Political Film Review: Promises

The first seeds of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict were sown so long ago that very few know when it actually started. Everybody has different opinions on who started the fighting, who's fault it is, and when things took a turn for the worse. 100 different turning points, and two clear sides. Two nations promised a homeland, each with their own rightful claim, wishing for freedom and safety and peace. The film Promises follows seven children born and raised in the center of this conflict. Moishe, Shlomo, and the twins Daniel and Yarko are Jews living in Israel. Mahmoud is an Arab Israeli living in the Palestinian quarter of Jerusalem. Sanabel and Faraj both live in the occupied Palestinian territories. They are all less than twenty minutes away from each other. Director BZ Goldberg interviewed the children about their lives, and how the conflict affected them and their families personally. They told stories of fear, pain, and hatred all beyond their years, but also of joy and hope for a peaceful future. B.Z. got the kids to meet, and they learned important lessons about how they really weren't all that different from each other after all. 

Promises is a wonderful movie that shows that even in the most desperate of situations, human emotions survive, and perhaps there is still a chance to prevail if only more people from all viewpoints would sit down and get to know their neighbors.

A new democracy

Furry has gained a foothold in our culture today, and I don't think members of the fandom are aware of the power we truly hold. Anthropomorphic animal characters are everywhere, and pretty much anybody with access to the internet and the curiosity to go exploring past homework resources knows what a furry is. Sure, most of them think it's a fandom comprised solely of lonely gay 35 year old plushophiles, but they know furry when they see it. This gives us the ability to brand ourselves. What we have is visibility. What we have is a young community and a public curious to see where we go. What we don't have is leadership. Traditionally,  those who are in positions of power in communities are those who have years of experience racked up. Some of them continue to contribute viable opinions to their community and earn their position, others, I can only assume, do not.
What I see happening today in the furry community is a break from the old, traditional societal norms of a hierarchy. With all of the free space to express our opinions, anybody can say what they want, and the community at large will discover it and each individual will pass their own judgement, either accepting or rejecting the ideals of the speaker. This means each one of us has the potential to shape our community. Democracy through anarchy. This way, we are creating a new society with new standards chosen and approved by the people instead of some group of elders. A society where the creation of ideas and messages to share is the prime currency. So I say to my fellow furs, create conscientiously. Create with the knowledge that whatever you put out there could change the face of this community as we know it. After all, it all started with a small group, with an idea created in one person's mind. Any one person's mind could have the next revolutionary idea in the furry community. We are small enough that any one of us can still make all the difference.

A community run by you. Liberating and scary, no?