To anyone watching this, thank you for spending time and energy into learning the complexities of this history, and for not just reading headlines. And thank you, History on Maps, for showing the roots of this history back millennia, and not just starting from a hundred years ago, which is where I've seen most informational videos start so far.
I have loved ones in both Palestine and Israel, and I have spoken with some of them to hear how they are feeling. Doing so definitely adds to the complexity and hopelessness to the current situation, but it also adds humanity to these regions that currently have armies and singular political leaders as faces, especially during a time when people are in a rush to "pick a side." I have also been ingesting purposely biased media from both sides (I've found that it is imperative to see either BOTH or NEITHER, but never just one perspective), and it reminds me of hard truths I don't see in-person. Children losing their childhood. Spouses losing their other halves. Siblings burying siblings. Morbid things that don't require an ethnic or religious background in order to be morbid. It reminds me why I need to do more, because how could I choose which of my loved ones "deserve" to die?
For an outsider, it can be difficult and time-consuming work, to research and develop so many thoughts and yet still be uncertain how to move forward. It's easy to pick a side quickly, so that one doesn't have to becoming increasingly puzzled by the intricacies of numerous narratives. It's easy to distance oneself, because it hurts to sympathize by putting oneself in the shoes of those suffering. That's why this work--taking extra time to look for facts, staying vigilant about from whom you get your information, and keeping an open mind--is the first step. And there can be no second step without it.
So, thank you for caring about context, for having a desire to understand, and for actively seeking it out. May education always welcome you, and may you always welcome education.
