If Not Now, When?
Is Palestine pushing the envelope?
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven
Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NIV)
What do we want? — Ceasefire! — When do we want it? — Now!
Every pro-Palestine march
It’s not only in pleasure that we seek instant gratification. We become impatient when there’s an injustice. We are rightly frustrated when governments, bureaucracy and negotiations impede progress. Every passing hour can mean more casualties whether that might mean losing a job, a house or a life. It seems we are always on the back foot, catching up, late to the game. Too often the arc of justice is so long that those caught up in the situation won’t see justice in their lifetime.
Only in stories do resolutions follow conflicts in an unbroken line. When things come easily we are rightly suspicious. We look for the grease that got applied unbeknown to us. Everyone understands that there’s no such thing as an overnight success. Yet unresolved matters still bite at our heals and keep us awake at night. And we don’t appreciate that our lives run on milliseconds, not days — all the unconscious actions and incidents that we are engaged with or reliant on. Life does go on even when we feel suspended in time. Politics might seem like a machine comprising…
