I just watched a discovery channel show on the Israel fence/wall being built in and around the West Bank. The host of the documentary was Tom Friedman. The most memorable part of the show was when Tom met with several young Palestinian men, all of whom offered the party line, "Life's not much worth living in the West Bank, being constantly humiliated and caged in, why not become a martyr?"

One young man was saying that all Palestinian children were being bred to become martyrs. As he spoke he quivered. He was a scared boy - but at the same time, a tragic day away from blowing up a bus.

The Palestinian's remind me of someone you want to care about, but who keep hurting themself, so caring for them ends up hurting. It makes you want to care less.

I don't think all these people in Israel and Palestine are crazy, I just think they get the details wrong time and time again. These details add up and accummulate and over time allow cancers, like terrorism to fester and grow. The soldier who makes a young man strip in front of girls, the parent who does not denounce a suicide bomber, the strategic military planner who structures the fence around "Palestinian" land, the Palestinian politician who won't stand up to terrorist leaders, the Arab kid who throws stones at Jewish kids, the Jewish settler who cites the word of God for giving him the right to be in ancient Judea. These people are all culpable and partially responsible for the mess.

I firmly believe that the world functions by many people getting the details right. Making sure others get a fair shake, a decent opportunity, and so on. I guess the job of a social and political system is to maximize the reward to individuals for doing these details right and to not reward skimping on those details.