Non- Fiction Reading Response 11/11/14

     The article "How The Murder of Four Teens Started a War" by Patricia Smith really shows how a chain reaction can cause a large conundrum in this crazy world. The article tells the true story of three Israeli teens that were kidnapped murdered by a Palestinian militant group, and then a Palestinian who was murdered by Israeli militants in retaliation. Then the article goes on to talk about how all of this (among other things in the past) started a seven week long war with hundreds upon hundreds of deaths, drawing great international scrutiny. The author frames this in a very specific manner to incite thought in you about how such a large scale event could be caused by four murders. (Granted, these are terrible acts, but should not have caused a full blown war).
    The author used many powerful "loaded words" to emphasize her point. She used the word "bludgeoned" for example to show the inhumanity and cruelty in events such as these.The definition of the word bludgeon is: to beat repeatedly with a cudgel or other heavy object. She also used words and phrases such as "extremist", "militant", and "murdered in cold blood", as well as "beast", and "anger" to show how devoted and determined both sides were to their cause, and what extent they were willing to go for that cause, to see it through to victory. For example, in the article it states "Israel's existence was secured, along with the seeds of Arab anger." to show how the two would in the future have a very hard time coexisting. It furthers this by stating later that "Hamas doesn't even recognize Israel's existence." The people on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have valid and legitimate problems, and there is a lot of difficulty in figuring out how to solve problems like these.
    This article really strikes a chord with me. I have cultural connections to the middle east, and these problems are valid and important issues. The teens being murdered was the result of the widespread hate and contempt in the middle east. When I heard about the three Israeli teens being murdered on the news, I pondered for hours on how and why people would do things like this. But, even in the darkest times, people need to find solace. The mother of the Palestinian boy who was murdered emphasized the need to coexist rather than wipe out the other side, so that issues like murder won't arise. The aunt of one of the Israeli teens, and the uncle of another seconded this notion. This article touched on a lot of deep, important  topics, and the author brought out all the flavor in those tidbits by usin loaded words.