Look, guys! All I had to do is kill some innocent women and children and I got this awesome yellow flag!
I woke up this morning and groggily scanned the daily news. Upon seeing this photo, that quote (above) popped into my imagination. Regardless of motive, civilians of Lebanon have born the brunt of this invasion.
The photo above (credit Yahoo/AP) is of an Israeli soldier displaying his recently captured Hezbollah flag. From afar these confilicts seem so pointless, a painful way to argue that church and state really should be separate.
I know little about the situation in the Middle East, yet I feel the need to state some obvious things about this conflict.
Why does it matter that Israel is killing civilians?
Regardless of the reasons for this war, innocent people are typically not slaughtered in a civilized society. It's barbaric and counterproductive.
Americans are seen as collaborators with Israel due to our staunch support for their government. Even if we are "right" in our support, this fosters hatred in much of the world, giving us the appearance of murderers. This may be sound like a controversial statement to someone living in the US, but in many parts of the world, the perception is common.
Protesters shout slogans as they set fire to US and Israeli flags to protest the Israeli offensive in Lebanon in front of Istanbul University after Friday prayers in Beyazit Mosque in Istanbul August 4, 2006. REUTERS/Stringer (TURKEY)
Lebanese civilian burn victims from Israeli air strikes, 08/2006. AP/Kevork Djansezian
