The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, May 4, 2004 - 5
VIEWPOINT
Israel: Who cares? I care.
Democracy or bust
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BY JESSICA RiscH innocent Israelis from terrorist
attacks. This is why I care enough
me tell you why I love about Israel and her residents,
ael. I love the feeling of including the Palestinians, to write
ilking down the Tel Aviv and make readers understand not the
k at three in the morning politics of the country, nor the histo-
he crowds of teenagers ry of the country, but rather the cul-
o clubbing. I love sitting at tural and social climates that affect
the sand, at a table where the country. And how terrorism
ocean water just touches makes it impossible to live a normal,
I love ordering humus, peaceful life.
id kabobs - all Israeli del- So let me try and paint this
love the feeling of being in picture for you: As American
enriched with history, cut- teenagers, we worry about getting
ersonality. good grades, Israeli teens worry
t's forget for a moment about making it to tomorrow. We
politics and policies of the worry about getting through col-
ast, and let's think about lege; they worry about getting
think about the students through the day. Our friends for-
hat all want one thing: to get to call us, and we don't think
mat, peaceful life in Israel. much about it. Their friends for-
s who neither want to be get to call them, and they turn on
ach time they enter a store the news to see if there was
eir bag checked, nor want another terrorist bombing. Some
rough various metal detec- of them stop turning on the news
day, but want to live a life altogether because each day
nd me. A life where they another person dies, and each day
, eat at restaurants, sit at the news becomes more depress-
ops, dance, shop and just ing to watch.
good old fun. Maybe now you understand the
rists who seek Israel's lifestyle of Israeli society. It's a terri-
on have infringed upon ble lifestyle to live. As Americans
sic rights, and have we don't know what it's like to live
ed fear into the daily with that fear everyday, to never
Israelis. Israelis fear know when your last day will be.
die, that their children There is a lot we don't understand,
and their friends will that we can't understand. But there
y live through Sept. 11 is one thing we should understand.
ly hasis, facing inces- The Israelis want peace. They want
ide homhings. to live a life of nonmalcy.
sericans we have hecome However, until the terrorism
ed to the phrase "suicide stops, neither the Israelis nor the
Ten people die, and we Palestinians will live a life of nor-
ce. Two are shot, and we malcy. So before you judge the gov-
ge. We remember the ter- ernment so much for its targeted
t. I1 yet forget what ter- killings of terrorist groups, maybe
ans. We have become less you should put yourself in the mind-
result of Sept. I1 but still set and shoes of the Israeli govern-
e enough. We know the ment. What would you do if your
n of terrorist attacks yet innocent citizens were dying daily
stand by a country that from terrorist activity? The Israeli
orism daily. We mourn for government has an obligation to pro-
incurred during Sept. 11, tect its citizens. Wouldn't you want
by and watch a country be America to do the same for you?
W ith the
almost syn-
chronized
approach of the Coali-
tion Authority's June
30 handover date and
the November elec-
tion, the mainstream
media has shifted its
focus to the final item
on the Bush Administration's Iraqi occupa-
tion checklist: the restoration of self-gov-
ernment. Predictably, in the backdrop of
this new spotlight on democratic transition
rests an ambiance of cynicism and doubt
- mounting uncertainties that have
engendered the proliferation of worn-out
political talk show banalities like "we're
handing over authority on June 30, we just
don't know to who." While much of the
skepticism concerning the precarious tran-
sition process is on target, for the most
part, pundits and analysts alike have failed
to come to terms with the true scale and
gravity of the United States' predicament.
Indeed, it is not the question of who to
cede power to, but rather the quandaries
surrounding how to devolve it, that lie at
the source of the Bush Administration's
irresolution. It is only now, in the midst of
escalating violence and the spread of inter-
nally rupturing ethnic cleavages that the
United States is beginning to feel the
weight of the baggage that accompanies
the role of Global Sheriff. This degenerat-
ing political atmosphere has brought a
sobering reality to both Bush's re-election
aspirations and his pre-war visions of an
open and unfettered system of sovereignty
in Iraq. As hopes for stability in Iraq con-
tinue to deteriorate, the President's capaci-
ty to fulfill his vow of delivering
democracy to the Iraqi masses steadily
diminishes.
Operation Iraqi Freedom has been
plaguedby its abundance of strategic blun-
ders and unforeseen roadblocks, yet to this
point, no miscalculation has been greater
than the Bush Administration's underesti-
mation of the central role internal cultural
dynamics would play in the reconstruction
period. Volatility within Iraq continues to
intensify as embattled and polarized ethnic
blocs struggle to broaden their niche in the
post-war power vacuum. The once
repressed Shiites, who make up the major-
ity of the population, are demanding
majoritarianism and direct representation
- considering any indulgence to Sunni
appeals for proportional representation
deplorable. To this point, the preponder-
ance of the Shiite population has tolerated
U.S. occupation, but protracted violence
and instability continue to vindicate the
fanaticism of the more extreme critics who
once remained on the periphery.
