While the Cat's Away

"While the cat's away, the mice will eat the cream," an Israeli colleague, at Microsoft, told me. A familiar saying with a twist, I thought. It sounded odd. "You mean, 'While the cat's away, the mice will play'?" In fact, my friend had translated his version from Hebrew into English. As far as I'd known, my version was an American original. The boss was away, we knew what we meant, or so we thought. Remembering back, I'm not so sure.

In American tradition, we might say that our boss, King George, was the cat; and we kicked him, his redcoats, and his Hessians back across the pond. Every Fourth of July we celebrate our independence. It's "An American Tale." "There are no cats in America."

But in Hebrew tradition the cat always comes back. So, fill your bellies while the food is unguarded. 'Life is a perpetual struggle' is embedded in Hebrew literary tradition. "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth." Islamic law has a reciprocal history. Existence is a never ending cycle of vengeance. Peace has no chance when attrition governs conditioned responses, with annihilation as the only exit strategy. Despite historical attempts, ethnic cleansing and genocide are not valid paths toward peace.

Traditions are mired in the past. The world has changed, but mindsets haven't. So conflict prevails while survival tactics eclipse sustainability goals. Peaceful thoughts, strategies, and ideals are prerequisites for world peace to succeed. Eons of Middle Eastern culture are in desperate need of transcendent mindset updates, for peace to earn a fair chance of success.