Divided Conventions, A Divided Nation  Watching the Republican and Democratic conventions the past two weeks has been an illuminating experience.  While speakers at both conventions made appeals to unifying the American people and to creating change, a tone of blame, derision and outright sarcasm for the “other side” was much in evidence.  In the U.S. such partisanship is thought necessary to winning elections.  It is divisive however, and ruinous when the goal is bringing a divided nation together. Skills for Bringing a Divided Family Together As someone who has paid a dear price for participating in a conflict which nearly destroyed a family, I understand how such apparently intractable conflicts work. I also understand what it takes to reconcile and I know it is possible to find peace after years of terrible bitterness and anger.  I learned many things in my journey back to my family and developed skills, all of which are applicable to making peace at the larger, collective level. One of the most important of these is the skill of seeing the world as other people see it.

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As war breaks out in the Middle East, I watch helplessly as Israel reacts, first to the Palestinian kidnapping of one of their soldiers with over the top (or so it seems to me) punitive responses to the civilians in Gaza. And now in the twinkling of an eye, the conflict has widened into Lebanon with rocket attacks launched by Hezbollah into Israel and now of course, we are witnessing the expected retaliation. I sit on my hands and scream with frustration because none of this has to happen. All of this could be otherwise. Yet this cycle of violence is so predictable and it keeps on happening. What is going on here?

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