The Blogs: To the Journey

The Arab Peace Initiative (revised edition 2013) may (or may not) be a candidate for the next big push where peace negotiations between Israel and her Arab neighbours are concerned.

Only time will tell and, so far, time has not been kind to the majority of such proposals. Indeed, not one of them has ever achieved that level of universal and unalloyed confidence so vital if matters are to progress much beyond what has been, for generations, some very rigid and long standing boundaries.

Each new foray into one of these ventures is rather like trying out an unfamiliar car for the very first time.

1. Is the engine capacity sufficient to attain the speed claimed by the manufacturer?

2. Will the suspension be able to cope with all the potholes and speed bumps on the various types of road surface likely to be encountered?

3. Has the insurance and road tax been paid?

4. Does the steering pull to one side; is this towards the right or the left?

5. What level of breakdown cover exists and does it extend to every eventuality?

With so many exacting variables to cater for, it is, perhaps, unsurprising that vehicles in the past have been seriously deficient in at least one or two of these categories; in such circumstances, even the opportunity of a test drive has very often been declined.

It would seem that a conveyance of more robust construction, dimension and accreditation is required here, one better suited to undertake so arduous a journey and to accommodate even the most reluctant of passengers. By providing the very best chance of reaching a destination still far outside the narrow confines of the present set-up, everyone might then be prepared to get on board for just one more ride.

Then peace, which had previously been viewed as such a hopelessly distant prospect, can now be seen as coming well within range.

After eons of trial and error, most of it error, the human race should have established some grasp on how things work within us and what motivates our reasons for continued existence. Let’s prove to the world and to ourselves that, with all this painfully acquired instruction, we now stand ready to put some of it to good use.