Can’t We All Just Get Along?  Why can’t we just get along? I have spent my life studying why people hurt each other. The little wars we wage against each other are sometimes as vicious as the larger wars which nations conduct. The suffering and pain in human relationships as we gossip, complain and disrespect one another is intense. We don’t often realize the hurtful effect we have on people we care about and get defensive if someone observes that we are less than kind.

keep reading...

As we watch the war in the Middle East unfold on our television screens, each day bringing new scenes of devastation and horror, more and more I am hearing people say, “This is crazy, there has to be a better way.” These comments are not just coming from my peace and justice friends, the already converted dovish ones I can count on to espouse such things. No, this time I’m hearing this from unexpected quarters, from people I would never have expected it from. Yesterday’s news of 37 children killed in the village of Qana seemed so over the top, so outrageous, that I thought, “that’s it, they have to stop now,” and yet they are not stopping. The rockets continue to rain on Israel and the Israelis will not stop until they feel they have knocked out Hezbollah completely, until they feel safe. And I don’t know when, Hezbollah will ever stop. So we’re probably in this one for a very,very long time.

keep reading...