Tag: Benjamin Netanyahu

Some Bright Spots

For anyone with a functioning intellect, a sense of America’s stumbling, start-and-stop forward momentum, and a conscience, last week was yet another depressing episode in the Trump/Republican determined march backward. The EPA writing its own death warrant? Business as usual these days.

Yet we shouldn’t miss promising developments when they occur. The first of these was the emergence of Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the NYC Democratic Party’s mayoral primary, and his likely victory in this fall’s election. Ignore the party label—Mamdani is a Democratic Socialist, and his win reflects the growing influence of socialist voters nationwide, especially among the young.

Zohran Mamdani
Zohran Mamdani. Photo: Jacobin.com.

This is a good thing. If you doubt that, then you have to question the importance of Social Security and Medicare in your own life. Socialist influence was instrumental in making both programs a reality, and if you’re like most Americans, you wouldn’t want to be without them. In fact, socialist ideas and actions have a long and interesting history in the United States, and the Democratic Socialists of America are enjoying new growth and support as Trump continues to wipe out our past progress. There is still hope, and DSA will be instrumental in realizing it.

Another promising development: last week, French President Emmanuel Macron endorsed a Palestinian state. He is the first head of state among the “Group of 7” to do so. We hope the UK’s Keir Starmer soon joins him.

Emmanuel Macron.
Emmanuel Macron. Photo: Slate.com.

Macron became fed up with America’s continued blind support of Israel as the ongoing genocide’s atrocities keep growing. Over 1,000 people shot dead since May as they trekked to the misbegotten Israel-U.S. food delivery sites. Starvation in Gaza growing by the day, as a deliberate policy. Netanyahu’s far-right government proposing the expulsion of all Palestinians, so Gaza can be turned into a luxury resort.

Thank God for Macron’s intellect, his sense of history, and his conscience. Israel’s war crimes must be stopped. The new French support for a Palestinian state won’t accomplish this alone, but it is an important step forward. It is also a step very much in tune with DSA’s anti-Zionist stance.

Mamdani hasn’t been elected yet and Israel is still a massive violator of fundamental human rights, but it’s still possible to find bright spots now and then.

Wouldn’t It Be Nice?

So I wake up this morning to the cheery retro sound of the Beach Boys on my clock radio: “Wouldn’t It Be Nice.” Hmm—it usually plays Handel. But the Golden Oldie turns out to be a harbinger of better things to come as I drift downstairs for my first cup of coffee and fire up Firefox to check the Times site for the morning news.

A worldwide change of heart. Photo: Wikipedia.
A worldwide change of heart. Photo: Wikipedia.

I can’t believe what I’m reading—it seems as though the whole world has had some sort of spiritual awakening overnight while I slept. I give my coffee cup a suspicious glance—is this my usual blend?—take a cautious sip, and try to assimilate what I see and hear in numerous video clips and read in various breathless reports.

Still dazed, I try jotting down some essential points from all this incredible news. Here, in no particular order, are my notes:

  • Donald Trump announces that he now sees a new way forward to Making America Great Again, and will appoint Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren as his closest advisers. He implies that, while he will retain the title of President for the remainder of his term, Sanders and Warren will be running the country on a day-to-day basis.
  • Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan both decide to resign from their respective leadership positions in the Senate and the House, and call upon their Republican colleagues to do the same. “It’s time to make room for more progressive thinking in Congress,” they say in a joint press release.
  • Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un announce that both Russia and North Korea will abandon their nuclear arsenals at the conclusion of the upcoming summit with President Trump in May. “Nuclear weapons have cast a shadow of terror over the world for far too long,” the two leaders say in a coordinated announcement. Other nuclear powers suggest they will follow suit.
  • Benjamin Netanyahu announces his resignation as Prime Minister of Israel, and also presents a comprehensive peace proposal that includes restoring all appropriate Palestinian lands and making generous reparation payments for all who died at the hands of Israeli forces since the nation’s founding. The proposal is widely applauded in the West and the Muslim world alike.
  • Finally, I see that Wayne LaPierre, spokesman for the National Rifle Association, has decided to step down as well. He cites a profound change of heart as the reason, and urges people in general to turn in their guns and hunters to give up their sport. In a press release, P. J. Muddbottom of Barksplit, WI, a hunter, is quoted as saying he agrees with LaPierre and will henceforth stop hunting. “I never did like the way squirrel tasted anyway,” Muddbottom says.

Then I feel a gentle hand on my shoulder. “Wake up,” my wife says. “Here’s some coffee.” Puzzled, I try to point to the cup I already have but it’s not there. My laptop screen is dark. Have I really dreamt all of this?

I thank my wife and start up my computer for what seems the second time. I open the Times home page and see the world is conducting business as usual after all. I rub my eyes. My notepad with all its fantastic good news is nowhere to be seen. My coffee tastes bitter.

It’s April 1, 2018.

Wouldn’t it be nice?