Pairs of socks knitted in 2014

  • Roxanne's socks
  • Brian's Cascade socks
  • Shirley's lacy socks
  • striped Meredith socks
  • striped stranded #1

Monday, February 9, 2009

Who wants to fight about politics?

My brother and I are different people. I know this point seems very obvious to many people, especially as he needs to shave far more regularly than I do.
But this is most obvious when we start talking about politics. Specifically, what should be done to fix the seething cauldron of issues, insecurities, and occasional bursts of outright paranoia that is the United States' relationship with most middle eastern countries. (From their end of things, I imagine that it's a bit like asking a woman's (Let's call her "Iraq.") entourage of female friends what they think of her on-again, off-again obnoxious boyfriend. Some of them think he'd be fine if he'd just stop drinking (or invading other countries) and some of them would love to see him dead. It all depends on which gal (country) you talk to.)
And after a recent discussion on Israel, Gaza, Hamas, and ways in which Israel's situation as a Jewish state in an Islamic region compares to "being the little guy in a prison cell," I had a sudden flash of insight as to the core difference in our world views:
We both believe that diplomacy requires both a carrot and a stick. The main point of disagreement between us is what exactly those should be. Objectively, I know that only time and history will tell whether military might or economic incentives are the better strategy. But in defense of my own position, I must point out that while you can only blow something up once, you can wreak havoc on a country's economy forever.

1 comment:

Sarah said...

I like to fight about politics. I got scholarships for that very purpose! ;)