Wednesday, November 28, 2012

The Basic Right


I believe there is one right that is absolutely the most basic right there is, the right of all creatures, including humans, to defend themselves. I suspect this is the closest thing to a universal human (or critter) right there is. Certainly this is recognized in the United States as a very basic right, now even enthroned in the famous (or notorious) “Stand  your  ground” legislation that has apparently swept the country. It is only right and proper is it not that everyone should be able to defend themselves from aggressive attacks on their very being?
If this is so, if this is an absolutely fundamental right, how is it that it does not apply equally to all people? The Palestinians would seem to be a remarkable exception. We hear all the time about how it  is the Israelis right to defend themselves, but when it comes to Palestinians this right does not seem to apply. That is, Palestinians are not supposed to have weapons, smuggled in or otherwise obtained. Even though faced with Israeli aggression it is somehow thought to be inappropriate for Palestinians to be armed and able to defend themselves. Apparently it is thought perfectly alright for Israel to illegally settle their lands, destroy their homes and their orchards, herd them into a large outdoor prison, assassinate their leaders, bomb their homes, children and women, control their rations and other necessities, blockade and humiliate them, make their lives so miserable they will hopefully leave and disappear, but it is not alright for them to arm themselves and fight back in any way. They are not, in fact, expected to defend themselves from the Israeli aggressors. I mean, the Palestinians are not  invading  Israeli territory or destroying their orchards and homes, building illegal settlements, and so on, even though they might  wish to do so. They are not doing such things, but Israel has been systematically doing such things to them. Apparently they are just supposed to accept this without any attempt to defend themselves, so much for t he universal right of self defense.
The same thing is true of both Hamass and Hezbollah, considered terrorist organizations by Israel and the U.S. These are in fact both attempts to defend their respective countries from Israeli aggression and are not considered terrorist organizations by themselves or many other countries. And if they are being supported by Iran, which I suppose is probably true, so what? Is Israel not being supported by the U.S., Britain, and others? Here again, the basic universal right to self defense somehow does not seem to apply to these countries. Nowhere is U.S. hypocrisy more obvious than President Obama’s defense of Israel’s right to defend itself from missile attacks when the U.S. itself is busily raining down missiles on several other countries, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, and who knows where all else, countries that cannot, in fact, defend themselves. I believe this to be absolutely shameful and, in the long run, probably stupid as it will not be long until many other countries have drones and the “War of the Worlds” will become a reality.
Of course on a larger scale there is the Iran question, are they attempting to build a nuclear bomb or not? Personally I doubt they are, as being intelligent people, they are aware that having such a weapon is basically pointless when surrounded by others who do have such weapons but  cannot , of course, ever use them. But what if they are trying to secretly produce such a weapon? They are surrounded by nations who do have such weapons, and they are constantly threatened by Israel and the U.S. I suppose that in the completely stupid world we live in their having a bomb might somehow make a difference but as they could never use it without their almost instantaneous demise it would seem a terrible waste of money and time. But here again is a case where their basic right of self defense is being violated. Thus it appears that the universal right of self defense is not really universal at all and depends upon the (non-existant) good will of Israel and the United States. After all, “Might makes right.” And of course it is so much easier to herd people into cramped quarters where they can be slowly destroyed when they are denied the right and the means of self defense.
 I do not believe history is going to be kind to either Israel or their partner the United States for the obvious war crimes being committed on a daily basis in that troubled region of the world, and it will certainly not look kindly on the colonialism that brought this unfortunate situation about in the first place. A Jewish homeland might have been a dream realized had the Israelis stayed at home.

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