The Palestinian-Israeli conflict

The Palestinian-Israeli conflict Across the Muslim world it is a common refrain that Palestine is the mother of all problems. (Atran Ginges: 2009: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/25/opinion/25atran .html) That these claims could be made about such a small piece of land, particularly one which has so little oil is extraordinary, serving only to highlight the importance of finding a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. To date, the numerous attempts at solving the conflict have all ended in failure. The prospects for a peaceful solution in the foreseeable future look bleak, with a wide range of factors contributing towards this, most notably the role of extremists, the failure of the peace process, actions of the Israeli Government, splits among the Palestinians and the actions of outside parties who benefit from the continuation of the conflict, as well as more fundamental underlying disagreements, particularly the refugee problem and the sovereignty of East Jerusalem. The Palestinian Israeli conflict is primarily a dispute over the control of land. It has been described by Amos Oz, an Israeli journalist and author, as a tragedy, a clash between one very powerful, very convincing, very painful claim over this land and another no less powerful, no less convincing claim. (Oz: 2002: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middle_ east/jan-june02/oz_1-23.html) In 1947 the UN passed a partition plan, attempting to find a solution to both of these claims, however this was rejected by the Arabs of Palestine and civil war broke out between them and the Jews of Palestine. (McDowall: 24: 1995) After Israel declared its independence on 14th May 1948, many of the surrounding Arab countries sent forces to attack the new state of Israel. In the 1967 Six Day War, Israel gained the Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip from Egypt, the Golan Heights from Syria, and the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan. (Smith: 2004: 279) Having returned the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt in 1979-1982, in 1993 Israel and Palestine signed the Oslo Accords, which agreed Israeli withdrawal from parts of the West Bank and the Gaza strip, as well as for Palestinian self-government within those areas. (Smith: 2004: 438) Despite strong hopes for a final status agreement at the Camp David Summit in July 2000, this was not reached. After the Al-Aqsa Intifada broke out later that year and the subsequent deterioration in Palestinian-Israeli relations, agreement presently looks a long way off. The two-state solution is the consensus solution to the conflict, with polling indicating that it has the support of the majority of both Palestinians and Israelis. (Pallister: 2009: http:// www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/apr/22/israel-palestine-poll) Neither sees this as their ideal solution; however a majority of both recognise it is the only realistic way for peace to occur. Extremists on both sides present a constant obstacle towards solving the conflict. Rather than accepting that compromises are necessary, they are dismissive of the other sides right to exist. In Israel, there are organisations, including members of Benjamin Netanyahus current cabinet, that still believe that the Jewish State should include most, if not all, of Greater Israel, which among other areas, contains the West Bank. (Zakaria: 2010: http://www.cnn. com/2010/OPINION/03/18/zakaria.israel.mistake) Among Palestinians, extremists reject Israels right to exist and work to stop the possibility of peaceful coexistence. They have launched suicide attacks against Israeli civilians in their attempts to disrupt peace negotiations. Part of the reason peace has been difficult to achieve post-2000 has been the change in opinion among Israeli citizens that peace is a realistic possibility. When the Oslo Accords were signed, Israelis saw that by allowing Palestinians to self-govern, they were taking large risks and making a significant compromise. They tend to perceive the Camp David offer to the Palestinians as fair and just, and blame the lack of peace on Yasser Arafat for refusing to take it. (Morris: 2009: 135) With the Al-Aqsa Intifada beginning in late 2000 and causing the deaths of over a thousand Israeli civilians, (Catignani: 2008: 103) Israelis increasingly began to see the Palestinians as unwilling to make the compromises necessary for a two-state solution, destroying the belief of much of Israeli society in the possibility of peace. (Catignani: 2008: 103) This was only confirmed by the comprehensive victory of Hamas over the more moderate but corruption ridden Fatah in the Palestinian legislative electi on of 2006. Although also a social organisation, Hamas had perpetrated numerous suicide bombings against Israeli civilians, and rejects any attempt at a political settlement with Israel. (Mishal Sela: 2006: 52) In this context, many Israelis have concluded that they do not have a partner in achieving peace. Given that allowing the Palestinians to self-rule under the Oslo Accords had created areas from which it was significantly easier to plot attacks on Israel, (Catignani: 2008 131) they are incredibly wary of giving the Palestinians control of more land, questioning whether organisations such as Hamas will ever cease to attack Israel. Post-2000, the actions of the Israeli government have also made