Israel, Palestine and America's Compassion

Unless you've been under a rock for the last couple of weeks, you know that there has been an ugly war going on between Israel and Palestine, possibly the deadliest since 2008/2009. In one airstrike, an Israeli bomb hit the home of Jamal Dalu killing his wife, sister, two daughters, daughter-in-law, four grandchildren and his grandmother.

As I watched the devastation of the war and the response, or lack thereof on social networks, my mind reminded me of Trayvon Martin, Hurricane Sandy and its' aftermath and how Americans rallied together to support and comfort one another; then I wondered, where is our compassion for Palestine?

Day after day various news reports rolled in on Gaza and I could not understand how people weren't moved by this war. One would think that the loss of lives is reason enough to be concerned, but, perhaps it's different when the lives lost aren't those of American citizens.

How can we live in America and see abuse, poverty, and injustice in other countries and be indifferent about it? Have we become desensitized to the ills of this world or is it that we just don't care until it directly affects us? Are our minds so narrow that we only focus on what's directly in front of us, making us incapable of being concerned with the sufferings of others?

We talk of being a great nation, but how can that happen if we fail to look beyond our own backyards.
To be this great nation, our compassion must extend beyond America and to our brothers and sisters in, what we may consider, foreign lands.To be a great nation, we must truly care for our neighbors, for all of humanity, all of the time; not just when wars or natural disasters happen. To be a great nation, our hearts must be in tune with the broader concerns of humanity and not just our individual concerns. 

We cannot prosper as a people, nation or world when we see people dying and we choose to look the other way because it doesn't 'concern' us. We must start caring enough to care for others.

America, put humanity at the forefront of your mind and let's see how far we can go, together.

Kim Moore
Email: Kim@soulrevision.org
Twitter: @SoulRevision

What About November 7, 2012 ... The Day After The Election

What you do tomorrow, matters!

A couple of weeks ago I tuned into The League of Young Voters event and the most profound thing I heard came from a powerful activist, Rosa Clemente. The statement was a simple, thought-provoking call to action, "Voting is in 12 days, but what are you going to do on the 13th day?"

Well, election day is here. You went to the polls, you cast your vote, great! November 7, 2012 comes, now what will you do?

Veterans will still need jobs, students will still need financial assistance to go to college, what are you going to do to ensure that this can and will happen?

That change that we so desperately seek, the change we have so desperately longed for; it happens as a nation working together. What you do or don't do tomorrow, matters. The work doesn't stop at the polls; the work cannot stop today. The campaign for jobs, change, women's rights, veterans, college students, immigrants and other social issues must go on.

We have an individual responsibility to challenge our elected officials and see to it that they keep their word. It is our accountability that helps make our leaders great. But it is not the President alone that we must hold accountable; our local officials, as well as ourselves must be held to that same standard.

Your candidate will either win or lose today, but regardless of the outcome, what will you do tomorrow?

If we should see tomorrow, what will you do to ensure that our new President, whether he was your choice or not, upholds the promises he's made to America? What will you do to ensure that the Mayor of your city acts in your cities best interest? What will you do personally to implement the changes you would like to see on a local level?

If November 7th comes and we go back to doing nothing, we will have defeated our purpose at the polls today. Remember, change is an ongoing process that requires constant and consistent action from the collective!

Let's maintain continuity by continuing tomorrow what we started today, because the day after the election matters just as much as election day.

Kim Moore
Email: Kim@soulrevision.org
Twitter: @SoulRevision