The times they aren't a-changin'

In Germany millions watched as a new wall was erected separating East and West Germany. After World War II Germany was divided into different states ruled by world powers to control conflict and to stop the unity of a German world power. The wall lasted from 1961 until 1989 and threw the country into a time period of personal, economic, and developmental struggles. When the people made the decision to tear the wall down its impact reverberated around the world. Here was a people done with the separation, and a concrete wall that was making the distinction between two groups of people who at the base of everything were human. This decision was not made by outside powers forcing them to tear it down, it was made of their own volition.
The Palestinian and Israeli conflict is on many people's minds as the world watches Israel building a wall for protection, closing off the Palestinian neighborhoods. While this concrete wall is a new construction of the 20th century, the historical significance of a wall and its mistaken protection is a story echoed over centuries of pain. When cultures define themselves as something different from each other they can co-mingle or they will feel the need to separate. And during the colonial era we see many lines being drawn through countries, tribes, and families that do not make sense except for the outside viewer. The drawing lines of Africa speak well on this topic as many tribes were displaced with the creation of countries within the continent by British, French and Belgian decisions. No African committee was heard, and colonists did not due research into the area. It was more the significance of quantity of land and the creation of port cities than the displacement of human beings that was on the mind of colonial powers.
The Israeli wall is similar to the wall of Berlin because in essence people are people and a wall cannot bring you protection. As discussed in Mind 182 we argued the point that how bad could the fighting truly get without the wall. Supporters of the wall argue that it does provide a sense of protection from the violence created by the Palestinians. But a wall serves as a threat for the other side, and cuts them off from advantages such as jobs, healthcare, and supplies necessary to live. The question is, how is this not a repeat of history, and will it not solve itself? Who should be the provoker in this conflict? Who should take the higher ground and fight peacefully? Conflicts can never be solved with violence and this is no exception. Only when both sides are willing to listen and not be the blind leading the blind will any issue be resolved. It is not a simple task, in fact it is rather daunting. But it is not an outside aggressor that is going to bring change and a solution, but rather a force inside that must stand up and take action. In South Africa it was Nelson Mandela, in India it was Gandhi and in America it was Martin Luther King Jr. We have these figureheads that youth and generations afterwards can look up to and this needs to occur in this new conflict.
With this conflict comes pain on both sides, and an instability to economy, social structure, and general lifestyle. Even though destroying the wall is not the only solution it is one that may help heal wounds faster. After a while people will come out of the shadows of oppression and fight for their people to have a voice in their community. A solution will come, the problem and question is how. This event was created by people and must be ended by the people in that area. Because in the end no matter how hard other world powers push, it is in the people's hands to do the right thing in action.