an end to the conflict significantly more difficult to achieve. Thousands of Palestinians have died at the hands of the Israel Defence Forces, with more suffering serious injuries. In 2005 Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza, however the area has been under blockade since 2007, preventing the access of vital food and medical supplies. In May 2008, even before the more recent Gaza War of 2008-09, the International Committee of the Red Cross estimated that over 70% of Gazans were living in poverty. (ICRC: 2009: http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/html /palestine-report-260609) In the West Bank the almost decade-long downturn has been largely a result of Israeli closure policieswhich disrupted labor flows, manufacturing, and commerce, both external and internal. (CIA World Factbook: 2010: https://www.cia.gov/libr ary/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/we.html) Since 2002 the Israeli Government has been constructing the West Bank Barrier. Built to protect Israeli citizens from attacks, it has succeeded in vastly reducing the number of Israeli civilian casualties. (Gelvin: 2007: 249) Controversially, however, rather than being built following Israels 1949 Armistice lines, it deviates into areas captured by Israel in 1967. The International Court of Justice proclaimed that construction of the barrier is contrary to international law (ICJ: 2004: http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/index.php?pr=71p1=3p2=1 case=131p3=6) and it has also been criticised as an Israeli attempt to create an illegal unilateral solution, which severely restricts the lives of those living inside the barrier. (Shindler: 2008: 326)I loved to play football with my friends. I told the doctors that I wanted to be able to walk again they promised that I would. Ghassan, 14 years old, Gaza City. His older brother was killed and he himself was wounded during the military operation. He is waiting to be fitted with artificial limbs for both legs. The continued expansion of settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem also contributes towards making the conflict increasingly difficult to solve. Deemed as illegal by numerous UN Security Council Resolutions, (Qurie: 2008: 166) each new settlement is another settlement which may have to be dismantled in any realistic peace deal, and to continue building them shows a clear lack of commitment to peace. The actions of the IDF and the Israeli Government have helped created a generation of Palestinians that hate Israel and Jews. To those living inside the West Bank wall or in poverty-stricken Gaza, the message of extremists resonates. Israeli action is thus helping cause the circumstances from which extremists and potential suicide bombers emerge, creating a cycle of violence which is difficult to reverse. (Kamrava: 2005: 238) Splits among the Palestinians have also made it more difficult to end the conflict. Starting in December 2006, and continuing on-and-off to the present day, there has been a Civil War between Hamas and Fatah. Currently, Hamas control Gaza, whilst Fatah control the West Bank. This lack of unification within the Palestinians makes an end to the Palestine Israeli conflict impossible. For peace, a Palestinian leader would have to accept a deal which would to some extent not entirely fulfil the aspirations of the Palestinian people, and this leader would have to successfully convince them that taking it was their best option. Before his death in 2004, Yasser Arafat might possibly have been able to do this. Currently, there is no-one. Even before the Hamas-Fatah conflict, Israel had complained that there was no one to talk to among the Palestinians. (Gelvin: 2007: 246) Until the Hamas-Fatah conflict is to some extent resolved, there is no one that the Israelis can talk to about a deal. On the assumption that Palestinians and Israelis could be bought together for serious and meaningful negotiations, there are numerous disputes which would be very difficult to solve. Two of these, the refugee problem and the dispute over East Jerusalem, seem particularly difficult to resolve. In 1948, approximately 700,000 Palestinians became refugees after either fleeing or being forced to leave, with many more becoming refugees after the Six Day War. (Morris: 2004: 604) Many of them live in the West Bank and Gaza, but they have spread amongst the Arab World. Despite this, they have never been truly assimilated into the populations of these other countries; with Jordan being the only Arab state to have allowed large numbers of them to gain full citizenship. (Miller Samuels: 2009: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/ middle-east/no-way-home-the-tragedy-of-the-palestinian-diaspora-1806790.html) Palestinian refugees claim that the UN guarantees their right to return under UN General Assembly Resolution 194. Israel has rejected this interpretation of the resolution and has never complied with it. They also argue that an acceptance of the Palestinians right to return would bring about the end of Israel as a Jewish State. Whilst few of the 1948 refugees are still alive, their descendants have spent their whole lives fighting for what they see as rightfully theirs, and will not give this up without significant recompense. Disagreement on the issue of the refugees is one of the central reasons for the failure of the Camp David Summit. (Smith: 2004: 498) Of all of the territorial