I don’t know about you, but I have a hard time remembering that I have it pretty good.  We’ve all heard the statistics:  1 out of every 6 people around the world lives on less than $1 a day, 800 million people go hungry each day, 8 million people die each year from absolute poverty, and on and on the stats go.  But we’re numb to reality.  We live in a desensitized age where nothing is shocking, except maybe $4/gallon gas.  And now that we’re back to paying $1.75/gallon, all is right with the world.

I am guilty of this, just like you, and I want to change something – anything.  But how?  There are ways to live unconventionally, but I’m married, work full-time and go to school, so there is not much time leftover to jet to Africa to feed AIDS orphans, or to do anything that will prove effective in the long run.  My wife and I sponsor a couple kids overseas, which is nice and I know it makes a world of difference in their lives, but I want to do something bigger.  I find myself reading stories on cnn.com every day about some desperate situation on the other side of the world and I always feel like I’m wasting my life by living so comfortably.  So I am going to keep a list of situations that need my thoughts, your prayers, and someone with the resources to actually affect some change.  I know my thoughts will not fix anything, but as long as those stories stay at the forefront of my attention, I will not be able to get comfortable and complacent with my cozy life.  Vol. 1 of said list is as follows:

The humanitarian crisis taking place in Gaza.  The Israelies and Palestinians have been throwing bombs at each other for 60 years at the detriment of their respective populations, but Israel has the bigger guns and Palestine has suffered the most.  49% unemployement rate in the Gaza Strip.  Something like 25% unemployment in the West Bank.  Both are breeding grounds for Islamic fundamentalism and suicide bombers as a result of unending war, unemployment and poverty.

I once watched a documentary in which the host interviewed young Muslim men in the West Bank about their perceived plight at the hands of the Israelis.  Most felt a sense of hopelessness, fear and anger towards Israel’s security fence that separates the West Bank from Israel proper.  They called the security fence the “apartheid wall.”  Many cite this hopelessness as motivation for engaging in violent acts against Israel.  Of course the Israelis consider the security wall prudent to their own safety.  Many Israelis refer to the security wall as an “anti-terrorist fence.”

In regards to the current conflict, I have read commentary by multiple pundits who say that both sides have committed tanamount to war crimes.  The Palestinians for launching rockets at non-combatants in Israeli settlements near the Gaza border and allegedly launching rockets from the rooftop of a United Nations school in Gaza, which resulted in an Israeli retaliatory strike that left 40+ children dead.  The strike on the school is still being investigated by the Israel Defense Force, but many Muslim groups are declaring the Israeli strike a crime against humanity and are calling for Israel to face international war crimes charges.

The fact is that a tremendously tragic event occured, among a sea of tremendously tragic events unfolding as I type this.  Over 600 dead.  1/5 of those are women and children.  This is a crisis unlike any in recent Near East history.  It is discouraging to think that some of our world’s best and brightest policy makers, despite their best efforts, have done little to avert the violence.