The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, May 4, 2004 - 5 VIEWPOINT Israel: Who cares? I care. Democracy or bust SAM SINGER TAKE TWO Let LIsr, twa boardwalk amidst tb *bout to g cafes on the warm my feet. falafels an icacies. I( a country ture and p So let about the Middle E life. Let's our age tb Mve a norn Teenagers stopped ea to have th to pass th tors each like you a can party coffee sho have some Terro destructi such ba implante lives of they will will die die. The on a dai sant sumci As Ar desensitiz bombing. *on't win don't crin ror of Sep rorism me naive as a not awar devastatio refuse to faces terr the losses et stand b victimize knew all t This i when I hear about the deaths of 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 etncini"' V sot..r...m1 Jit rl ,arnot m Viefna p. Camup : ot~neweMo E8 Ccavtpoiiguncovserae ~.-2004 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.