Peace in the Middle East
Back in the early 90s, when A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul were rap de jour for the people who actually went to high school (at least from what I could remember), the prominent “P.E.A.C.E.”, first popularized by Rakim, turned into “Peace in the Middle East,” a homage to those suffering as casualties of the Iraq War, soldiers and civilians. I mean, everyone I knew said it even if they had no recognition of who was supposed to be the enemy or who was telling the truth. For many of us, it almost signaled a unifying cry for all people in all hoods.
17 years later, it seems that these cries for peace have fallen on deaf ears as the Middle Eastern names of states and populations become part of the national zeitgeist. Israel. Palestine. Gaza. Afghanistan. Hamas. Olbert. Abbas. And in the middle, civilians of diverse backgrounds all waiting who’s going to hit them and their family with the next missile or who’ll run off and become part of the anti-establishment rebellion against the other “state.” In the larger scale, though, we have a ton of people, from the media to elected officials vying for our attention, trying to persuade us from joining their point of view, but never coming to an absolute resolve to do their part to broker some serious peace.
For example, this morning, I found out that Michael Bloomberg (you would think I was some sort of NYC blogger) and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly went to Israel to do something (showing support, campaigning and improving his standing with the Jewish community here, who knows?) when a rocket hit the town they visited. They had to take shelter in a safe room, only to come back and regurgitate the company line: “I think I speak for an awful lot, almost all Americans, who think that Israel is doing the right thing in defending itself.” Really? Now Mr. Bloomberg’s imposing his cognitive dissonance on the rest of us? Knowing that this war is far more complicated than that?
But he’s right: most people in this country may support Israel. After all, it behooves American public officials for this belief to persist since they’re sponsoring Israeli forces in weapon and spirit. If you can get Americans to believe that Palestinians are at fault for this almost hundred years’ conflict by just telling the 4 branches of national news (NBC, ABC, CBS, and Fox) that that’s the only truth, well then you’ll have them eating out of the palm of your hand. For the people still wavering between either side, just numb them about this talk of war until they become apathetic rather than questioning. Who that leaves is the rest of us, those of us who look at the situation objectively and then make a critical assessment based on the facts. Many of us happen to be bloggers too, but not necessarily so.
I personally wouldn’t be able to say who’s right in this situation, though it looks like for every arrow Palestine can throw, Israel’s got more than a few bombs to handle its own. What I’m more concerned about is how this power struggle is just another hindrance from true peace and tranquility in what so many consider a holy land. Is true peace between those two entities even tenable? While most people on both sides agree that the best solution would be to have two separate nations altogether, it’s the details that create such acrimony. Then again, when the few up top feud, it’s the rest of us who suffer, right?
Our question is: will we find peace?
Jose, who gives a shoutout to P.E.A.C.E. in the Middle East, in 2009 as in 1991.
Remember how in the Time Out NY Mag, I called Mayor Bloomberg out for being on every damn list I’ve read. From TONY’s 41 to Esquire’s 75. No problem. For better or worse, he’s New York City’s mayor and I harbor no hate for his hustle.
However, I’m really not feeling his policies.
I completely disagree with the massive overdevelopment of NYC, the rent hikes, the infiltration of KIPP and charter schools and the corporatization of public schools, and the latest coup de grâce, a referendum to keep voters from having any say as to whether he gets to run for a thid term.
But it’s like I’ve said: NYC is Rome. It’s the Empire City in the Empire State, the Capital’s Capital, and now, we have our benevolent dictator. Or even plutocrat. His money’s his muscle so few people have the courage to stand against him when he really only sees NYC as his blue chip and not as a city with actual people living in it. And not all of them have tons of money either.
Yet, and even still, I wouldn’t wish the same fate of Julius Caesar to Bloomberg. I can disagree without being disagreeable. I’m just not so sure some of my other colleagues will be as good-natured.
jose, who’s taking a cooler approach to everything …
by Jose on September 17, 2007 · 11 comments
in Uncategorized
Mayor Bloomberg’s latest ideas on creating incentives for people doing what they’re supposed to do annoys the shit out of me. I hate to curse in a forum of this nature, as my professionalism hinges on my lack of cursory language, but give me a break. I’m already hearing the murmurs of people jumping for joy for the idea of getting paid for what they’re supposed to do. That’s annoying to no end.
How can we talk about how corrupt these corporations are, yet the elected officials up there have tried their hardest to make every facet of NYC life into such a corporation? There’s also no way anyone can talk about independence, self-determination, and freedom of any nature when, if these incentive programs go through, we will definitely see people become dependent on these incentives for things that people should already be doing.
Parents should already be taking care of kids. Kids should focus and study for their tests, and not just the statewide one either. Parents and children together should work towards getting the students into the classroom AND excelling in the classroom. Teachers, administrators, and staff should be doing their respective part to make schools a place where people want to come.
This is a serious case of good cop / bad cop. BloomKlein (I didn’t coin it, but I’m not afraid to use it) are more than willing to show up at functions for speeches and photo ops, giving away “free” money to kids who want to go to a private school through vouchers or giving them anywhere from $25 to $200 for what’s really our responsibility, but they won’t improve the public school system they run on their own and make the principals and teachers the scapegoats on this whole new “accountability” movement.
This is not to say that teachers are perfect. Just today, I had a conversation with colleagues about how we need to have more theoretical classes and professional development sessions that really mattered and not just a way to help cajole the higher-ups into thinking they’re doing their jobs. We also need to conduct ourselves more professionally in certain arenas, and a lot less gossip helps out too. We should also make a better effort to improve in our craft, whether it be picking up books during the summer, attending technology workshops, or even participating in online communities or otherwise during some of the free time.
Yet, when it comes to actually being ready for work, I don’t think we should get paid extra to do so. I don’t think teachers should get some sort of bonus for a) when their kids make significant gains on the ELA and Math state exams or b) score mainly 3’s and 4’s. Those type of bonuses encourage union divisions and compare directly with parents getting paid to do what already comes with their contracts: if you can’t do meet these minimum requirements, then why are you doing this job?
Of course, though, the examples we set for each other has to come from the top. We forget that this is really a top down system, and that the behaviors we exhibit in any system starts from the people running the government. I mean, we pay taxes when we’re not supposed to (according to the Constitution), but we do it because it’s just a part of how we live. NYCers stopped smoking in bars because Bloomberg outlawed it. Why can’t he be more considerate when it comes to the smoke and mirrors we’re constantly subjected to about responsibility?
People just need to do their job. Of course, it’s much deeper than that, but that’s what it comes down to. Do your damn job.
jose, who’s fed up with some of these inconsistencies …