disagreements, Jerusalem is the most difficult to solve. Even assuming that agreement could be reached on all other territorial disputes, it is difficult to envision agreement over Jerusalem. From 1948-67 West Jerusalem was under Israeli control, with East Jerusalem under Arab (Jordanian) control. East Jerusalem contains the Temple Mount, the site of the ancient Jewish Temple. The site of the two ancient temples, tradition states that it will be the site of the third and final temple. It is considered the holiest site within Judaism, so holy, that many Jews will not set foot on it. To Muslims, the Temple Mount is the site of the Al-Aqsa mosque and of the Prophet Muhammads ascent to heaven. It is widely regarded as the third holiest site in Islam. (Shindler: 2008: 282) Current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged that A united Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. Jerusalem was and will always be ours. It shall never be divided. (Reuters: 2009: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLL96214120090521) This highlights quite how far away the current Israeli leadership is from meaningful and realistic peace discussions. However it is still almost impossible to comprehend that any Israeli leader would negotiate away The Temple Mount and the Western Wall. It is equally impossible to imagine any Palestinian leader relinquishing their claims over the Temple Mount. Palestinians feel that by accepting Israelis right to exist and a state broadly along the 1967 borders, they are making huge concessions. Giving up The Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa Mosque is something that is just one step too far. Even if a Palestinian leader were to make an agreement, it is virtually impossible to imagine that they would persuade the rest of the Palestinian people to accept it peacefully. Lastly, there are outside actors that benefit from the continuation of the conflict. Palestine would also be removed as an issue over which the Islamic world could unify, whereas hatred towards the USA and Israel would begin to disappear. If a peace effort led by the USA was achieved, this would be a major diplomatic victory for them. Regardless of statements suggesting they would support a two state solution, (Spillius: 2009: http://www.telegraph.co .uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/5225705/Irans-President-would-support-two-state-solution-for-Israel.html) this would be undesirable to the Iranian leadership. Syria, which has its own territorial dispute with Israel, would not allow any peace deal between the Palestinians and Israel to occur unless its dispute with Israel was settled. The Iranians and Syrians will thus continue to assist and fund groups that help keep the conflict going. To conclude, there is a wide variety of reasons, some ancient, some more recent, that have made the Palestinian Israeli conflict so difficult to solve today. After so much promise during the 1990s that a deal could be reached, the chances of an end to the conflict have taken several steps backwards over the last decade. Despite this, The two-state solution remains the only viable solution. Its pitfalls are numerous and significant. However, as the Israeli President Shimon Peres argued last year, a one-state solution has enough intrinsic flaws to render it no solution at all. signifying the end of the existence of a Jewish state (Peres: 2009: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/09/AR2009020902098.html) Whilst there was much hope that movement towards the opening of meaningful negotiations would be re-started with the election of President Obama, this hope has largely evaporated, resulting in the continuation of the conflict for the foreseeable future. Bibliography Atran, S. Ginges, J. (2009) How Words Could End a War (24/01/2008) http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/25/opinion/25atran.html: date accessed 19/03/2010 Catignani, S. (2008) Israeli Counter-Insurgency and the Intifadas: Dilemmas of a conventional army: New York: Routledge CIA World Factbook West Bank (04/03/2010) https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the world-factbook/geos/we.html: date accessed 19/03/2010 Gelvin, J. (2007) The Israel-Palestine Conflict: One Hundred Years of War: Cambridge: Cambridge University Press ICJ (2004) Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (9/07/2004) http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/index.php?pr=71p1=3p2=1case= 131p3=6: date accessed 19/03/2010 ICRC (2009) Gaza: 1.5 million people trapped in despair (29/06/2009) http://www.icrc.org/ web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/palestine-report-260609: date accessed 19/03/2009 Kamrava, M. (2005) The Modern Middle East: A Political History Since The First World War: London: University of California Press McDowall, D. (1995) The Palestinians: The Road to Nationhood: London: Minority Rights Publications Miller, J. Samuels, D. (2009) No way home: The tragedy of the Palestinian diaspora (22/10/2009) http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/no-way-home-the-tragedy-of-the-palestinian-diaspora-1806790.html: date accessed 19/03/2010 Mishal, S. Sela A. (2006) The Palestinian Hamas: Vision, Violence and Coexistence: New York: Columbia University Press Morris, B. (2004) The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited: Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Morris, B. (2009) One State, Two