Politics and Religion

These are two subjects not to be discussed, but still they interest me and I broach them. In these recent travels I have come across many people from all places and walks of life. Their stories and their viewpoints interest me. Some are quite open and expressive about their views and others are more reserved or diplomatic. You can see them weighing their answer heavily for these are heavy topics. No one has denied me an answer yet so I will continue on in a quest to understand the ultimate in taboo topics.

A Jew from America went to Israel. When before she sided with the Palestinians what she saw made her side with no one. They all want peace and most are willing to negotiate and do what ever it takes to get the peace that they so desperately crave, but the few, yes, it is the few rotten apples that spoil the barrel. It was strange to her, that after all she had read and heard about in the news, that in Israel she was less discriminated against as a Jew than she was in America. As woman though, well that was beyond anything she had anticipated and she had tried to prepare for it.

I met a man from Argentina. He spoke of how Argentina needs dictators. For years they thrived under dictators—poor and elite alike, He was one of the elite. Now, with Néstor Kirchne there is a class system when in the past there was none. Before, anyone could be anything because the government paid for all levels of education. And while the economics of education hasn’t change it is the perception of people who do well that has. Kirchne has created a rift between the two classes. Now it is bad to be wealthy and this has been misconstrued to mean it is bad to improve your lot in life.

I met a group from Chile. They don’t think much of their first female present for she is just another puppet in the system that has ruled Chile for so many years. In their eyes Chile has not change and wont changed. It is a stagnant society.

There is a man from Berlin. He was there with the wall and after the wall, but he is of Turkish decent. He sees things in from a different standpoint. Turkey has been a democracy for many years now but he says that democracy is not something you can just hand people. Turkey has taken it too far and the results are slums on government property and a lack of education. According to him, under communist rule Turkey would be better off. Everyone would be educated and everyone would have a home. That is how he says life was like and it was pleasant.

There is an underlying theme to all of this. Democracy is not the answer. No one knows what it is but they all seem to agree that democracy is not it.

January 24, 2007