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Friday, July 21, 2006

Thoughts about gay rights and the Middle East:

Two very disparate topics, but I thought both germaine. First, I read that the Massachusetts lesbian couple who spearheaded the debate over same-sex adoption are now in the midst of a breakup, and like sensible parents of all type, wish to do so with minimal impact to their 10-year-old child. Barring revelations to the contrary, these two have been good parents and provided their child with a loving home, so the only thing this really reveals is that same-sex couples are every bit as capable of utterly fucking up a relationship as straight people. Big news flash there. On that note, I would normally say that now it's time to hit the snooze button, but it seems there's something more important happening elsewhere.

I recently read something interesting on the Jewish World Review by Paul Greenberg. In addition, I have posted a second editorial by Mr. Greenberg and another columnist whose intelligence and wisdom I respect and whom only the most foolish would question, Professor Alan Dershowitz. Frankly, I don't know as much about the ethics and copyright law implications of posting others' work online. Therefore, I will only provide the links, but I strongly recommend reading all three. They are as follows: Greenberg 1, Greenberg 2 and Dershowitz 1.

In response to the link shown as Greenberg 1, I find myself agreeing with the words, but not the intent behind them, of French President Jacques Chirac. Israel's response has been totally disproportionate, and for that, the people of Lebanon, the Gaza Strip, and Syria should be very grateful. A truly proportionate response would be far uglier than what we've seen thusfar.

3 comments:

Sheryl said...

This entry reminds me of a favorite quote from one of my favorite movies Shirley Valentine: "Marriage is like the Middle East; there's no solution.''

Snave said...

Thanks for the links, MC. Those are good articles. I may have to return to that site and read more. I have always had lots of respect for Dershowitz, and when he hints that Israel could be doing MUCH more than it is right now, the response probably could be considered "disporportionate". That isn't to say I would agree that war is a solution, but I think it is nearly impossible to refute Dershowitz' logic in this case!

Mandelbrot's Chaos said...

Sheryl, I almost agree, though instead of saying there is no solution, I would say there's no easy, quick, or at this point, probable solution.

Snave, I've read about the Six Days War and other wars in which Israel has been engaged, and I have very little, if any, doubt that Israel could be doing a lot more than they are now. By comparison, them telling everyone, in essence, to get the fuck out and not engaging in the kind of full-scale war of which they're capable, could almost seem merciful in comparison. My stance on this is much as my stance on Iraq was from the beginning: War is never good. Only a madman or a truly evil person would like war. However, neither is amputating limbs or removing cancerous body parts. It is, however, necessary from time to time, and if it comes down to the survival of a nation, this becomes such a case. Oh, and I think France's president is a fucking incompetent moron whose domestic approval ratings have Chirac looking at Bush's with envy. Speaking of Bush, at least he has the wit to know that, in essence, he can do very little in this situation, and that would be the case even if we didn't have troops tied up in Iraq.

As for that website, I recommend getting the digest sent to one of your email addresses. Very interesting stuff, though it may not have your same political bent. Oh, and I'm not Jewish, though if I were in the market for a faith, who knows?