(do I dare?)
I promise, this is not as polemical as it seems:
C-SPAN panel on the influence of AIPAC, with Walt and Mearsheimer.
really, it's good.
I read this essay last night on depression and the underlying feeling of "foresakenness" that leads to it. it was written by a holocaust survivor who later became a psychiatrist, he drew on his observations in the camps, where he noted that those who could maintain some kind of hope that the outside world hadn't forgotten about them were those most likely to survive. it was a very good essay.
this morning I thought a lot about about if what happened to the families of European Jews happened to my family, how I'd want every reassurance in the world that it would never, ever happen again, that it wouldn't even be possible for it to happen again. I'd demand safety and protection and the complete assurance of the world that I was untouchable. I'd defend my home tooth and nail. I'd want AIPAC to do all that it's done and then some.
but it's gotten to the point now where it seems like nobody's really benefitting: not israel, not the palestinians, not the US.
right now, in the middle east, (here too, maybe moreso) everybody involved thinks everybody else is out to get him. we're all in defensive mode. and there's no room for critical discussion in a paranoid environment.
how do you fix that?
this is where acts of terrorism have become totally counterproductive. hizballah and hamas have grievances (hamas' I think are more legitimate), but the kidnappings and bombings and suicide attacks don't do anything but reinforce the fear -- and intractableness -- of the powers they're fighting. (they also keep the region in the headlines, but there's tons of bloodless ways to do that.) we can't have a real, open-air talk about AIPAC because Israel's still being attacked. we can't talk about legitimate grievances because they're the same grievances held by "terrorists," and we don't negotiate with those people.
anyway, the C-SPAN thing is really good -- sober, rational, no nasty agenda, and you don't have to know a ton about the issue, or about lobbying. they're really good explaining everything. if you get a chance, check it out.
C-SPAN panel on the influence of AIPAC, with Walt and Mearsheimer.
really, it's good.
I read this essay last night on depression and the underlying feeling of "foresakenness" that leads to it. it was written by a holocaust survivor who later became a psychiatrist, he drew on his observations in the camps, where he noted that those who could maintain some kind of hope that the outside world hadn't forgotten about them were those most likely to survive. it was a very good essay.
this morning I thought a lot about about if what happened to the families of European Jews happened to my family, how I'd want every reassurance in the world that it would never, ever happen again, that it wouldn't even be possible for it to happen again. I'd demand safety and protection and the complete assurance of the world that I was untouchable. I'd defend my home tooth and nail. I'd want AIPAC to do all that it's done and then some.
but it's gotten to the point now where it seems like nobody's really benefitting: not israel, not the palestinians, not the US.
right now, in the middle east, (here too, maybe moreso) everybody involved thinks everybody else is out to get him. we're all in defensive mode. and there's no room for critical discussion in a paranoid environment.
how do you fix that?
this is where acts of terrorism have become totally counterproductive. hizballah and hamas have grievances (hamas' I think are more legitimate), but the kidnappings and bombings and suicide attacks don't do anything but reinforce the fear -- and intractableness -- of the powers they're fighting. (they also keep the region in the headlines, but there's tons of bloodless ways to do that.) we can't have a real, open-air talk about AIPAC because Israel's still being attacked. we can't talk about legitimate grievances because they're the same grievances held by "terrorists," and we don't negotiate with those people.
anyway, the C-SPAN thing is really good -- sober, rational, no nasty agenda, and you don't have to know a ton about the issue, or about lobbying. they're really good explaining everything. if you get a chance, check it out.