As I read about the turmoil in the Middle East, I have trouble imagining the scale of the geography. To help, I try to transpose the distances onto the more familiar terrain of Ohio. For example, imagine Columbus were Tel Aviv:

• Jerusalem would be the same distance as Newark.
• Findlay would lie on the border of Lebanon.
• Toledo? The Lebanese capital of Beirut.
• Chillicothe would represent the border of the Gaza strip.
• Cleveland = Damascus, Syria.
• Cambridge stands in for the Jordanian capital, Amman.
• Evansville, IN would be Cairo, Egypt.
• A trip to Hartford, CT would bring you to Baghdad.

Imagine our state, an easy afternoon's drive from border to border, populated by so many bitterly opposed populations. Imagine how quickly passions could burst into war.