The Eternal Struggle
The most useful comment I have about the mid-east is that the only way out of this mess is shame. First, the Israeli state can find a way to publically care about Arab life thus shaming the terrorist calculus of 10 Arabs = 1 Jew and shaming the Arab political class, who seem to get endless political clout out of keeping their populace from noticing how little they value Arab life. Second, it is my small opinion that any Arab who advocates for non-defensive harm against Israelis must think that Arabs are worth 1 tenth of a Jew too. As is quoted by the late great Frank Herbert in the beginning of his 5th Dune story, in his Ode to his wife, REVENGE IS FOR CHILDREN. Of course I mean that revenge is a completely selfish need which can NEVER be acted on for someone elses benifit. The culture of revenge apparently makes for great politics (keeps em angry) on both sides of the line, but my message for anyone who claims to support the state of Israel is that it must be seen that 6million Israelis surrounded by 50million Arabs can only lead to the destruction of Israel if this tit for tat continues too long.
posted by xthplanet at 2:27 PM
2 Comments:
I've been thinking about what you wrote here. Of course i agree with the essence of your argument, it occurs to me that the "niggers of the world" (to use a blunt phrase) are invariably fated to suffer greater relative loss in any kind of struggle against oppression from privileged classes. The privileged and underclasses can never fight "man to man" - there is no existing 'equal footing' in the first place and so how can there be any shame in accepting the greater loss? The shame, as they see it, is in not struggling against their oppressors at all. I don't know if it's possible to shame people any more than fate has already succeeded in doing. (by "fate" i mean the conditions we're born into in this life.)
I don't believe it's possible for the desperate to set the tone like you are suggesting here. This responsibility rests wholly on the power-possessors. Give people conditions for their life to be worth living and they won't so zealously throw it all away just to take down a couple 'westerners' with them. But neo-con thinking doesn't provide for this possibility: their only possible world is one full of terrorists.
When you say 'Give people conditions...' who does this giving? The history and power of what I'm saying is in Gandhi's India. All of the conditions of the 'oppressed' you list were present there and yet through the power of non-violent shame they won. What didn't happen in India but is completely usable is that the small powerful Israel could, and I suggest must for its long term survival, engage in a non-violent manner toward those Arabs who are not attacking them.
Post a Comment
<< Home