The Western system affords the best possibility for people

ray harris Says: August 22nd, 2006 at 11:46 pm Thanks for that Andy. I must say I was surprised and disappointed with Michel Bauwen’s criticism primarily because it smacked of political correctness and contains a clear but unowned bias. “Israeli war machine”, “unilateral invasion”, “the destruction of Lebanon”, “the killing of so many innocent civilians” and of course the classic “essentializing of the Muslims”. Why no mention of the Hezbollah/Iranian war machine, the aggression of Hezbollah, of innocent Israeli deaths and of the essentializing of Jews, Israelis and the West? Michel, doesn’t the use of the terms ‘unilateral’ and ‘Israeli war machine’ suggest that you are guilty of essentializing the Israelis? Oh, and please, don’t cite the next line about ‘blaming the victims’. I know all about Edward Said and you need to know that he is not without fault. Ever heard of ‘Occidentalism’? It’s the argument that the Arabs essentialize the Jews and the West just as much as the West essentializes Muslims and Arabs. Hezbollah is responsible for some of the worst anti-Jewish (anti-Semitic) propaganda in the ME. Vile stuff.

My politics Friday, August 18th, 2006 I would define myself as a pro-Western progressive. I am more and more dismayed at progressives who are anti-Western and who naively align themselves with any anti-Western cause. This does not mean that I am not highly critical of conservative Western forces, particularly of Corporatism and right-wing Christianity.

The reason I am pro-Western is because, despite ‘all’ its many faults the Western system affords the best possibility for people to achieve their highest potential. Despite all the moral conservatism of the US, gays, lesbians, naturists, pagans, and a whole range of sub-cultures are able to find some expression and tolerance. How many naturist groups are there in Islamic countries?

This is why I make no apology in supporting Israel in its conflict with Hezbollah. Hezbollah is a fanatical, intolerant, fundamentalist movement. I hope it is destroyed as all fascism ought to be destroyed. This does not mean that I am not critical of Israel and its militaristic culture. But it must be remembered that Israeli society is politically diverse. There are Israeli naturists and an openly gay mayor. Israeli gay Arabs can find a freedom they could never dream of under Hamas.

I do not believe cultures or ideologies have rights. I do not believe in social holons. Societies are complexes of individuals and the prime directive only applies to individuals. I therefore judge each society/ideology/culture on how well it allows its members to reach their highest potential. I am therefore extremely wary of undermining Western culture because I fear its collapse and what might replace it. It could be improved, but it is the best we’ve got. Posted in Ray's Integral Blog, Integral politics 12 Comments »

Integral jurisprudence Thursday, August 24th, 2006 For me any integral solution requires listening to all the competing narratives and comparing them AQAL style to the ‘independent’ facts. Another part of this conflict is the use of propaganda by both sides and the rewriting of history. Attempts at an independent history and narrative have been attacked for being biased in favour of one or other side. This is where sorting through mythic, rational and ‘integral’ narratives becomes essential. Who’s version is closer to the ‘truth’?

I must confess that as I sort through the various narratives I’m finding the Arab narratives to be more prone to propaganda and historical revisionism, more prone to mythic thinking. I find that there is more of a rational and self-critical approach in Israeli narratives. Much of this is cultural and has to do with how each cultural complex approaches ideas of truth, particularly of historical truth. The mythic view tends to rewrite history to support the current myth whereas the rational tries to honour evidence (as any history student can attest). To give you an example from a recent issue of ‘Biblical Archaeology’ - the Muslim conquest of Jerusalem came at the hands of a minor officer called Khalid ibn Thabit, however, as Jerusalem grew in importance as a Muslim religious centre, the story was changed and the honour of conquering Jerusalem was given to Caliph Umar (the second or third most important figure after Mohammed - according to which sect you adhere to).

Sorting through these competing narratives is difficult - but you would only do so to try and come to some sort of judgment, if only for yourself. I’m currently sorting through these narratives. Where am I now (it could change as I find out more)? I think the Jews have the more compelling case. Israel has certainly made mistakes (the illegal settlers issue for one) but it has had to exist under incredible pressure from Arabs opposed to its existance. I believe that if all Arabs and Palestinians accepted the existance of Israel then the Israelis would begin to feel secure. Then, not feeling threatened by militants they would relax their policies towards the Palestinians. But this is naive. We are a long way away from most Arabs accepting Israel - and so the conflict will continue. This entry was posted on Thursday, August 24th, 2006 at 12:28 am and is filed under Ray's Integral Blog, Integral politics.

alan kazlev Says: August 24th, 2006 at 6:23 pm Hi Ray, But surely that would be unreasonable because the Palestinians are disenfranchised and oppressed as it is, it would be unfair to ask unilateral concessions first. A better approach might be something like this (note I am not saying it should be this exactly, this is just a very rough idea i wroite off the top of my head)

Each side agrees to the others claims and concerns, and each is policed by the other (with a few trusted other nations acting as neutral observers and referees). So the Israelis agree to dismantle all the settlements and withdarw from all the Palestinian territories, and recoognise full Palestinian statehood and soverignty, on the condition that no Hamas or Hezbollah attacks are made on Israeli citizens or territory. If any are, well the Israelis have the most powerful military in the region and can act accordingly.