States: New Haven: Yale University Press Oz, A. (2002) Coping With Conflict: A NewsHour with Jim Lehrer Transcript (23/01/2002) http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middle_east/jan-june02/oz_1-23.html: date accessed 19/03/2010 Pallister, D. (2009) Most Palestinians and Israelis willing to accept two-state solution, poll finds (22/04/2009) http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/apr/22/israel-palestine-poll: date accessed 19/03/2010 Peres, S. (2009) One Region, Two States (10/02/2009) http://www.washingtonpost.com/ wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/09/AR2009020902098.html: date accessed 19/03/2010 Qurie, A. (2008) Beyond Oslo, The Struggle For Palestine: London: Tauris Co Ltd Reuters (2009) Israeli PM says Jerusalem will never be divided (21/05/2009) http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLL96214120090521: date accessed 19/03/2010 Shindler, C. (2008) A History of Modern Israel: New York: Cambridge University Press Smith, C. (2004) Palestine and The Arab-Israeli Conflict Fifth Edition: A History With Documents: Palgrave Macmillan: Basingstoke Spillius, A. (2009) Irans President would support two-state solution for Israel (26/04/2009): http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/5225705/Irans-President-would-support-two-state-solution-for-Israel.html: date accessed 19/03/2010 Zakaria, F. (2010) Israel is making a big mistake (18/03/2010) http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/03/18/zakaria.israel.mistake: date accessed 19/03/2010

Family & Friends

Families look forward to vacation time it is always exciting. The family has to choose where they will vacation. There are things to consider when picking the right vacation location that everyone in the family will enjoy. Two common-places families choose for vacation is Disney, and a cruise. Both places have a variety of activities, which are fun. The cruise offers activities that Disney cannot offer and Disney offers activities the cruise cannot offer. Disney, and the cruise are totally different.This essay will compare and contrast the types of activities, climate, and the locations of Disney and the cruise. Both vacation locations have a variety to offer, and the choice will depend on what the family is seeking to accomplish on vacation. First, the tree aspects of Disney are types of activities, climate, and location. It is important for a vacation to be enjoyable that the climate is pleasant. The hot weather in Florida is the first barrier to enjoying Disney, but the temperatur e and climate in Florida determines the types of activities Disney offers.Florida is a place that is always hot, and during the summer it rains every day. Disney is on land and the only water involvement is the water theme parks. A person can choose not to participate in the water activities if he or she cannot swim. The rain, however; does not mess up the vacation plans because the sun shines most of the time. The theme parks, water parks, shopping, and eating with characters are some of the activities the family can enjoy in Disney. Disney brings out the child in every adult, and children literally lose him or herself in the activities.Fun and sun are two words that describe Disney. The night life in Disney is fun however; the excitement is during the day. Second, the three aspects of a cruise are types of activities, climate, and location. The climate for a cruise is both warm, and cold, and it is important depending on where a person wants to travel. If a person dislikes the oce an, he or she may have a hard time on a cruise. Another issue for a cruise is becoming sea sick and not participating in the activities. The sea and the warm climate determine the available activities on a cruise.Gambling, nightclubs, formal dinners, and excursions are some activities individuals enjoy when going on a cruise. The night life on the cruise is the exciting part for adults and the day life is more exciting for the children. In some of the cities the cruise docks restaurants, dancing, and parties are everywhere. There are many cruise lines and locations people can go and have a vacation to remember. Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, and Carnival are cruise lines that families can travel with, and have fun. There are cruises for the entire family and for adults only. Releted essay –Â  An Empty Purse Frightens Away FriendsDepending on what a person is trying to experience a cruise has a variety of locations to offer. With a cruise the family can travel outside the country and experience other cultures. No matter which place a family decides to choose fun is a guarantee. Families often choose one of two locations to spend their vacation. Much preparation goes into the vacation planning, and depending on which activities, location, and climate the choice is made. Sometimes taking a risk on a different vacation spot can be fun and exciting.Disney is one location, and a cruise can offer a variety of different locations. When an individual thinks of Disney, he or she thinks family, Mickey Mouse, theme parks, and hot. When an individual thinks of a cruise, he or she thinks of partying, drinking, and a getaway from the children. Expanding and changing the mind to enjoy where ever, a person vacations is rewarding. Fun and excitement is the ultimat e goal of any vacation. Family vacations bring the family closer together, and this is a time for bonding.

