The Art to Always Being on the Right Side of Conversation
June 7th 2009 09:52
“You have your way. I have my way. As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist.”
~ Friedrich Nietzsche
~ Friedrich Nietzsche
In this week’s addition in the story of hope, change, glitter and gold we’re discussing last week’s Middle East road trip courtesy of the Obama Express into the arena that has defined the legacy of so many men that have come before.
Following the footsteps of predecessors elected by the people to represent the hopes and dreams of Americans from sea to shining sea, who may not always have agreed with the message delivered by their representatives, a speech was etched on the stones of history delivered to the people of the Middle East and the world.
This speech evoked the memories of men who had big ideas of how the world could be a better place by bridging the divide in religious wars that began centuries before European explorers “discovered” lands inhabited by indigenous people’s.
American presidents have been down this road before with the same mission of ending the strife, blood shed and fight for dominance in the Middle East by taking this issue head on through talks and meetings only to be met with failure when the situation ultimately broke down leaving both sides in their familiar stance of using weapons instead of words.
Images evoking names familiar to the American conscience of Carter, Reagan, Bush and Clinton have all found themselves acting as referees to keep the region from exploding into simple conversation.
In this new world the conversation has expanded from trying to find a way for Palestinians and Israelis to coexist into a regional discussion of how best to keep America and the world safe.
The problems in Afghanistan, Iraq and the other familiar places of our news cycle have always been there but with American military involvement also come a different perspective of interest.
The simple solution to approaching this conversation would be to label the overall issue into terrorists against the interests of the west or to make this an issue of world religious warfare as we group Islam into one block of thought.
The problem with grouping issues as complex as fundamentalism or regional domination in a modern world is within the fact that it shortcuts citizens of the countries involved from thinking about the issues that fall between the cracks as they choose us vs them.
The issue of nation’s trying to achieve power through acquisition of nuclear armament, funding of rogue groups by nation state’s to disrupt American interests, fighting a drug, terror and international war in the same region, US involvement in the build up of some of these rogue groups and human rights all need to be brought to the table equally.
Members of the Muslim faith are not of one mind and the issues our country has with Iran can not be grouped into the same conversation as creating peace between the Israeli’s and Palestinians.
It will take more than speeches to bridge centuries of religious conflict built on fundamentalism that has created the strife that exists in the hearts of men and women bent on destroying anything different then the noses on their faces.
Framing the problem in simple terms of terrorists or religious zealots diminishes the true root of the problem that has occurred in every religion over time.
Lack of education, money and resources is the ultimate breeding ground for people bent on destruction and depravity to cultivate their craft.
The culture of simplicity where we believe we can give flowery speeches about everything that is wrong with the world, making swift decisions about closing institutions of torture with no game plan and welcoming an entire religion with a warm embrace while simultaneously dropping bombs hundreds of miles down the road will only create more strife and confusion.
If there’s one thing we learned from 9-11 it’s within the fact that the problems of any depressed region of the world will ultimately come back to our door steps if left to fester.
Not doing what was right after we left war zones through aid and diplomacy allowed regional issues to compound into the worlds problems.
Looking at these issues as a simple war between western religious philosophies and Islam will get us no closer to end game of keeping America safe than the place we’re at now.
Our President was correct in reaching out to communities in foreign lands that are inundated with the image of America as a great monster looking to change their way of life.
Images like these are no better than the thinking in our homeland of every Muslim being bent on the destruction of the fundamentals within our society.
There are no problems in this world that come from one direction.
The key to solving this complex issue in the Middle East has to not only come from diplomacy or having a strong hand but has to also be a war of information that goes directly to the hearts of minds of Americans as well those on the other side of the issue.
Unlike wars of the past where we could look across shores and shake our fists in a rage of nationalism this conflict has found a way to seep into the core of our very being as fear and misunderstanding clouds the issue.
This is the point where we all need to step back and re-examine our own thoughts of what we believe this conflict means in our own personal terms.
When we can finally do this on an individual level instead of allowing our government, rougue groups or other nations to frame the argument for us our country may be able to get somewhere in understanding the complexity of the issue.
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