Tweet
I would like to know how prevalent religious fundamentalism is in Palestine. As always, the most extreme persons are the most vocal, and this can lead to a skewed image of what the people in general are really like. Muslim fundies may want to control the world, but so do all fundies. The only reason that Hamas has garnered any support is because the Palestinians are apathetic toward Arafat and see Hamas as more effective in getting the Palestinian point across, but only marginally. Palestinians aren't happy with either; all they want is a decent livelihood. The problem is that if they are to obtain such a thing, Israel will have to make sacrifices, and then there's the whole possession is nine-tenths of the law thing.
I don't believe in the success of a two-state solution because Palestinians will always believe that Israelis got the better deal, and since the Israelis will be better off regardless of the deal, it wouldn't be easy to dispel such a notion. Having one shared state with laws and policies that do not take into account religious differences or ethnicity pulls the rug out from under any Palestinian who would claim that Islam is being discriminated against. And can you really say that the average Palestinian wants to take over the world? Why are all Palestinians megalomaniacs? It sounds to me like all they want is their own share of the world, a proportionate share.
Here's a question: If the Palestinians are given such a share and religious fundamentalists continue to antagonize the situation by demanding more, why would they recieve any support from the Palestinian people at all? They would only be bringing strife down on the people, who would be satisfied with what they already had. Right now the Palestinians have nothing to lose; why wouldn't they support suicide bombers?
If there is a problem re the growth of the muslim population, have the government impose a limit on how many kids both israelis and palestinians can have. This would keep the balance relatively equal. Of course, if the palestinians feel that the average israeli has more power than they do, their response will be to try and increase their own numbers. To avoid this problem the government must practice equality and provide equal representation.
I think my view of human nature is actually extremely negative. In my post I pointed out how the natural human reaction to a situation like this was an act of violence. I suggest that the palestinians and israelis need to look past this automatic response and find a more well thought out solution. Violence only leads to more violence, and so forth.
I don't remember Hitler ever attacking America. But Osama Bin Laden's perception of America shows that yes, there are flaws in our democracy. If we inspire such responses, however illegitimate, then perhaps we need to alter the message that we send out to other nations. I do not believe in a dynamic of evil people and good people. People can be evil some of the time and good some of the time, but they can never be ultimately defined as such. People change, mature, and regress. Any label attached to them will ultimately become inappropriate. The rhetoric used by the Bush administration perpetrates this primitive notion of a black and white world where it is easy to see who is good and who is bad. But there is neither evil nor good in this situation, only humanity.
I have no sympathy for those who say that they don't want to live next to a person of a different religious/ethnic group, regardless of the identity of the person. To try and be xenophobic and isolationist in this day and age is a sure recipe for disaster. You can't hide from people who aren't like you, especially if you're both trying to occupy the same space. This does not mean that I don't share these tendencies myself. I don't want to live in Harlem. But we have seen that both sides in this conflict often fail to grasp the concept of a compromise, and are thus spelling doom for a two-state situation.
Extremists and terrorists will never go away, but their support can easily fade, and subsequently their power. I do not accept that the two sides are in some kind of eternal power struggle that only one can survive. The notion of such a fated conflict gives rise to the conflict itself; it does not spring from it. Sharon is not some kind of modern-day Maccabeus; he has more in common with Joab, if anyone. Amos 9:14 doesn't exclude the presence of other peoples, you know...
I don't believe in the success of a two-state solution because Palestinians will always believe that Israelis got the better deal, and since the Israelis will be better off regardless of the deal, it wouldn't be easy to dispel such a notion. Having one shared state with laws and policies that do not take into account religious differences or ethnicity pulls the rug out from under any Palestinian who would claim that Islam is being discriminated against. And can you really say that the average Palestinian wants to take over the world? Why are all Palestinians megalomaniacs? It sounds to me like all they want is their own share of the world, a proportionate share.
Here's a question: If the Palestinians are given such a share and religious fundamentalists continue to antagonize the situation by demanding more, why would they recieve any support from the Palestinian people at all? They would only be bringing strife down on the people, who would be satisfied with what they already had. Right now the Palestinians have nothing to lose; why wouldn't they support suicide bombers?
If there is a problem re the growth of the muslim population, have the government impose a limit on how many kids both israelis and palestinians can have. This would keep the balance relatively equal. Of course, if the palestinians feel that the average israeli has more power than they do, their response will be to try and increase their own numbers. To avoid this problem the government must practice equality and provide equal representation.
I think my view of human nature is actually extremely negative. In my post I pointed out how the natural human reaction to a situation like this was an act of violence. I suggest that the palestinians and israelis need to look past this automatic response and find a more well thought out solution. Violence only leads to more violence, and so forth.
I don't remember Hitler ever attacking America. But Osama Bin Laden's perception of America shows that yes, there are flaws in our democracy. If we inspire such responses, however illegitimate, then perhaps we need to alter the message that we send out to other nations. I do not believe in a dynamic of evil people and good people. People can be evil some of the time and good some of the time, but they can never be ultimately defined as such. People change, mature, and regress. Any label attached to them will ultimately become inappropriate. The rhetoric used by the Bush administration perpetrates this primitive notion of a black and white world where it is easy to see who is good and who is bad. But there is neither evil nor good in this situation, only humanity.
I have no sympathy for those who say that they don't want to live next to a person of a different religious/ethnic group, regardless of the identity of the person. To try and be xenophobic and isolationist in this day and age is a sure recipe for disaster. You can't hide from people who aren't like you, especially if you're both trying to occupy the same space. This does not mean that I don't share these tendencies myself. I don't want to live in Harlem. But we have seen that both sides in this conflict often fail to grasp the concept of a compromise, and are thus spelling doom for a two-state situation.
Extremists and terrorists will never go away, but their support can easily fade, and subsequently their power. I do not accept that the two sides are in some kind of eternal power struggle that only one can survive. The notion of such a fated conflict gives rise to the conflict itself; it does not spring from it. Sharon is not some kind of modern-day Maccabeus; he has more in common with Joab, if anyone. Amos 9:14 doesn't exclude the presence of other peoples, you know...
Comment