The Israeli Government has too much influence over The United States Government and its politicians. Our government seems all too willing to give into what they want. Our politicians seem more concerned with the Israeli Government than they are with the United States and its people.
The current conflict between Israel and Hezbollah illustrates this. We all know that Hezbollah has been waiting for a war with Israel. But, so has Israel. Honestly, is the kidnapping of two soldiers a reason to bomb the hell out of Lebanon? This is supposed to be one of the burgeoning Arab democracies Bush is pulling for. Now, Lebanon has been set back at least 20 years, and may have its chances to be a vibrant nation forever crushed.
Our government has stood idly by while Israel has had free rein in this conflict. There was a time (when Democrats ran things!) that Presidents like Carter and Clinton gave all of their energies to bringing peace to the region. Now, nothing. Just a House Resolution saying that we support Israel (duh!) and Condoleezza Rice cooling her heels at the Starbucks. It is a different era, isn't it?
Meanwhile, the hatred between Israelis and the Arabs just goes on and on. There is little to nothing we can do about that part of it. America should be a nation that negotiates the end to conflicts in the world, not gives blank-check approval to them.
But, America too often gives Israel's government whatever it wants. While it's important to protect our allies, we have to set priorities. Whacknuts like Bush and the Religious Right have put peace aside in favor of war. Interesting, since they keep hammering us over the head about how "Christian" they are, when instead they ignore everything that Jesus taught the world.
The United States has sacrificed much for Israel. Our relationship is mostly one-way. Israel gets most of the benefits, while we get little. Israel gets to do as it wishes, while we get 9/11 and the Arab World hating us. Not much of a deal, is it? Think about it. America sacrificed over 400,000 troops in World War II. Many of those lives, along with those of our allies, helped save untold numbers of Jewish people from death. We supported the founding of Israel. We have supported them throughout the subsequent decades. We sacrificed 3,000 of our people on 9/11, which happened at least 50% due to our relationship with Israel.
Honestly, haven't we done enough? We all want to protect the democracies of the world, but why does Israel come ahead of so many others? The Religious Right, who hold so much power over our country, believe that the dirt where Jesus walked is the only thing that's important, and wants Israel to preside over it. Another reason is because politicians want the Jewish vote, and believe that every Jewish person in America only cares about Israel and nothing else. Hey, not every Jewish American is Joe Lieberman! All of the Jewish people I've met in life care about America. While Israel is an important concern, what they want most is peace for the region.
The most important thing the United States Government should be doing is protecting the United States. Protecting our allies is important, but we have to set priorities. This new war could send the Middle East further off the tracks, bringing America closer to being a permanent enemy of the Arab World. This could leave you and your children the permanent targets of Muslim Extremists. Pretty good deal, huh?
Now is the time when the United States, its security and the safety of its citizens should come first. Everything else just has to come second. We have tried like hell to remake The Middle East, when it has little interest in wanting to be remade. So, why should we keep trying? It's important that we put into power politicians who put our nation's security first. And we, as American citizens, have to stand up and make our voices heard.
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