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I found the speech incredible and although I am an Obama supporter, I do not usually like his speeches because they are too sing songy for me. But this speech was like a good lawyer, laying out the facts of the case and putting it up to the jury to decide. Not changing the facts, not making up facts, or hiding facts, just laying them out and trusting in the goodwill and judgement of the American people to make a decision.
Can you imagine him sitting down with the people of the Middle East and saying
yep you are right, they did that to you,
and yes you are right, they did that to you,
now that we got all that of the way,
how do you want to live tomorrow,
both sides fighting or
learning from the mistakes of the past to create a better future?
Careful, some people don't like the idea of us trying to "talk" to the people of the Middle east. After all, "Shock and Awe" is working so well, you know.
Careful, some people don't like the idea of us trying to "talk" to the people of the Middle east. After all, "Shock and Awe" is working so well, you know.
I found the speech incredible and although I am an Obama supporter, I do not usually like his speeches because they are too sing songy for me. But this speech was like a good lawyer, laying out the facts of the case and putting it up to the jury to decide. Not changing the facts, not making up facts, or hiding facts, just laying them out and trusting in the goodwill and judgement of the American people to make a decision.
Can you imagine him sitting down with the people of the Middle East and saying
yep you are right, they did that to you,
and yes you are right, they did that to you,
now that we got all that of the way,
how do you want to live tomorrow,
both sides fighting or
learning from the mistakes of the past to create a better future?
Forgive me my ignorance on the specifics of the speach as I did not hear it, but regarding your summary of this conversation between him and the people of the Middle East......
From what I have heard of Obama's past comments and presuming they are consistent with this conversation, you have some of the pronouns incorrect. The conversation really should be more like:
"yep you are right, we did that to you,
and yes you are right, we did that to you,
now that you know we don't care how you feel,
how do you want to live tomorrow,
both sides fighting or
learning from the mistakes of the past to create a better future?"
I imagine that their response would not be one I care to hear. I anticipate that his options for the future would satisfy neither side as the only acceptable option from their perspective would be total compensation and capitulation to demands of retribution. The Middle Eastern idea of justice is much more severe than the US view and I am sure that few in the US could accept the demands required to pacify the other side, even if the other side could agree to accept anything less than the complete capitulation of the US and it's societal standards.
Jrex,
I can understand your point, and to some extent, Soviet and US Cold War meddling and our reliance on the Middle East as a prime source of oil, do make us partners in the situation over there. However, the tone of the speech today basically laid out the case about race relations and confronted some basic frustrations on all sides, validated them, and then asked to move up rung up to seek the next step in moving towards a better tomorrow vs yesterday.
As far as the Middle East is concerned, we are complicit, the people of the Middle East are complicit, the Soviet sphere is complicit. We have joined together in a creating our present situation, but sitting around plassing blame will only take time and resources. However, since we are a nation that believes in the sovereign nature of nations, at some point, we will have to accept the outcome of domestic fighting in Iraq.
How can Obama possibly change the attitudes in the Middle East when he couldn't/can't even change Wright's attitude? He's known Wright for 20 years and he says he's known that Wright is wrong -- yet he didn't bother to try and change things?
How can Obama possibly change the attitudes in the Middle East when he couldn't/can't even change Wright's attitude? He's known Wright for 20 years and he says he's known that Wright is wrong -- yet he didn't bother to try and change things?
Apparently, Obama did a lot of listening. Wright did most of the talking. Would it be the same with Musharraf? Ahmadinenijad?
How often have most people walked up to their priest or minister or grandfather or friend and said " We need to talk about this or we are quits" when it comes to race issues? Be real. How many people walk up to their neighbor or friend today and confront them on their opinions? However, as a philosophy and policy, you can in fact put into place, people who can and will effectively negotiate.
Careful, some people don't like the idea of us trying to "talk" to the people of the Middle east. After all, "Shock and Awe" is working so well, you know.
Talking does not always work. Where has it got us with Iran???
Why don;'t you research Shock and Awe and the purpose of it.
Can you imagine him sitting down with the people of the Middle East and saying
If he can't stand up to his preacher and say "Hey, I don't agree with you and you are send the wrong message to the community." for 20 years part of which time he was a community leader! Then how on earth is he going to stand up to some dictator in the world.
Answer: He can't.
He ONLY spoke up when the fire got hot, and it's to late to put it out. As a leader you have to be proactive, not reactive. He is reactive.
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