Same is just as true of 2014, 2004, or even 1994, regardless of who might or might not say so.

No, not at all. Some very serious foreign policy thinkers in the US have said similar if not exactly the same, especially in 1994!

Same is just as true of 2014, 2004, or even 1994, regardless of who might or might not say so.

Exactly.

Magic 8 ball says:

"Prepare ship for ludicrous speed! Fasten all seatbelts, seal all entrances and exits, close all shops in the mall, cancel the three ring circus, secure all animals in the zoo!"

Hey, that is exactly what my Magic 8 Ball said! This simply cannot be a mere coincidence!

Although they are infinitely larger and almost unwieldy, it was very wise of the Magic 8 Ball people to make those Magic Spaceballs. ;)

"Prepare ship for ludicrous speed! Fasten all seatbelts, seal all entrances and exits, close all shops in the mall, cancel the three ring circus, secure all animals in the zoo!"

Personally, I have not written about the situation in Gaza, Israel, or on American college campuses because I find I can sympathize with both sides' arguments to some degree or another. Which translates to: "I don't have anything profound to add to the conversation either way." Perhaps this is a cop-out, but the way I see it is that both sides certainly have a point -- but also that neither side is completely blameless.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been, is, and may always be a hopelessly intractable issue with more than two sides, each with legitimate concerns and aspirations and bloody stains on their history of dealing with each other during the great struggle for peace in the Middle East. Which is why most people refrain from adding anything, profound or otherwise, to the conversation. Sometimes, the best you can do is try to understand, if only on a superficial level, what is happening on the ground and even that much is often next to impossible to know in any great detail.

Even people who care deeply about what happens in the Middle East can be forgiven for being adverse to jumping into a discussion about the seemingly insurmountable challenges to solving the problem of how two peoples in one land caught in such a longstanding and vicious cycle of violence can ever hope to live side by side in peace and security.

And, yet, if we don't write about it and we don't exchange views about how Israel and the Palestinians and the regional powers and the US and wider international community deal with this issue, then how can there be any hope at all for ending the current horrific situation, let alone any hope for a sustainable and just peace for Israel, Palestinians and the entire region, all with consequences right up to our own front door?