Peace in the Middle East: Israel Must Become the 51st State of USA (It's Almost There!)
By Ion Saliu, Peacemaker At-Large
Written on April 14, 2002.
• I came as a refugee to the United States of America in 1985. I was sponsored by students of a Lutheran Theological Seminary (Gettysburg, PA) in cooperation with a Mennonite church (Fairfield, Pennsylvania)). The action of my sponsors speaks loudly about their keen interest and skills in world politics. They really enjoyed talking world politics with me from day one -- and so did I.
I was also aware that I was tested as well. The spouse of one of my sponsors worked for the CIA! Communism was the main topic. To my surprise, it was closely followed by the Middle East. I had thought Latin America would have been the second topic in importance. In essence, the view was that the Soviet Union was more open about their intention to set a foot in the Middle East. It was expected that the Soviets would be the first to acknowledge officially that Syria and Iraq were republics of the ”USSRepublics”. Some of my sponsors advanced the idea that USA should make it official first: Israel was the 51st state of the Union. I asked why not Puerto Rico 51st. The general answer was: “The Middle East is far more important and dangerous to our national security than Latin America. It's OIL, it's Arabs, it's Communism.”
Times goes on and it changes everything human, sometimes dramatically. Where are the mighty Egyptians, the mighty Persians, the mighty Greeks, the mighty Romans, the mighty Spaniards, or the mighty Britons? Where is the mighty Soviet Union? Where will the mighty United States One be? The Soviet Union died but the conflict in the Middle East rages on. The conflict is even more dangerous now. More nuclear players have joined the poker table openly: India and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Most likely, Israel has nuclear weapons now. It's not openly stated. Even if they don't have nukes, they are capable of assembling them in days.
I have often thought of the 51st state concept. It appears it is the only way peace in the Middle East can be achieved. I can see no way out the bloody conflict. How wrong was I when I thought an intelligent politician like William Jefferson Clinton could bring about REAL peace in the Middle East. The players of the game couldn't wait for the powerful referee to go away!
Hate, and revenge, and skirmish are a whole lot sweeter! That's human nature. One can understand the Middle East situation better if looking at our true nature. There is nothing divine in humans. Why don't we forget about it? To hell with divine! We are beasts, albeit a unique form: Computing_Beasts. It is very special to be a ComputingBeast. There are things we must consider. Revenge and hate are major players in the life game. They act as equalizers. I saw (on TV, but it's guaranteed to be truthful) a mighty tiger being obliterated by little guys humans call wild dogs. The mighty tiger fought against some 25 little wild dogs. Eighteen dogs were killed. The mighty tiger was killed, too! One must be always aware of that life percentile!
I think the Arabs view the Jews as the 'little guy'. You know, it's a small nation, with just five million. I think the Jews view the Arabs as the 'little guy'. You know, it's an underdeveloped nation, with little dollars.
As long as the situation stands, the little guy view will stand as well. Humans don't like little guys above themselves. All of us have so many examples of the displeasure of being below the little guys.
It's been a constant of my life, although I do avoid a lot of contact precisely because of this comparison. In the USA, for example, I was faced with this kind of an example.
“That Mexican is a whole lot better off than you. Yet, you are better trained and your English is much better!”
Incidentally, I don't give a damn about that assessment. It started way back when, with my parents. They always knew of many little guys who were better off than me. Better off means, in the overwhelming majority of cases, having more money, or directly translated into more physical possessions. All parents know that best. My parents, however, have come to understand better my mantra. I recommend my mantra to all Computing_Beasts. I always say to myself:
"Self, I am the best that ever was, baby! Bar none, baby! Bar none!"
The problem in the Middle East is nobody uses a similar mantra. They only look outside and see the other side as the 'little guy above'. And they grow revengeful and hateful.
Let's take a look at a different picture. It doesn't exist yet. At least one guy is no longer little. The guy is now a big guy. Israel is now the 51st state of the union known as the United States of America. The name is outdated, in my never-humble-opinion. No human should ever be humble. Always keep that baby mantra in mind! What's Hawaii have to do with America?!
So, the best nomination would be United States One. For there will be more United States soon. First in line would be the United States of Europe. There will be a world with no religion in a few generations. We'll also have a United States of Latin America. Probably soon also, the United States of Transcaucasia (former USSR and others). (By soon I mean few generations. I am surprised how soon USSR collapsed. The gambler in me bet on one more generation, even two; in years: 2050-2100! Way off mark, right?)
Just think of what being blocked has meant. Only think of NATO. Each European nation thought of itself as being mighty. Hence, the interminable wars for power. That is, until NATO (and the Warsaw Pact for a while) came into existence. No more mighty anymore! Only the little guys have had the chance to war! What a privilege! What a high! Croats against Serbs, Tootsies against Hootoes!
Directly to the heart of the matter. Israel must become the 51st state of the United States if peace is to be achieved in the Middle East. The status quo will lead to bloodshed forever. Formally, Israel is not a part of the USA. (By the way, United States One would make more sense. Again, what does Hawaii have to do with America?)
There are more Israelis in the US than in Israel. The Jews in the US have more money than the Jews anywhere combined. If they want settlements, they can buy a whale of a land in Montana or Wyoming. Forget about that Biblical holy land. Don't they say that 'the humans make a place holy'? The Jews in Israel may enter the US more easily than any other person, including a former US President.
The Jews in Israel think they know how to make nukes better than the Jews in the US. You can bet they pride themselves that the nuke is a Jewish thing, like Christianity, and Communism, and Psychoanalysis, and Theory of Relativity. The danger the Jews have faced was not contemplating themselves as a part of the human experience. They felt as being special. They always lived in strictly closed communities based on mythical beliefs. The chosen children of God. But who else doesn't? The Arabs? NOT! They believe they invented the Number. There is no Almighty but Almighty Number! Islam was the most advanced civilization between 1000-1500 WEB (Web Era, Before).
The only problems I can foresee with the 51st state resemble the problems at the southern border of the US (not a NAFTA border, however). People always want better wages. The Palestinians may want to jump over the barb-wired fences only to get the mighty dollar in their pockets. Nobody would do that for the purpose of committing suicide and killing the other side in the process. It is much easier to deal with hunters for better jobs.
No way that Palestinians (or Arabs, for that matter) would dare to attack the United States! Besides, I think the Europeans would want to match what they call the Americans in establishing a genuine state (bridge head) on an out-the-continent land. Doesn't the European Union funnel big time money to the Palestinians? Just money is OK. Weapons are not OK. The Americans don't funnel weapons directly, yet. Israel is able to make devastating weapons of their own. They might even be able to make weapons to destroy their sponsors. NATO would become meaningless, given the division between the formerly mighty Western Europeans and the currently mighty Americans. We must understand that, in a few generations, NATO would be replaced by a global military task force.
A bloc is a system without parts. That's how humans perceive it. It's how the lions view the pride. There are no fights inside a pride. There are deadly fights between prides. The Global Village should be viewed as the place where the human species can barely survive. The specie would obliterate other species, but not itself.
Resources in Philosophy, Humans, Humanities, Ideas, Truth
See a comprehensive directory of the pages and materials on the subject of philosophy, humans, humanities, ideas, truth, Human_Computing_Beast.