This is in the spirit of the Obama Doctrine in which he said "I don't want to just end the war," he said, "but I want to end the mind-set that got us into war in the first place."
More on the flip...
I love what Obama is saying and it rings true and represents more than an incremental approach to changing our Foreign Policy and the way it could work under an Obama Administration. We have a lot of work to do and January 21, 2009 couldn't come any sooner.
But, is it me or are we seeing a dramatic shift in people's involvement in their government and their views on healthcare, education, torture, and the environment? CNN's Compassion Forum last Sunday blew me away by the number of organizations that address these major issues, as well as the idea that there was a religious component to them? Did anyone find that interesting? Maybe things are turning for the better. In fact, while I was canvassing for Obama in Harrisburg, PA over the weekend, a friend of mine was mentioning a new organization that he is starting and I'd like to mention it http://www.jstreet.org.
To quote from its site:
"J Street believes the policies it endorses improve the chances that America can help to promote a more stable and secure Middle East, an outcome that would serve US national interest as well as Israel’s. At its core, our policy platform is based on the view that American interests require robust and strong diplomatic engagement to promote the interests of our allies and potential allies and to check and try to alter the unhelpful actions of our adversaries. We firmly believe that engaging with problematic leaders and states is neither an endorsement of their policies nor is it appeasement. It is a smart and tough policy designed to promote American interests, deploying a full diplomatic tool-box and avoiding precipitous and unnecessary military conflagrations. We favor - where possible - diplomatic solutions over military ones and multilateral over unilateral action.
Central to our approach is a negotiated end to the Arab-Israeli conflict, which we believe must be an American foreign policy priority and can lead to a much-needed new regional security architecture. As stated by the Iraq Study Group, a diplomatic surge in the region will "help marginalize extremists and terrorists, promote US values and interests, and improve America’s global image."
Although I am not of Jewish faith (and I don't think it matters), I really like this idea of this organization and more organizations like this, and I believe this is an honest approach to address problems in the Middle East and to solve them peacefully. Check it out and get involved.
Bottom line...personal accountability and involvement in our government is going to change our country...we are truly the ones we've been waiting for!!
Thanks.