A Big Day

And a sad day. Israel bombed an apartment house in Qana, Lebanon, killing 56 people, with most of them being women and children. Israel has responded to the outcries from the world by suspending its air attacks for 48 hours.

While I fully support Israel, I cannot say that I understand things like this. If you read your Old Testament (and I strongly urge you to if you want to have a broader understanding of the Arab-Israeli conflict) then you know that violence and wars and the residual killings of women and children were commonplace even in the time of Moses and Joshua. But, does it make it easier to stomach?

One could argue successfully that Hezbollah has been killing innocent civilians before and after the Gaza withdrawal by Israel, and that they just got a taste of their own medicine. Even now, as Israel tries (obviously not always successfully) using guiding technology to perform surgical air strikes, Hezbollah lobs bombs aimlessly at Israel, not taking into account the consequences of residual civilian casualties. Where is the outcry from the world and the U.N. about these actions?

But, in the end, all of that doesn't matter to the families of the people killed today. I think of my wife and children, and how completely and utterly devastated I would be tonight if they had been 3 of the 56 people killed today.

While Israel and Hezbollah fight out this centuries-long battle over a relatively small piece of land, there is a father in Qana tonight who has lost everything. He cries for the woman he loved deeply and mourns his little daughter, who he probably considered his "little princess." And he wails out loud knowing that his son, who he was trying to raise up to be a good man, is perhaps buried under tons of rubble, maybe with his favorite toy laying close-by.

This is the reality of war. Right now, I could give a damn about who is right and who is wrong. Right now I just pray for everyone in the line of fire--and everyone left behind to grieve.