Today We Call Ourselves Israeli

We have many names

We are after all everyone.

Today we Americans‹ can be called Israelis.

We feel fear and we feel hate.

We feel despised by millions of people around the world.

We don¹t understand why.

We are good people. We too have suffered greatly.

We love our children. We don¹t want to harm others.

We feel forced to continuously fight an enemy that wants to destroy us.

Today we Americans in the name of freedom from our fear,

are calling Iraqis the name enemy.

We are blowing up their homes and killing them.

We call them evil terrorists when they refuse to stand out in the open and fight like us;

out in the open where we can kill them with our precision bombs.

They are the ones not fighting fair.

They are making us get blood on our hands and souls.

We forget that when our country was young.

It was us that used all the tricks to beat the British.

The British marched in military formation.

They had strong armies and great guns.

We ambushed them from behind trees and ran away.

Our tactics made the proud British army go home.

And it was the British then that believed in Empire.

They wanted to rule the world. They were very strong.

They wanted to own all the world¹s riches.

We fought hard for our liberty and independence.

For the freedoms that we are now taking for granted and freely giving up.

It is now us that believe that we should rule and own everything.

Regardless of the cost.

The British were not hateful by birth.

Neither are the Israelis.

Nor us.

Hate, greed and self-righteousness can feel so good for a while.

Like sexual arousal‹

These emotions can fill our bodies with blood and passion.

They make us feel so strong, so powerful.

So alive. But the feeling will not last.

Hate can also feel so bad.

Like death itself- it makes us separate.

It causes innocence to suffer and die and it despoils the earth.

It eventually fills our bodies with coldness---

And makes us feel so alone.

On the other hand.

Love can feel so good.

Like being connected with others in intimate relationship.

Like feeling and seeing all the connections and harmony in our universe.

Love can help us all overcome fear.

It can teach us that we can share our bounty.

Love never makes us feel bad.

Love is the name we must become.

Victor Bremson

March 29th, 2003

Based on a previous writing- August 2002