only because of how long this issue has gone unsolved, or its toll on those involved but also because of the profound affect it would have on the international community's views of America. In today's political turmoil of the Middle East in the aftermath of the Arab Spring, the USA is viewed as an enemy to the Arab World more than ever. Accomplishing the monumental task that is making official peace in Palestine and establishing International law to ensure it is upheld would do wonders to improve relations in the Middle East. A region we are so currently involved.

 Well now the question is what can you do? How could you possibly stop your country from aiding one of its oldest allies? or perhaps not stop aid but instead put pressure upon the ally to make things better. How can you make the Israeli Palestinian conflict relevant again? You may think it's impossible to do alone. You would be right. However, we live in a country where the right of free speech allows you to get vocal about an issue like this and spread the word. You could educate the public on the matter and encourage them to put pressure on local government officials to make this issue a priority. If knowledge of this issue was widespread perhaps enough public outcry could force change and peace can be finally found in the Holy Land. You could go from being someone who has no say in politics, to an inspirational and motivational individual who makes a difference.  So, is it better to be a tool of change or a product of indifference? As Edmund Burke famously put it, All that is necessary for the triumph of evil in life is for good men to do nothing.