10-09-2003, 02:07 AM
<b><i>"You go most of your life thinking and being taught that the US is the champion of peace and truth. It is hard to find out that it is rather the champion of money, business, and dunya."</i> </b>
**Sigh**
That's kind of how I feel and that's why I'm asking some reallllly tough questions here. I mean, the media does give me a lot of information and I'm greatful for that - but it also leaves a lot untold.
I'm a very confused American right now. My country IS supposed to be the champion of peace - but then we seem to blatantly ignore what Israel and China and other countries are doing to people. To be 100% honest I haven't been given a good solid reason for why Israel has taken all of that Palestinian land. I hear tall tales like, "No one lived on that land" and find out: that is not true! I hear stories about Palestinians being forced out of their own homes, off of their own land, and see no justice for such action. Their water gets turned off, their electricity gets turned off, children throwing rocks get shot dead by Israeli soldiers. I watched on tv as a Palestinian child was shot DEAD as he and his father were pressed against a wall while caught in the middle of a firefight. Hello!
Now there is a huge wall being built - which totally reminds me of the Berlin Wall. I was raised to see the Berlin Wall as the Great Wall of Evil, the personification of opression. Didn't we cheer and cry and celebrate when "the Wall came down"? So why are we sitting by in silence as another wall goes up???
Why are these things going unchecked? Why doesn't America, the Champion of Peace, do anything about it? Why are we pumping money and wepons into Israel instead? Why does our media keep half of the story hidden under a rock? How can we Americans make an honest assesment of the situation under such circumstances?
America does interesting things like invade Iraq because Saddam Hussien is supposedly this evil bad guy - while Israel isn't? I'm supposed to look at Saddam Hussein's acts as "evil" but look at Israel's acts as "not evil"?
I can turn on TV and watch show after show that goes into great and gory detail about the evil things that Saddam and his sons wrought upon the Iraqi people - but there's not a single word about the evils wrought upon Palestinians. Why is that? I can learn allll about Hitler and the Evil Nazis but uh...where are the shows about the modern Israel being created? It was "wrong" for Hitler to invade Dutch, French, and Belgian land but it "wasn't wrong" for people to invade Palestinian land? It was "wrong" for Saddam Hussein to invade Kuwait but it's "not wrong" for Israel to continue invading Palestinian land?
Does anyone see my point here??????
And then we watch as after the war with Iraq Dick Chaney gets the bid for oil in Iraq. Hmmmmmm...kinda makes you wonder. Kinda makes you REALLY wonder, doesn't it? So people shouldn't question why I'm here saying, "What's going on?" and thinking that I'm demonizing America. How can I be wrong for questioning such conflicting things? Where are the answers? I'm certainly not getting any from my OWN countrymen - except the rare few that are informed and are able to let me in on what the media keeps under wraps. But then I'm accused of listening to biased opinions. So let me get this straight: the American side of the story isn't biased while the Middle Eastern side of the story is biased...?
If we have to hold a country accountable for one thing then why don't we hold another country accountable for the same thing?
PhatMonkey the list you made was quite impressive. However, why do we hold the other countries accountable for the same things that Israel is allowed to get away with? That doesn't make a lick of sense.
Example:
Q: What American ally in the Middle East has for years sent assassins into other countries to kill its political enemies (a practice sometimes called exporting terrorism)?
Answer: Israel.
Iran and Iraq <--- (supplied by PhatMonkey)
Question: If Iran and Iraq do this, it's bad but if Israel does this, it's ok? Is that the point here? We KNOW Iran and Iraq have done these things and look: they are considered BAD for doing so. We take action against them.
Why haven't we taken action against Israel for the same crimes?? Why are some countries punished because they commit these crimes and other countries rewarded with money and wepons even though they commit the same crimes?
That's the whole point of this thread: to find out why such contradictions exist.