Resting poised just across the battle-
ground is Iraq's besieged population of
Sunni Muslims. The Sunnis fear that their
hopes of political representation were
deposed alongside Saddam's Baath Party,
and in turn, have unrelentingly demon-
strated their apprehension of Shiite
ascendancy. A wide margin of this vocal
and often unruly minority ardently
begrudges U.S. occupation and often uses
violence to convey its resentment. As the
conditions in central Iraq continue to
regress, even the most restrained Sunni
Muslims are growing uneasy. Unfortu-
nately for the Coalition Authority, failing
to assuage desperate and incensed Sunnis
often means bolstering the frontline
forces of al-Qaida and other militant
organizations.
Along with the antithetical demands of
the Sunni and Shiite divisions, the Provi-
sionalAuthority must allay the concerns of
Iraq's Kurdish population. The once-subju-
gated Kurds of Northern Iraq have in effect
demanded autonomy - a request that if
fulfilled, could spark attendant succession
movements and pervasive instability.
Iraq's capricious and ethnically
charged environment is one hardly wel-
coming to open and competitive elections.
Almost certainly, political parties would
be defined down religious lines and
would further accentuate already rigid and
antagonistic divisions. There is a clear risk
that an electoral free-for-all would further
inflame this hot-blooded climate. But
would a less representative or more
authoritative process really fare any bet-
ter? As if this nation's benevolence hasn't
been questioned enough, a failure to
punctually and legitimately yield authority
would shatter U.S. credibility and embold-
en anti-occupation forces throughout Iraq.
In either case, the United States will feel
the singe of democracy's double-edged
sword - whether it comes in the form of
internal ethnic strife or collective condem-
nation.
Singer can be reachedat
singers@umich.edu.
Can't we all just talk about it?
BONNIE KELLMAN A BLNT EDGE
d by the same terror we
oo well.
s why I cringe and wince
Risch is an LSA sophomore, and a
member of the Dailys editorial board.
SAM BUTLER THE SoAIsoox
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CALIFORNIA -
aybe you've
seen them
IYL- the blue
leaflets that were sit-
ting on the cafeteria
tables the final few
weeks of last semester
that advertise Psych
122, the Intergroup
Dialogues class. "Do you ever wonder..."
they asked, continuing on with such
thought-provoking questions as, "Why do
all the white kids sit together in the cafete-
ria?" and (my personal favorite), "Does
racism exist outside the United States?"
Doubtless, the Psychology Department
has noble intentions. But to me, there is
something inherently wrong with a univer-
sity that needs to have a class to simulate
real-world discussions between groups.
The University has arguably been the
leader in affirmative action. During the
last two years, I've watched the Coalition
to Defend Affirmative Action By Any
Means Necessary protest in the Diag. I've
seen University President Mary Sue Cole-
man take Grutter v. Bollinger to the
Supreme Court. I've heard my fellow stu-
dents argue the merits of affirmative
action over and over again in class and on
the streets. All the signs point to an inte-
grated university.
Now, I'm going to suggest something
radical. Something terrible. Something
that will shock and horrify (but not sur-
prise) all who hear it: Despite the press
and protests, the University really isn't
integrated at all. Forgive the gross over-
simplification, but the white kids really do
sit together in the cafeteria. And the black
kids and the Asians and all the other racial
groups. When is the last time you've been
frieids - and I mean good friends -
with someone of a different race?
The problem is that affirmative action
has become too political. So much atten-
tion is focused on the legal aspects of inte-
gration such as the Supreme Court cases
and the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative
that people have forgotten about the most
integral part - actually associating with
people of different cultures.
Don't get me wrong. Politics are
important. It's necessary to establish laws
and social norms that will allow integra-
tion to be possible in the first place. High-
minded egalitarian goals lay the
groundwork for social realities to come
and can even inspire change for a short
amount of time before people become
bored and move on to something else.
Like most students, I know the reasons
why affirmative action is great. I've lis-
tened to the speeches, heard the debates,
read the Supreme Court rulings. And none
of them has ever impressed me. After
awhile, my mind starts wandering. I turn
up the volume on my Walkman as I walk
across the Diag so I don't have to hear the
protesters. I think about school and my
social life and all the things I have to do
before the end of the day.
What has impressed me, though, is
other people. It is living in California,
the most integrated place I know, and
becoming friends with people of all the
colors of the rainbow. After endless
laughter and jokes and midnight conver-
sations, it is simply knowing that I love
them and that it would be horrible to be
denied their friendship simply because of
the color of our skin.
Now, to really make a difference, the
student body needs to take integration a
step further than political protests, debates
and editorials. We need to make the fight
personal. We need to go out into the world
and meet members of other groups on a
personal level. We need to talk about
racism and prejudice in dorm rooms and
cafeterias and coffee shops, rather than in
an Intergroup Dialogues class.
And when the subject of race does
come up, it needs to be explored without
squeamish avoidances. If we want to speak
honestly and explicitly, the things we say
won't always be politically correct.
Because of this, there needs to be a safe
environment for discussion - a place
where minorities feel accepted, but also a
place where white people feel they can
mention race without automatically being
labeled a racist.
Too often, politicians and activists
treat racial tolerance as a benevolent
political favor white people bestow on
minorities. But really, racial relations
aren't political at all. They're very,
very personal. And they're not about
"tolerance;" they're about love.
Kellman can be reached at
bonkell@umich.edu.