"Promises"

I had recently watched the documentary "Promises", about the Israeli-Palistinian conflict and it really got me thinking about the idea of social interaction. This film showed us that these people, especially the youth population, really only knew the negative or violent aspects of the other. These children are being raised in the middle of a war, living seperate, violent, hate-filled ways of life. When interviewed, the children initially wanted nothing to do with a more unified way of life. However, once an outside source was part of the equation, these children agreed to meet. They seemed somewhat shocked that they were able to intertwine and have fun so easily. By the end of the day the children had a much more open mind about their separate lives. They seemed to realize that they were all human beings and it was merely a war that was keeping them from living peaceful lives together. This type of interaction was able to essentially change a "segregated state of mind" into a more unifed, peaceful one. Also this dealt with only a small group, social interaction is a very powerful strategy.