The Long of It
I don't want to talk about Mel Gibson, I really don't. I think that the media is salavating all over this because here is a man that gave us The Passion of the Christ, and now he appears to be an anti-semite. Their tongues are hanging out of their mouths to ruin this man's career and his legacy, and I don't want any part of it.
But there are too many scary things happening for me not to point these things out.
In an interview with Peggy Noonan for Reader's Digest concerning Passion, Mel was asked about his father and some remarks he made concerning the Holocaust and if it really happened. Noonan says, point blank, "The Holocaust happened, right?"
I have friends and parents of friends who have numbers on their arms. The guy who taught me Spanish was a Holocaust survivor. He worked in a concentration camp in France. Yes, of course. And my dad also knows that there were internment camps where many people died. Now, his whole thing was about the numbers. I mean atrocities happened. The thing with him [my father] was that he was talking about numbers. I mean when the war was over they said it was 12 million. Then it was six. Now it's four. I mean it's that kind of numbers game. I mean war is horrible. The Second World War killed tens of millions of people. Some of them were Jews in concentration camps. Many people lost their lives. In the Ukraine, several million people starved to death between 1932 and 1933. During the last century 20 million people died in the Soviet Union. Okay? It's horrible.
Now, his basic point is probably fundamentally correct, but we're talking about the Holocaust here. We're talking about the systematic destruction of an entire religious following. We're not talking about atrocities that happened over the course of battle during WWII and how those numbers aren't accurate, and I'm sure there were those. What we are talking about is the Nazi regimes desire to rid the world of the Jewish people. I don't think there will ever be a time when I look at the deaths of those people in concentration camps as a "numbers game." I don't care if 4,000,000 died or 4,000, what the Nazi's were doing was pure evil and had to be stopped and can never happen again. To any race, religion, or group of people. Jewish or otherwise.
And that's exactly where Pete and Repeat come in.
Just today Iranian President Ahmadinejad said the answer to the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah was to destroy the "Zionist regime." This same President has gone on record saying the Holocaust never happened, that it was invented by the West to create Israel and to allow the United States greater access to the Middle East through an ally in the region.
Whatever. Why is it that when a blogger says that Hezbollah appears to have been using the Qana incident as fodder for pyschological warfare the world calls them conspiracy theorists to discredit them. Yet, when a President of a Foreign country says that the United States is out to get them, nary a word is uttered?
I go back to my original solution of making Jeruselm an International Monument and moving all inhabitants out of it. I realize that in this compromise, no one is truly happy, but that is, after all, how compromises work. You know its effective when neither side has what they really want but is willing to settle for something less in order to achieve the peace.
Maybe Iran and Israel should go to marriage counseling.
[editors note: You will not believe how hard it was to find this AP story. It's not on the cover of Yahoo News, which is all wire service news links, and I'm astounded by that. Of course, it was only 8 minutes ago. I suppose I should give them some time. But you can bet, that is President Bush had said S**t again, it would be on the front page within seconds. Maybe Iran calling for the destruction if Israel isn't news. Maybe it's just accepted as fact these days that that's what the world wants.]
But these all does tie in to Pete and Repeat. All the time, day after day, I'm seeing signs of anti-semitism, sparks of anger that fly in the Jewish direction. Mel Gibson, the rioters in Germany, the Swastikas all over the place, New Zealand and Berlin specifically, and the international communities unwillingness to allow Israel to defend herself lead me to one conclusion: the world hates Israel. And wether or not hating Israel is the same as hating Jewish people I dare not say. I'm not savvy enough to see. But I do recognize danger when I see it, and this is dangerous. Not because Hezbollah or Israel are prepared to ask for supporters to aid in their war, but because a match has been lit and its dangerous close to a tinder box.
With news just this week that North Korea and Iran are cooperating with more than just money, but with missiles and bases with missiles pointed at both South Korea and Japan (both US Allies), that match is starting to send smoke towards an already small burning flame. I have failed to understand our foreign policy almost all my life, as to why some issues are important and others are not. Why the Sudan hasn't been important, for starters. Though I know the answer to that again lines within the divisions between Muslims and Christians. But beyond all of that and to this current situation, doesn't it appear that Iran, Syria and North Korea appear to be working together towards a common goal? Which is nuclear power and authority on a world stage. None of the three are taken seriously militarily, but with nuclear weapons the world would start to take notice of them as a threat. China, a shaky US ally at best, has not negotiated with Kim Jong-Il effectively, and it appears that he either wants the US to swoop in and offer money from the public coffers, or to give them more nuclear weapons. Like Madeleine Albright did in the 90s.
