memes

Here's a very nice essay taking the concept of memes and applying it to everyday political situations. Of particular interest to me in the essay was the reference to israel and palestine, and why the problem is as intractable as it seems.

The War of the Memes: Many Palestinians, for example, have been running a meme for decades --- and yes, that means some of them have been running it their entire lives. I call it OpposeIsrael. This meme is pretty simple: it says that Israel is evil, and anything they do must be bad and must be combated; violently, if necessary.

The problem is that OpposeIsrael crowded out other memes that Palestinians really should be running; memes that might have led --- and could still lead --- to a better life for Palestinians.