Yeah I hate supporting the only democracy in the middle east surrounded by a pack of wild dogs. Just what the world needs.....another anti-semite liberal. If anything, I'd prefer us just turn Israel loose on that whole region and clean house.
They aren't the only democracy in the middle east. That's not the issue. The issue is that Western powers took control of what is now Israel after the Ottoman Empire (Turks) fell during WWI. At that time, what is now Israel had been Arab land for at least 500 years (the area that is now Israel, for example, was 90% Arab). Once Western powers took control of what is now Israel, the Western powers ran a policy of encouraging Jews from the West to move there and establishing it as a home land for Jews (after all, God promised Israel to the Jews in the Bible). After WWII, Western powers actually made Israel its own Jewish state (which resulted in a series of wars between Israel and its neighbors and a hostile situation that lasts until this day). Western powers created this situation by putting Jews in what had been Arab land for at least 500 years, so for Western powers to change their minds now would make it look like they made a mistake. Also, one of the main pillars of Western Civilization is our Judeo-Christian influence, so of course Western powers are going to favor Jewish and Christian cultures more than we do Muslim cultures. Add it all up, it's one of the primary reasons why many Muslim people hate the West, and wish us harm.
It's just like your kind to try and find a reason why Muslim's hate us. My friend, if there was no Israel they would still hate us. And personally, I don't care why they hate us. The goal should be to defeat them wherever we can and in secret, work to undermine their regimes. The ultimate goal is our success and holding hands and capitulating to these regimes is not the answer. Besides, that's Israel's land. Eqypt, Jordan, Dubai, Bahrain have all come to grips with it, now you and Palestine can too. Oh and Israel is the only democracy in the middle east besides Iraq. Lebanon, Syria and Eqypt hold single party elections that are widely panned as undemocratic. Turkey has the closest thing to a democracy and they are a widely Christian country. Monarchs are not a democracy....do you teach your students that?
So our goal should be to constantly try to defeat Muslim cultures where ever they exist? Why not just criminalize Islam right here in the U.S? Not even Justice Scalia is for that (he actually believes in giving the three Abrahamic religions -- Christianity, Judaism, and Islam -- a higher degree of Constitutional protection that the other religions out there). As for Israel's neighbors "coming to grips" with Israel being forced upon Arab land -- I can't say I know what each of them honestly feels, but some of their leaders might just be giving lip service to the US, but, behind closed doors, supporting (or a least turning a blind eye to) organizations hostile to Israel's presence on Arab land, such as anti-Israel terrorist groups within their own countries and throughout the region.
There are some grants for low income families to go to preschools, and the price varies widely for different programs and schools. The suburb where I live is fairly affluent, so that's why even stay-at-home moms send their children to preschools. It's not uncommon for some preschools in my area to cost upwards of $1200 a month. But I've found MUCH more cost-effective, but still educational, preschools for my daughters (under $500 a month.) Some of the snobs I know won't go to those preschools, however, because not all of the children are rich, and the buildings aren't as new. I looked at the quality of teachers and directors, more than the pedigree of the students. My husband's best friend's wife actually looked up the appraisal values on all of the homes that her kids went to preschool with--then would brag about it. I didn't necessarily want my daughters in preschool with only "rich" people because now that my older daughter is in elementary school, she's innundated with only kids from higher socio-economic standing. I wanted to expose her to different types of kids. My older daughter went to an international preschool where they wanted a few American kids to help teach children from other countries English before they went to public school. She had friends from Germany, Asia, Isreal, France. It was great--and cheap. Public schools do have Headstart programs for disadvantaged kids, but I don't know if they're necessarily effective or not. I think studies would suggest they aren't because literacy IN the home is still paramount.
Eqypt has signed treaties with Israel so they have come to grips with it. Jordan, Bahrain, Dubai are all moderate westernized Islamic countries and love wealthy people of all nationalities coming to their countries via tourism. Westernized islamic countries are fine in my book. Those hostile to Israel and the US should be undermined in every way possible including Iran, Syria, Yemen until they collapse. Tighten the noose and wait for time to turn those countries into Bahrain. It's happening as we speak. 20 years ago in Saudi Arabia, they didn't have western TV, radio, Internet. Slowly but surely those countries are opening up because their people are demanding it. Iran, Syria, Lebanon, it's only a matter of time until the extremist wings of those countries die. And the US should hasten their demise in every way possible.....including militarily if need be. Over time, they'll all end up like Jordan and Bahrain. When all is said and done, the US will have helped westernize the entire middle east. That's the way to true peace......not holding hands and hoping for it but by action and a longterm plan of action. And certainly not by undermining our ally Israel. The way to speed up peace is to stand as one united front....incapable of defeat. These despots will normalize or be defeated in the long run. Allowing Iran to develop a nuke will definitely prolong this process........it cannot be allowed to happen. And yes, that means military action.....not some broken treaty like with N. Korea.
Not backing Israel's every move doesn't make someone an anti-semite. When Israel is active in our best interests we should back them, when they are acting in their own interests, they can do it themselves. Israel has hurt the US for decades by being just as intransigent as the Palestinians in finding a peace deal. Yes they are our political allies, but they are not indispensible. Why do we really need Israel? They have never fought alongside us in any of our wars. There are no US bases in Israel. They intentionally sunk a US Navy ship in 1967 with great loss of life. Still we give them $billions is foreign aid every year. You don't want tax dollars spent on US heath care, safety, or practically anything, but you don't mind shipping $billions to Israel, who has socialized health care, by the way. Don't get me wrong, I generally support Israel, but not at the expense of our vital national interests. Name another one.
Is it possible for you to conduct a debate without personalizing it, putting labels on people, and casting insults? Schoolyard taunts are for children.
I agree that a lot of Arab culture is still in a "Middle Ages" period, similar to the one Western culture went through. And we should have a plan to help encourage Arab culture to reach its own modern period. Like you said, a lot of Arab countries are starting to open up because their people are demanding it, and we should have a plan to encourage this process forward. But I don't see what it has to do with Israel. I'm not saying that we should undermine Israel, but I still think we should realize that Israel is deeply hated in Arab culture, and if we want to help encourage Arab people to demand modern changes, it'd be a lot easier for us to influence them if they didn't view us as best buddies with the hated Israelis.
