Journal Assignment 2

This assignment is intimidating to me..."drawing on our previous readings...what are my ideas for future Arab-Israeli negotiations?"  Too fast a move could cause cataclysmic results.  I first would have to consider something Thomas Edison made clear: it's not that he failed 9,999 times while trying to invent the light bulb filament.  Rather, he found 9,999 ways it would not work.  And I should also consider something Confucius pointed out: A wise man learns from his own mistakes, but a really wise man learns from the mistakes of others.  Armed with that food for thought, I think I would approach a conflict resolution by thoroughly itemizing every attempt, every hint of an attempt, of conflict resolution that 'did not work' for other wise and not so wise men through the ages.  I would list each one and appoint highly (if not overly) qualified committees to research the attempts inside and out.  Then I would try and find common denominators for any of the attempts made at conflict resolution.  Maybe they would be rated from 'almost worked' to ‘never came close.’  Also, a computer genius could surely take the millions of facts and spit them back out with some kind of pattern for consideration; a 'road-map to conflict resolution.'  Likewise, maybe they would be rated 'worth trying' to 'waste of time.'  Anticipation would build as the information was again reviewed by the committees and a final tweaking of last minute changes made before offering the road-map, in some sort of order, to the world...or at least to the involved parties.

This may sound rather simplistic, but it’s only part of what might be needed for conflict resolution.  If ground isn’t made receptive for seed, the seed is wasted and nothing grows.  Likewise, the hearts and minds of men must be made receptive.  Now, maybe this has been the real challenge all along.  How can this happen?  Reverting back to Thomas Edison, we can look at history in a million areas and see what hasn’t and what doesn’t work with people.  Realizing that we are dealing with intensely multidimensional heartfelt issues, experts would have to be gathered to discuss this aspect of conflict resolution amongst and with those involved.  

Where is the icing on the proverbial cake, the carrot on the stick…that which makes mouths water, minds consider, and hearts melt?  That may be the priceless question and the impossible answer.  But, as another wise person once told me, “Mom, if you don’t try, you’ll miss 100% of the shots!”  So, while we may try 9,999 more times to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict and find 9,999 more ways that don’t work, without working toward conflict resolution, we miss 100% of the shots, 100% of the time.  This may not be the answer to the Arab-Israeli conflict you can take and run with, but it may be one that offers a first step on the roadmap to conflict resolution.