This Land is My Land

The idea that land is sacred may seem idiotic to many agnostics and athiests, but I find it easier if I remember back to the children's song by Woody Gutherie. The idea of your land and my land always came so naturally back when I was young. Before we even understand what the word means, capitalism makes perfect sense to the child who is struggling to overcome the hurdle of egoism. To me, so did the idea that God had created the land as he did soley for our use. The concept of land and ownership, as basic as it may seem, is at the heart of the international political debate. Some look at land as an economic assett, and others view it as a God given comodity. If we are to understand the tension in the middle east, we must explore these two views and anazlyze what they share and how they contrast.
As an American, it is easy to percieve this debate from the capitisitic frame of reference. After all, land ownership is a right that most Americans strive for. However, as an American, it is important to examine the concept of property through the lens of a spiritualist. In this perspective, land is not "owned" by anyone. God is responsible for everything that we see. For Years Arab leaders with this vision enjoyed dominance of this region and faced limited outside interferance. It was not until the discovery of large deposits of oil that frequent intervention occured.
Persian oil …is yours. We share the oil of Iraq and Kuwait. As for Saudi Arabian oil, it’s ours.
--Franklin D. Roosevelt to a British Ambassador in 1944.
However, the creation of Israel in May, 1949 was the ultimate source of strife in this region. Thrown into exile and moved from their homes, Palestinians were told to assimilate into other societies and refused a political solution.
to be continued