Silly Little Country

A Significant Compensation

Friday I was spending some time reconciling with a relative, and things were going nicely. Finally, of course, the Israel-Hizbollah war came up and the rant about the excesses of those awful Israelis escalated. My faithful readers will know this would have caused me to make the mistake of responding. And in the obvious ways - maybe the side that apologizes for civilian casualties, and feels embarrassed, and tries to avoid them, etc, has moral advantages over the side that is determined to produce civilian casualties, both in Israel and Lebanon. I even went so far as to say that I have an instinctive response against the side that clearly believes in the motto "Viva la Muerte". And there is no question who they are.
Well, my interlocutor packed up and walked away. Sad to my mind. I was depressed. This was not where I wanted to be.
But I did get a bit of feedback that mattered. As I looked around after this fiasco, a woman seated at the next table commented quietly, "I am Jewish". I guess I am not the only person who eavesdrops. And yes, in the end, I think she was right to do it, though I was initially startled. Her view in the end, sadly, did really matter. I thank her so much for being there.

posted by Alan Adamson @ 5:00 PM