Community Profile Essay - 996 Words

Your Username: BigBlakk Age: 15 Timezone: UTC +8 When did you join Decimate: October 22, 2017 How do you believe you are viewed in the community? (Toxic/Neutral/Friendly): I believe that people look at me or find me as a friendly player since I have been helping people out in the server and I also have had nice conversations with them. How active are/were you: Monday - 4:30 pm - 10:30 pm (can even go more) Tuesday - 5:00 pm - 10:30 pm (can even go more) Wednesday - 4:30 pm - 10:30 pm (can even go more) Thursday - 4:00 pm- 9:30 pm (can even go more) Friday - 6:00 pm - 12:00 am (can even go more) Saturday - 10:00 am - 12:00 am (can even go more) Sunday - 1:00 pm - 10:30 pm (can even go more) ( THESE SCHEDULES MIGHT CHANGE DUE TO SCHOOL OR†¦show more content†¦I am a well mannered person, and I have been raised well by my parents, so with my good attitude, I would try my best to influence those people who needs to be so. What will you do to improve the community?: I would really just be an active and helpful staff member, and even if I would not get accepted to the staff team, I would still be an active and helpful player in the community. I would also try my best in finding bugs and even helping in fixing them since this is what causes players to look on the server as garbage due to the many bugs. Previous Experience: I have never been hired as staff for any server, but let me tell you, there are times where I act as a staff of a server and help players out report bugs, and report players for breaking the rules and regulations. Everyone must start at something and I hope this server could be my starting point and I believe I got the characteristics of what a good staff member should posses. I have played for a good amount of time on DecimatePvP, and not only on DecimatePvP, I have also played for around 3-4 years of factions now, and within these past years, I have learned more and more about how to be a good model to the players, especially when minecraft is a game for kids. Reason for resignation / demotion: I have never resigned nor ever got demoted since as what I have said, I have never been a staff on any server, but If I ever getShow MoreRelatedEssay on Community Profile1666 Words   |  7 Pages The locality I have based my community profile on is Ardoyne. I feel that Ardoyne is familiar enough for me to carry out my research as I have lived here all my life. Although my project is based in Belfast city centre, we work with many groups and young people from the Ardoyne area. this would prove beneficial to myself as I would sometimes have already developed a relationship with the young people through community life. 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The Poetry of Walt Whitman - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1175 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2019/07/29 Category People Essay Level High school Tags: Walt Whitman Essay Did you like this example? The Poetry of Walt Whitman Walt Whitman used natural elements to represent the cycle of life, which encouraged his readers to see beauty in connecting the mechanics of death and rebirth. In his poetry, Whitmans idea that death is not an end, but a beginning, opens up the possibility of finding joy in completing the inevitable life-death-rebirth cycle. His illustration of natural elements beautifies death and shifts the readers perspective to contemplate that without death, nothing can ever be reborn. Through Whitmans use of natural elements, readers easily connect, that in nature, all things live, and all things die. The natural element of water he references in Crossing Brooklyn Ferry uses metaphors to identify the beauty hidden in death. The current rushing so swiftly and swimming with me far away,The others that are to follow me, the ties between me and them, (1915) Whitman uses the imagery of water which he finds quick and without delay carrying him into the afterlife. Swimming along with death references our choice to be one with the inevitable process. Whitman is ok with what is to come, and death is not something to fight but rather to go along with. The others that are to follow me, the ties between me and them means that everyone is connected by the absolute truth that death will happen to all. It is one of the things in life that every person cannot avoid. