COLUMN: The real deal on double standards
In the past few weeks we have seen articles in The Statesman concerning double standards of the Middle East. Are there double standards in the Middle East? Both Mr. Almasri and Mr. Serbin think so.
In his letter to the editor, Mr. Almasri said the United States was making a mistake not applying United Nations resolutions in an impartial manner. Mr. Almasri said it hurt U.S. credibility for Mr. Bush to stand in front of the United Nations and forcefully argue for enforcement of the one resolution concerning Iraq while not doing the same for some 60 resolutions concerning Israel.
A week later, in his guest column, Mr. Serbin said Arab nations and others in the world hold Israel to an unrealistic and unreasonable double standard concerning human rights during wartime. Mr. Serbin also said he considers some members of the USU community whom have written letters to The Statesman to be anti-Israeli.
I find this characterization of some members of the USU community unfortunate, because I am not anti-Israeli. I am pro-American. I am pro-human rights, and that includes Israeli human rights. An Israeli life is worth every bit as much as anyone else’s. The only “anti” I would qualify for is anti-corruption. Since the purpose of all these Statesman letters is to discuss double standards of the Middle East, let’s stay on topic.
Mr. Serbin failed to seriously address Mr. Almasri’s comments. Why does Mr. Bush stand up in front of the United Nations and criticize it for not immediately and aggressively enforcing a single resolution on Iraq and not any of the 60 resolutions that applies to Israel? Why is that?
Mr. Serbin detoured the topic with his opinion that Arab countries and “others” in the world hold Israel to an unreasonable standard concerning human rights, a double standard.
Who are these “others?” Are they Europeans? Are they Asians? Are they South Americans? Are they North Americans? Or, are they some members of the USU community?
I don’t think it reasonable for Mr. Serbin to claim some members of the USU community are holding Israel to a double standard in regard to human rights. In doing so he attacks an egalitarian philosophy some members of the USU community hold. An egalitarian would make the same arguments for an Israeli as they would for a Palestinian, as they would for a Tutsi or Hutu. To have an egalitarian point of view is by definition denying the double standard.
It is selfish for a suicide bomber to take Israeli lives. And, it is selfish for Israel to drop a one-ton bomb in the middle of a high-density city taking Palestinian lives.
It is incredibly hypocritical for Israel to claim the acts of Palestinian resistance are terrorism and Israeli military occupation, encroachment on Palestinian land, systematic destruction of Palestinian’s ability to work toward giving their children a better life is not terrorism.
All of these are addressed by U.N. resolutions that are not reflections of a U.N. double standard. There are many forms of terrorism, and for Israel to make such statements is a double standard anyone espousing an egalitarian philosophy would take exception to.
As I am pro-American, I am interested in what makes America a strong leader in the world with leadership that has strength of character and is self-sacrificing when need be. I am interested in what nourishes and sustains America’s strength and character in the long run.
I believe ordinary Americans have strength of character their immigrant forefathers were required to have when they got off the boat. Being an immigrant requires sacrifice. America’s foreign policies should reflect the American character. When one considers such things they inevitably ask themselves, “What undermines American character and American leadership?”
One conclusion is the corruption of the American republic’s political system via money. Money in Washington is destroying American character.
Political corruption in the United States leads to the double standard, the topic of this letter. Does anyone think the U.S. Middle Eastern foreign policy is one-sided in favor of Israel? If not, you have your head stuck in the sand, because it is as obvious as the nose on your face.
The Israeli lobby is so well-funded, so strong and has so much influence in American politics that it can dictate a foreign policy that is actually detrimental to the United States. Who doubts a more balanced foreign policy concerning the Middle East is acutely to America’s – and the Middle East’s – benefit?
And the mother of all ironies is that ordinary Americans contribute to the Israeli lobby by having their foreign aid to Israel funneled back into the U.S. political system. In essence, ordinary Americans pay to corrupt their own politicians into foreign policies that are disadvantageous to them. Planes don’t fly into buildings because people are jealous of our freedoms. This is an argument Mr. Bush makes for domestic consumption and his ulterior motives. No, planes fly into buildings because of U.S. foreign policy. Mr. Bush can’t look Americans in the eye and tell us the simple truth of the matter because he would be betraying the corrupted system that led to his election, and then he would have to address the disease America suffers.
Oh yes, America suffers. America suffers still from Sept. 11 and I, for one, don’t appreciate the lobbying, the corruption, that causes counterproductive foreign policies that lead to double standards. These policies make Americans suffer needlessly, the type of suffering that demonstrates no character whatsoever.
So, are there double standards in the Middle East? You bet there are. There will always be double standards in the world, because one group of people will be stronger than another and take advantage of that fact. The Israelis couldn’t afford their double standard if it weren’t for the United States’ financial support. They are not that strong.
America can support and protect Israel with a more balanced, more egalitarian foreign policy that nurtures and strengthens American leadership in the world. Or, the United States can support Israel to neurotic ends that cause it to lose political clout and moral authority, and suffer the consequences of a foreign policy dictated by obvious corruption.
The former plays a significant role in bringing peace to the Middle East and the latter will only subsidize the needless suffering of the status quo. No one will argue that both Israelis and Palestinians want to have peace and give their kids a better life. Ordinary Americans hold one of the keys to the Israeli and Palestinians hopes. Either they can address the corruption of their political system that causes double standards and subverts American character through serious campaign finance reform or not.
I, for one, believe it is in the American character to address their hopes, because it is something our American ancestors would be proud of.
Vito Russo is a graduate student in civil engineering. Comments can be sent to him at vmrusso@cc.usu.edu.