1. United States
2. Wash.
3. Letter

I write to you today, not as a poet or a scholar, but as an ordinary man who watches helplessly as horrific images of bloodshed and terror from across the globe fill up the newsfeed. My voice may not be influential, my vote may not decide policies, but I wield the mightiest power any human can possess - the power of empathy. And it is my empathy that brings me to implore you to cease the funding of the destruction of Palestinian lives and the land they call home. The bombardments raining down on Gaza, the razing of buildings sheltering innocents, and the sanctioning of evictions all must come to an immediate and comprehensive halt. History shall remember us not for lofty speeches, promised legislations, or ratified acts but for our failure or success in preserving the sanctity of life. It is not a question of politics, not about Israel or Palestine, not even about the United States. It is a question of humanity, of rights, of justice. It is the innocent lives obliterated, the terrified children shivering under the rubble, the grieving mothers, and the families torn apart that we are accountable for. Now is the moment to rectify the wrongs, to cease supplying the arms that fan the flames of this horrifying conflict. The atrocities riddling the scarred Gaza landscape boil down to one incontrovertible truth; our tax dollars are financing a conflict refusing to show mercy to those caught in the crossfire. We must, therefore, vehemently object to such expenditure, such blatant disregard for ethical spending. Let us channel our resources not into fueling violence but into fostering dialogue and reconciliation. Let us not fund the robbing of homes but the building of futures. We must demand and expect a ceasefire, an end to the violence, and justice for those whose lives have been unjustly impacted. We cannot stand idly by while crimes against humanity, perpetrated with our funding, continue unabated.