Today we took a guided cruise down the Hudson River. The view was stunning and the history fascinating.  It turns out that Henry Hudson in search of a route to India explored up the Hudson River, which at that time was fully inhabited by the indigenous Indians. However, they discovered that this was a great route for trading and a path to prosperity.  

Except that the Indians were in the way.  And so by hook or by crook the Indians were driven away and the rest is history, and the European invaders built an amazing world of prosperity and wealth. “Millionaires’ Row”, a collection of mansions along Hudson in what is now known as Tarrytown, Irvington area, is but one example of this wealth - these were the second homes of the result of this European invasion which ultimately led to NYC, which as everyone knows is, now, the seat of global power and wealth

Some would argue that it was this competition that led to the progress that we have made, and to a certain extent, they would be right, except that at the time a few of the Europeans succeeded at the expense of the whole of the indigenous population. Once again underlying the LifeBahn philosophy that:

Imagine if instead of competing and creating conflict, those early Europeans would have collaborated with the indigenous people. I would argue that they would have made an even more prosperous environment for many more people with a lot less bloodshed and human misery, much of which is not even recorded.

As I listened to this historic guide to the Hudson River, I could not but help see the parallel between what the Europeans did to the Indigenous Indians and what Israel and the settlers are doing, and have been doing for decades, to the Palestinian people - perhaps we are witnessing the final push of Israel's effort to drive out the Palestinians to extinction, while all the time crying wolf that Iran is after them, as they have been systematically, with the help of the US and in the name of defense (IDF), terrorizing the Palestinians for decades.  

Let there be no mistake, what Hammas has done and has been doing is evil and they should be held accountable, just as what Netanyahu is doing is evil and he too should be held accountable. They both have the same mentality and the mindset of competition at it’s most cruelest.

To be perfectly clear, it is not about Palestinians or Israelis, nor about Arabs(Muslims) or Jews.  In LifeBahn's eyes, it is about evil deeds committed and those who committed those evil deeds.  They should be dealt with on a deed-by-deed basis NOT as a blanket condemnation of all people associated with the party committing those evil deeds, as Israel is doing to the people of Gaza.   

In LifeBahn’s view, and if both the people of Israel and the Palestinian had access to the facts and were given free choice would agree, the only practical and reasonable solution has to be the two-state solution, and that the USA aid which is now going to Israel is used to rebuild the Palestine state. Thus both the people of Israel and Palestine would be able to live in peace and harmony.   Sadly, this will not be allowed to happen by the arms providers, who are the real beneficiaries of this conflict and human misery.   

What do you think?  Please comment and share your thoughts!

Sidenote:  Education is learning about the history which is readily available.

GREAT education is putting it in context and relating to real life and recognizing both sides of the coin, the advantages it brings and the cost of those advantages, and using this to find a BETTER way. Hence, Globally Relevant Education And Training (GREAT). For more see edugreat.org