When I opened the paper last Tuesday I couldn’t believe my eyes: The headline to Brian Eller’s column read “You can’t bomb your way to peace.” I nearly had a heart attack. Was the conservative columnist advocating non-violence? Had he retracted his support for the war in Iraq? Had he finally renounced violence because he realized it only perpetuates itself? Had he finally become a true Christian and learned to turn the other cheek?
Unfortunately, this is not so. What Mr. Eller actually meant was Palestinians can’t bomb their way to peace (apparently American and Israeli bombs don’t spread death and destruction, only rainbows and lollipops). According to Mr. Eller, “Israeli troops refrain from deliberately killing Palestinian civilians and instead – have selected air strikes of specific targets, which often put Israeli soldiers at great risk.” I can assure you, the women and children who live in the targeted homes and nearby houses are put in far graver risk than Israeli soldiers dropping the bombs. And while Israeli soldiers may not directly target civilians, how else do you explain the deaths of more than 600 Palestinian children at the hands of the Israeli army since the year 2000 (www.btselem.org)?
A recent speaker on campus discussed “liberal hypocrisy.” Maybe you should examine your own hypocrisy Mr. Eller. Why is Israeli and American terrorism OK but not Palestinian? Why is it OK for Palestine to be replaced by a Jewish theocracy but not for Israel to be replaced by an Islamic theocracy? And why is it okay for the U.S. and our allies to possess nuclear weapons but no one else? Unlike you Mr. Eller, I do not support violence, theocracy, or nuclear weapons whether they are Palestinian, Israeli or American. Unlike you Mr. Eller, I believe laws should apply to everyone equally.
And please stop trying to dismiss others by labeling them radical liberals. The Green Party is “liberal” on some issues such as social justice, “conservative” on others such as small, decentralized government, and defies the liberal/conservative spectrum on many issues such as nationalized healthcare (which a majority of Americans support, but is part of neither major party’s platform).
David Kirk
Social science junior