Rose at Road Side

It's easy to go through life at full speed, as if every minute of every day must be productive. It's like running on maximum capacity nonstop. This kind of lifestyle has it's benefits. My favorite is the feeling I get after exhausting my energy towards constructive, positive things. The down side is that at top speed, you don't always see the roses in your peripheral. Tonight was saw a rose.

After school, I had track practice. Then I went down for a cone of pecan yogurt cream at the local parlor to celebrate a friend's birthday. I got home for dinner, started homework, and showered. I talked with my grandma on the phone, then to my mom in person for about ten minutes. And then I was back out the door for the last scheduled event of the day: summer baby-sitting job interview.

So I got to meet the family of four for the first time. I came ready with my calendar, a list of questions, and a pencil. I was not at all nervous, just anxious to get the "all right young lady, you have the job for the summer" remark. But for the first time today, I slowed down and had a conversation with the family. I wouldn't say the conversation was completely off-topic, because it allowed us to get to know each other, but it wasn't scripted baby-sitting lingo.

I saw a rose and ceased the opportunity to enjoy it. There in the family's kitchen, we sat around talking about all sorts of things. And of all things, the conversation took us around the world. At one point we were talking about China. Another moment we were discussing colleges across the States. But my favorite destination of this 1 hour long talk landed us in Israel.

I learned that the father of the family has been to Israel five times, the last trip being in February of this year. I am going to blog about this soon, but just last Sunday, a Christian Jew spoke at our church about his Jewish ethnicity and his acceptance of Jesus Christ as his Messiah. Needless to say, I found it awesome that within the same week, I was learning so much more about Israel.

My government teacher explained to me some of the rudimentary causes of Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He said that Palestinians occupy the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, both territories within the country of Israel. Both claim right to the land, thus the ceaseless turmoil.

With this in mind, I was excited to hear about the father's travels. I've always had a side-lined desire to visit the country someday. I asked him about his experience. Did he witness the chaos? It turns out, he stayed near the U.S. embassy on the Mediterranean. I was shocked to learn of the culture there: young, secular rebels distracted by music clubs and rebellious fashions. Jerusalem, the holy city, is 45 minutes from here. And the Gaza Strip...15 miles down the road.

He recalls the constant gunfire through the night. He was told not to worry, because it's "normal." I can't imagine. A more close encounter came the day he toured without a tour guide. To make a long story short, the father was stopped by guards while trying to make it back to his hotel. When the guards came up to his car, he found out the guards were really Israeli border patrol. They told him he was no longer in Israel and needed a Visa to return! He didn't need a Visa to get from JFK to Israel, and was no being treated like a Palestinian trying to enter Israel!

Need I remind you, the wife was sitting at the table as he told me this. I occasionally glanced over to her to assess her reaction. It matched what I presumed it to be: "I can't believe he survived the event" and "never go on an unguided tour again!"

A couple other things I learned tonight: Israel has extremely high taxes. Let's say you buy a $20,000 car. They tax it 50%. So you pay $10,000 in taxes just to own one car. Also, let's say you are Jewish. Jewish people believe the Messiah is yet to come, and when he does, all the deceased Jews will ascend from the graves with him. So you pay a minimum of $5,000 for the simplest Jewish burial. But if you want the prime graveyard real estate, you pay like $70,000! Where does all this money go??? The government.

It makes sense though. The Israeli government would not stand a chance without substantial finances to fund their military. They are surrounded by the enemy and trapped alongside the Sea. If they hope to maintain what limited sovereignty they have, they must. That's also why, upon high school graduation, all citizens are required to serve in the military. I think he said girls are required to serve two years, and guys must serve 3-4 years. After your time is up, you can stay in the military, or pursue further education and the work force.

It's hard to imagine what this might be like if the same were true in America. But if you did, our current state of chaos would amplify to a whole new level: much higher taxes and a constant conscription equals protests. But it's interesting. The father said he knew of know such protesting in Israel. What can this tell us? Can we say that they are more patriotic to their country because they must fight for its survival every day? Can we say, we are losing our patriotism because we coast on our expectations of freedom and stability?

Does this represent a cultural collision? Yes. But it is more than just that. It's a political, social, religious, and ethnic power struggle. There is no doubt that this is a bad exchange because there is no exchange; there's only take and control, with no room for compromise.

I am only an American trying to understand this collision. I had no idea I would smell a rose tonight, let alone this kind. But I am sure glad I did. Have you smelled a rose lately?

Roses are red,
Violets are blue.
I like their smell,
How about you?