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Poetry of Walt Whitman" essay for you Create order His desire to swim along swiftly by accepting death is a beautiful way to envision dying as a free choice of the mind, a symbol of Emersonian self-reliance. In Crossing Brooklyn Ferry, Whitman continues to glorify the natural process of life by insinuating that things which decay become a part of something greater. The simple, compact, well-joined scheme†myself disintegrated, every one disintegrated, yet part of the scheme, The similitudes of the past, and those of the future (1915) In this passage he connects how all things are connected together in life by a scheme a unity of interconnectedness which represents a greater whole. He moralizes his disintegration (death), as a natural part of a larger order. By using the word similitude, Whitman indicates that all things consist of another in the past and the present, both in life and in death. Almost all beings use the natural elements of their five senses as a way to universally educate themselves and as a tool for survival. Th e certainty of others†the life, love, sight, hearing of others. (1915) Whitman evidences what we know for certain, that life, love, sight, and hearing come naturally to us. Those four experiences connect us all with the innate ability to gain understanding of others and our environment. Death is a certainty, and experiences in life are a certainty, and within those two extremes we find the ability to rely on our common experiences to build our knowledge. Among our experiences, we are connected to people whom have lived and have experiences of those whom have died. People are connected by these basic emotions which surround us and make up who we are. In the following passage, Whitman identifies that people cannot be divided from one another if a person can see death as a rebirth. Whatever it is, it avails not†distance avails not, and place avails not. (1916) The natural element of time is something we cannot control or escape. In time, all things cease to exist. Whitman takes advantage of diluting death as an uncertainty, but acknowledges that whatever it is, it is not something that is strong enough to separate the bond people share. Once we realize that death is an illusion of our minds, we overcome the fear of the unknown that has been instilled in us and our bodies and soul are forever intertwined in the circle of life. In the poem So Long! from Songs of Parting, Whitman uses sounds, sights, and smells to relate the experience connecting the natural elements of life and death. I have sung the body and the soul, war and peace have I sung, and the songs of life and death, And the songs of birth, and shown that there are many births. (1946) Experiences in life are carried out like a tune, the knowledge in our wisdom and the oral tradition shared throug h our voices transcend both life and death. Like songs, they may have an ending, but the ability to start the song over, again and again, from generation to generation, gives way to recreate an infinite tune. Here Whitman connects the contrast of the body and soul, war and peace, life and death through the measurement of song as a way to fill the void of silence. Whitman identifies death as a process, a beginning, not an end in which readers can relate to with joyful emotion. The relationship opens the door to the possibility that life is never ending when carried on through tradition. In the poem, When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloomd, From Memories of President Lincoln, Whitman calls to death to come when it is ready and in time, as with everything in nature, there is a time to be laid to rest and a time to be reborn. Come lovely and soothing death, undulate round the worlds, serenely arriving, arriving, in the day, in the night, to all, to each, sooner or later delicate death. (1935) Nature, Whitman is saying, is connecte d serenely to death in a calm and peaceful manner. His reference to the natural element of day and night, allows the reader to understand that death does not wait for the most opportune time. Death is universal and shows no knowledge of distinction which separates time and place. To make his views of death and rebirth comparable in his writings, Walt Whitman emphasizes that death is an integral part of everything, and they relate to one another as friend and foe. The contrast of friend and foe carry the same elements as found in the relationship between death and love. One, most always, is accompanied by the other and to experience the relationship of each, their existence is dependent on their cohesiveness. From his poem Reconciliation, Whitman writes Beautiful as war and all its deeds of carnage must in time be utterly lost. (1931) The natural elements of death and destruction found in war is seen by Whitman as beautiful. The natural beauty he finds in war is the ability to prevail through time, so that even in death, the loss beco mes lessened. The remnants of death and a life that once existed may disappear in the flesh, but also like war it is a sad and unavoidable truth. Walt Whitman used natural elements in his poetry as an affirmation that in nature, we are connected by the components of life that all exist within the larger part of being human. The illustration that death as not an end, but a beginning, inspires us to accept the beauty in dying, and encourages the reader to optimistically embrace, that rebirth also exists in the natural cycle of life.