Perspectives
by ED CHERRYHOLMES
The Middle East is a boiling pot that threatens to drag much of the world into a global confrontation, the likes of which is unprecedented. How did the United States get caught up in an entanglement so that our economy has become second rate? It didn’t start a few months ago or even a few years ago.
For perspective, we must go back in history more than 4,000 years. At that time tribes and clans of Arabs and Jews dominated the world scene. War was waged constantly between the tribes. Arabs even fought Arabs and there was long-term bloodshed. But for centuries no one paid a lot of attention to this barren region. Much fighting took place around 1000 A.D. as the crusades gained a following. These crusades were led by Christians who thought they would rescue the “Holy City” (Jerusalem) from the Arabs who they claimed were infidels.
In spite of many more conflicts between Arabs and Arabs, the Middle East lived in relative peace for several hundred years. This peace started to disappear with the discovery of oil and the ability to produce it from the ground cheaply. World War I and II established the need for oil. This brought about the rise of tribes into nations and with that change they gained greater political power.
Until 1948 the Jews and Arabs lived together in relative peace in one nation called Palestine. In that year the state of Israel was created by a United Nations resolution. Politically the state of Palestine disappeared. Since then there has seldom been any peace in the entire area. Now we see conflict after conflict. We find ourselves being involved in these conflicts and living with the constant danger of renewed wars. Albert Einstein said: “I do not know with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.”
The goal for peace still seems far away and who can say where it will lead. The Bible states: “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.” (Zechariah 4:6) Although this world is in continuous danger, we still seek the path of living peaceably together. “When the power of love becomes stronger than the love of power, then peace will come to the earth.” (Author Unknown).
