Back to politics
The President of the United States recently asked (or demanded) that Israel cease settlement projects in East Jerusalem. Yesterday, President Netenyahu told President Obama to shove it up his ass (www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31994267/ns/world_news-mideastn_africa/).
Care to guess whose side patriotic conservatives will take in this dispute?
I find it odd that Israel is the only ally that conservatives care about. Conservatives had no problem pissing off vitually every one of our allies for eight years. They actively tried to transform France from ally to enemy. And yet they view our alliance with Israel as inviolate, unquestionable. And I'm sure this post will qualify me as an anti-semite simply for making these observations.
Try as I might, I can't recall a time in elementary school when I was asked to pledge allegiance to the flag of Israel. Listening to the way conservatives speak of Israel, I almost question my memory.
I accept that we have allies in this world, and Israel is one of them. I also accept that what I know about the Arab-Israeli conflict could fit inside a thimble. But here's the way I often see the US-Israel relationship, especially recently:
Let's say you have a very close friend, a guy you've been close with for many years. You two are so tight that nothing could ever shake your friendship. Every Friday night you and your buddy go out for drinks. You know that everyone in the bar hates your buddy, but fuck them - he's your best friend and you don't care what they think. The problem is, every time you go out, your buddy has a few too many drinks, and the people who don't like him have a few too many drinks, and pretty soon you find yourself in another bar fight. And so, one time when you go out, you tell your buddy that maybe if he sticks to seltzer tonight, it will lessen the odds of getting into a fight. Your buddy says that his "enemies" are all drinking, so why shouldn't he? He says that he's a grown man and has every right to have a few drinks. He's right. But that doesn't make your request unreasonable. And it doesn't make you any less of a friend.
All we've asked is for Israel to CHILL OUT for a while. Hold off on the alcohol for a night and give us a chance to make PEACE.
And that brings us to the crux of it, don't it? When was the last time a conservative took the side of peace?