Which, coincidentally, could be blamed for this entire mess that we are in currently. Let's just do a run down of foreign policy failures in recent history, both Republic and Democrat.
1. Carter sits and waits for 444 while Iran holds Americans Hostage. He loses election.
2. Reagan is elected decisively and within 20 minutes of his swearing in the hostages are released. I have nothing bad to say about Reagan's foreign policy. I was a kid - but I think he rocked.
3. GHW Bush is elected. The world starts to go to pot. Not only domestically did he start us on the path to inflation and deficiet we're currently on, but internationally I call this the decline of the US presence. He catered to and allowed the UN to control the situation with Saddam Hussein and Kuwait. Are military men and women were used as puppets by the UN to get Saddam out of Kuwait but were able to do nothing to keep him from doing anything further. It was, in essence, a mother swooping in and removing her children from a play room and simply placing them a few feet back with no barrier to keep them out. Saddam did not invade Kuwait again, but the message to him was clear. The UN only deals out slaps on the wrist. And if you think Saddam was the only one that saw that, I think you should look at the remaining dictators and their actions too.
4. Clinton. I have many, many, many bad things to say about Clinton. And before you call me a neo-conservative or anything else - let me tell you what I think he did right. With the help of a Republican Congress (okay it is still me after all) he effectively balanced the budget and we had a surpluss. The economy was good, regardless of the pain inflicted on it by GHW Bush, and mostly due to the internet and the Dot Com bubble. Domestically, I would say, Clinton was a fairly decent President. However, if his wife had effectively installed a national health care system, I would not be saying that. Their failures are part of why I think they are okay. But to their failures. Most of them internationally. Madeline Albright and her ridiculous photo op with North Korea and her giving him money and Nuclear capabilities, so long as he promised not to build weapons. Puh-lease. When did the US become stupid? I'm all about trusting people at their word, but as far as Nuclear weapons go, trust goes out the window. And we never, ever, ever should have done that. In conjunction with that we gave missiles to China, missiles that are now threatening to point themselves at Japan, South Korea and Hawaii armed with the nukes that dear Maddie gave Kim. Niiiccceee.
To top that off you have the stupid "Peace Declared in the Middle East," slogan. There was no peace, because these people don't want to coexist. The Palestinians and all their neighboring countries save a few (which really don't like them much either, it's just the enemy of their enemy is their friend) want Israel gone. Now, if that means the Jewish people gone I don't know if they discriminate. They want Israel and its people moved off their Holy land and they are prepared to fight till the end of time to get it.
Until the United States and other foreign governments realize this, there will be no dealing with this issue. There will be hand wringing and there will be watching, and we will all be caught looking when Iran sends a nuclear weapon into Israel.
Because Pete and Repeat were in a boat, and Pete is falling out. And we are doomed to repeat.
Which brings us to 5. GW Bush. He started off okay, after September 11th. We could go rounds on wether or not the build up to war was right or not or the invasion of Iraq blah, blah, I'm not prepared to make that case. I think the Middle East has been left alone too long and that these threats and these violent acts are not isolated incidents and that the talk of annihilation of the west is not just talk but that its a threat. And if someone threatens your homeland, you should have a right to defend it.
Beyond that. The people under Saddam Hussein were being bruttaly abused. Gased, raped, all sorts of things. And really, women were suffering the most. Why is it okay to go in and rescue other groups from atrocities and suffering but not women in the Middle East.
My husband says it's their culture, their religion. Well racism and slavery were part of our culture too. And that had to be stopped. So does this.l
Okay - but to GW Bush's failings. He's inconsistent. If he truly believes in the axis of evil and their willingness to destory US interests both home and abroad than we need to take more action again Iran, Syria and North Korea. Now, the problem he has presented himself is this: we can not invade all of those countries. We don't have the money, the willingness, or the man power. We need help. But because of the way the world percieved Iraq, it is unlikely that anyone will join us in our views. Also, the world is full of appeasers, live and let live.
At least until someone attacks Paris, Berlin or Pearl Harbor or New York City. Then the giants wake up.
And that's the long of it. And I have to get back to work.
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