Awareness is Contagious

America is such a large country, filled with so many people. Some of the most intelligent, kind and charming people I've ever met reside in America. However, sometimes people are so concerned with their own lives, their own problems and dramas that they become ignorant. Ignorant of the world around them. I'm definitely aware that we are all entitled to our own opinions, being a former journalist, I've come to appreciate what it means to be non-judgmental. So this is my opinion.

As a resident of this world, I feel that it's important to know about what's going on in other parts of the world. We all live our lives differently and often times your place of residence can affect they way you live your life. Living in Israel is affecting my life. It's changing my life and making me more aware of what's going on here and what Americans may not have been informed of. Every day Jewish people in this country are fighting for their religion and their right to be here. Most people are aware of the Jewish-Arab conflict but I'm not so sure they know how often Israelis have to deal with it. It's not just bombs. It's hurtful words, it's people's personal property being destroyed and having large rocks thrown at them. Yes, it happens. And no, these hateful actions are not reserved for the Gaza Strip. It happens in Jerusalem and it happens in Yafo, Tel Aviv.

As I was having my breakfast this morning, I looked down on the couch and saw a picture in the newspaper that shocked me. Several Arab men were destroying a Jewish person's car that was parked in Jerusalem. The first thought that popped into my head was, "Why didn't anyone stop them?" But I guess living here hasn't changed the fact that I'm still a bit naive.

From what I've been told, this kind of stuff happens all the time. I saw other pictures in which Arab men were throwing some pretty big rocks at a bus filled with Orthodox Jews and lighting a car on fire. "This happens all the time," they tell me. But that doesn't make it okay. It makes me sad to think that it could have been anyone on that bus, it could have been one of my cousins or it could have been me. Anyone could have easily been knocked unconscious by the size of those rocks. The point is that even I didn't know it was quite that common. Hate crimes can be avoided. We work toward so much for our future. Why not work toward tolerance? It's important to talk about these things. Do you know what's going on in your country? In your world? Because honey, this is YOUR world. We all live here, breathe the same air and require the same basic necessities to live. Be aware because your awareness is contagious and it's about time this universe was infected with something positive.

TTFN XX