If These Walls Could Talk....

...they would probably say, "Stop getting us involved!"

I had a strange moment the other day...a moment when, while simultaneously looking at a picture of one thing and a bunch of words written about something else, and suddenly a whole new thought came into my head. The picture was of the wall being built in our country's southern borders with Mexico and the bunch of words had something to do with Obama's support of AIPAC. Suddenly, it came to me, this new idea.

The Great Wall of China must seem like a cure-all solution for the US and Israel today. When you don't want someone coming into "your" country, just build a wall! Much like people not wanting people to come to close to them so they build an emotional wall...some of you may be better able to relate to that.

Why does this seem like such a good idea? Why does simply putting a band-aid (or in this case a giant wall) on the wound seem like it will make it heal? The Great Wall of China may have been successful in keeping the Mongols out, but we are not living in barbarians days anymore. We live in a world of dipolmacy...of democracy...of the United Nations...why can't we find other ways of solving our problems?

Another advantage of our modern times is our modern technologies. The Mongols may not have been able to break down the Great Wall with their swords or their testosterone, but today there are new options for people really, really wanting to get through a wall.

And what about the other feature of our modernity: the recognition of human rights? You know, we may still be living in a world of barbarians, but are they still the ones trying to get over the wall?