1. United States
2. Wash.
3. Letter

I write to you today with a heavy heart, burdened by the cruel reality we have permitted. It might be a simple gesture, typing words onto a screen, hoping that they will resonate with powers far beyond my humble reach, but it is a plea that echoes the voice of humanity, crying out for justice, peace, and an end to the torment that plagues the innocent. We have tolerated, funded, and even facilitated the darkest of atrocities - oppression and slaughter of our fellow human beings. We supply the bullets and then bemoan the bloodshed. Children in Palestine wake up to the chilling sound of bomb sirens, their lives forever marked by the scars of a conflict we continue to fuel. Schools are bombed, homes are destroyed, lives are extinguished - all under our watch. Our actions or inactions in the U.S., thousands of miles away, decide the fate of these innocent civilians. Our tax dollars, our votes, our silence have been interpreted as acceptance, as consent to carry out these crimes against humanity. This external funding of violence must end. A cease-fire isn’t just an optional pause; it’s a dire necessity, a pivotal step towards a lasting peace. We need to be instrumental in constructing paths for diplomatic solutions, not barriers of aggression. These are not faceless statistics we speak of; they are mothers, fathers, children – human beings yearning for the most basic of human rights. We must demand an immediate embargo on sending arms, and instead, we must send the olive branches of dialogue and peace. Where we are now is not a place we can afford to stay; where we should strive to be is where empathy defeats apathy, where justice drowns out oppression, and where peace finally silences the blast of gunpowder.