Final Exam

 Go ahead and try. I dare you. Come up with a middle of the road position for the Israel-Gaza mess.

I'll wait. 

While we're all waiting for those common sense  propositions to come flooding in, I will relate an observation made I heard over the weekend: Wait until summer vacation. In a couple weeks, campuses will empty out on their own, and the "trouble" presented by protesters at U.S.  colleges will wither on the vine all by themselves. Not that these folks won't carry their idealism wherever they go, but hanging around an empty quad when the Jamba Juice across the street is closed for renovations and your girlfriend has left for her internship at Goldman Sachs may put a damper on one's commitment to tent city. 

Again, this is not to say that there is still plenty that needs to be resolved here. My wife has pointed out to me on numerous occasions that divestment is a strategy that can be used to force governments to make changes they might not feel like making. Money, or lack thereof, has a way of changing policy when public opinion is roundly ignored. Initial calls for divestment in South Africa began as early as the 1960s but it wasn't until 1986 that the United States went all in, or all out, in response to dismantle Apartheid. 

How many years do you suppose it will take to rearrange the power structure of the Middle East? 

As I have mentioned in this space before, I appreciate all the effort that goes into finding solutions. Meaningful solutions. Not just making signs and screaming at the top of your collective lungs. While I have been typing away here I have yet to see anyone making those kind of suggestions. "Death to Zion" is not probably the best way to go about freeing Palestine. That particular crossroads of humanity has been up for grabs since civilization began, and finding a way for everyone to have a home and to live in peace will not be a quick fix. 

So take your time. This is not a timed examination. We've got all summer. But for now let's agree that killing people in the name of freedom is a pretty weak thesis.