I’ve been
doing a lot of thinking about the recent protests in response to the film, Innocence of Muslims, or whatever
they’re calling that piece of inflammatory garbage. First of all, those taking place in Cairo
have been very small and limited to the environs of the American embassy. There has been no widespread rioting. I know this because I live in Maadi, a
neighborhood located a few miles from downtown, where there have been no public
expressions of anger, at least none that I’ve been aware of. This means that those actually involved
comprise no more than a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of one percent of
the eighteen million people (or so) who call this city home.
On
principle, I try to limit my exposure to mainstream Western news media, but
I’ve been turning on my TV in recent days to watch France 24. What I’ve been seeing has been somewhat
disappointing. At one point, the network
put together a panel of experts to discuss the situation. The group consisted of an American, a Dane,
and two citizens of France, all of them rather WASPish in their background and
outlook. I listened carefully to
everything that they said, trying to see if any of them had ever stepped foot
outside their North American-European cocoon.
As far as I could tell none of them ever had.
I can only
imagine what’s being shown on American TV news.
For such an incredibly diverse nation, very few alternative perspectives
are ever aired there. Some would argue
that radical Islamists are the biggest threat to America. Forget that.
Groupthink poses the most potent danger to the health and wellbeing of
the nation.
Religion
certainly has played a part in the recent embassy protests in the region, but
so has poverty and American foreign policy.
I’m aware that many of my fellow citizens are bound to take issue with
such a pronouncement. What can I say to
such people except that the truth sometimes hurts?
I was born
into a fairly traditional family in Texas, a traditional part of the United
States. While growing up, I was taught
the old-fashioned lesson that “actions have consequences.” This certainly has to be true for nations too,
doesn’t it?
Prior to
the invasion of Iraq, gloriously marketed as “Shock and Awe,” many warned that
such an action would radicalize many in the Middle East. Of course, there’s also the continued occupation
of Afghanistan to consider. Lately, the
use of drones, and all the “collateral damage” that occurs during such strikes,
has been capturing the headlines in this part of the world. I almost forgot to mention America’s longstanding,
seemingly unconditional support of Israel, a nation that Jimmy Carter has
referred to an “an apartheid state.” Of
course, this list is very far from being complete.
Along comes
a hateful movie and the outrage sparks off.
It’s impossible to look at all this anger, roiling so many different
places, without suspecting that other deep-seated grievances are also at play.
I want to
finish by sharing a
really intelligent letter. (I wonder
if it’s gotten much airplay in Europe and North America.) Additionally, this Thom Hartmann video
provides a new way of thinking about the ongoing instability in this part of
the world. I’ll leave you to have a read
and a look.
