Source; Oren Long
There is much angst over why the people in the Mid-East fight us so viciously. "Why are they so against us when all we're doing is trying to help them?" is the prevailing Western attitude.
We don't get it and, I suspect, CANNOT get it. It is far outside our reality. It isn't that we DON'T get it; it's that we WON'T get it.
I served a year in the Mid-East. I get it.
First, we must understand that the Mid-East has been 'on fire' for millennia. The Greeks figured it out. The Romans figured it out. Even the Russians figured it out. Now it's our turn.
Muslims, Christians, and Jews have been at each others' throats in the Mid-East throughout recorded history-- AND PROBABLY ALWAYS WILL BE!
THEY DON'T WANT US THERE, PERIOD! It's their problem and they will deal with it as they -- NOT US -- please.
As long as America and other countries 'assume' that we 'know best', they will resist and fight.
This is best exemplified in a movie I saw years ago concerning the American Civil War. In the movie, a Union and Confederate soldier confronted each other away from their units. They talked. In one scene the Union soldier asked the Confederate soldier why the South was fighting so hard. The Confederate put it perfectly, "BECAUSE YOU'RE HERE!".
How would Americans feel if foreign countries imposed their rules, values, standards, morality, etc. on us by force of arms? We would FIGHT! "It's none of their damned business! Get out!. We'll settle it ourselves! GET OUT!"
Personally, and having been there, I have long believed that we just need to let them deal with the mess they have made.
Yes, we can trade with them, but that's about all we can do.
On the flip side, we CAN let them know that if they attack Israel, America, or any of our sworn allies and friends, HELL ITSELF will be unleashed upon them!
Other than that, there is nothing we can do. They broke it and it's up to them to fix it. If they want to live in a state of perpetual war, well, too bad for them.
Oren
Comments