RE: Palestine
November 29, 2023 at 10:53 am
(This post was last modified: November 29, 2023 at 11:14 am by The Grand Nudger.)
IDK if I can go along with that. Yes, ofc we feel all sorts of ways about all sorts of things - but all of that work and death were not mere feelings. They were real, it really happened. Except, ofc, in cases where the claim to some ancestral home are actual bunk - invented by later people to justify a then contemporary land grab. Probably thinking they'd use it better or that some asshole in the sky or on a throne said they could/should/must.
If we say "this is my ancestral home and I have rights to it because i really really love it" - well, that's not a great argument. It may be true (that they really really love it) but that's not what makes a thing an ancestral home. If, otoh, we say "this is my ancestral home and I have rights to it because I'm from here and my family did all of this work you see all around you and we've been doing it a damned long time" - well, that's a great argument - it actually backs up the claim rather than making some other. Good arguments aren't very often compelling in these situations, granted.
To my mind, that's one of the things that a two state solution addresses (or at least could). Yes, the strong feelings we have, but also the facts. Ideally, we craft objective arguments (and agreements) precisely so that they can also exploit our emotions. Gives us two different types of motivation - in case one or the other might falter. Until both palestinians and isrealis believe that an agreement for the land not only services objective needs and claims, but also somehow makes them great (or feel great) for agreeing to it..it's going to be rough going, imo.
Mind you, I think a single unified state is even better. Just bury that hatchet and accept that, for all intents and purposes..if they ever were different people to begin with, they're the same people now.
If we say "this is my ancestral home and I have rights to it because i really really love it" - well, that's not a great argument. It may be true (that they really really love it) but that's not what makes a thing an ancestral home. If, otoh, we say "this is my ancestral home and I have rights to it because I'm from here and my family did all of this work you see all around you and we've been doing it a damned long time" - well, that's a great argument - it actually backs up the claim rather than making some other. Good arguments aren't very often compelling in these situations, granted.
To my mind, that's one of the things that a two state solution addresses (or at least could). Yes, the strong feelings we have, but also the facts. Ideally, we craft objective arguments (and agreements) precisely so that they can also exploit our emotions. Gives us two different types of motivation - in case one or the other might falter. Until both palestinians and isrealis believe that an agreement for the land not only services objective needs and claims, but also somehow makes them great (or feel great) for agreeing to it..it's going to be rough going, imo.
Mind you, I think a single unified state is even better. Just bury that hatchet and accept that, for all intents and purposes..if they ever were different people to begin with, they're the same people now.
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
