Ariel Sharon gives me hope
Anyone watching the news this week will have seen the big news out of the Holy Land, the Israeli unilateral withdrawal from Gaza. It is truly an amazing about face for Ariel Sharon. In fact, his story gives me hope for my own country.His history has been the champion of the settlers and the political godfather of their movement to implant Jewish communities on land captured from the Arabs in 1967. He has conducted wars and was implicated in war crimes. He has built his whole career around being a hawk. He won the last election by promising draconian measures against Palestinians and promising to strengthen and expand the settlements.
Instead he has done a 180. He has chosen peace over further bloodshed. The centrist Democratic blog, Bull Moose has a post praising Ariel Sharon for his efforts at peacemaking.
So how does this give me hope? Sharon was more dedicated to war and violence than President Bush. If Sharon can eschew violence in favor of peace then maybe my leader can as well. Whether it is following Senator Russ Feingold's proposal for a complete withdrawal by December 31, 2006 or some other timetable, I have hope that President Bush will stop being our war president and become the peace president he said he wanted to be back on July 21, 2004.
posted by Expat Teacher @ 5:31 PM
