"FINAL SOLUTION!" AGAIN?

I grew up in a family who discussed current events at the dinner table.  Differences of opinions were expressed sometimes with passion and sometimes with supporting text from newspaper writers, authors, friends, and the experience of grandparents and older generations..


The images and sounds from those dinner table exchanges remain with me still.  Two words  in particular could evoke  fear in me and still do.  Those words , "final solution" produced a clammy chilly feeling along with nightmares.


Today, when I hear or see the word "solution" applied to complex issues or programs like gun control, or disputes between people or nations or political parties, I am still uneasy. In 2014, issues around the world and domestically need much more than quick "solutions" to be understood.


We dare not be afraid to ask hard questions as we seek remedies. Nor can we be frightened  by having our allegiance to fairness tested as we look at history.


Two columns in The New York Times (8-13-2014) helped me better understand the surge of
anti-Semitism and how the war between Israel and Hamas could be won.  The first "Why Americans See Israel the Way They Do" by Roger Cohen, and "How This War Ends" by Thomas L. Friedman gave me much to think about.


If we begin to listen, respect and seek out differences of opinions and experiences maybe we can begin to work with people around the globe toward a quieter time when children can sleep peacefully
and safely without worrying about "final solutions."