A Better Reality
It stands to reason that without the phenomenon of cause and effect our reality would come to a standstill. And yet, humanity consistently overlooks this basic paradigm and fails to align its actions (causes) with the desired consequences (effects), with the leaders to blame for the brunt of the blunder.
Take the plight of the Jewish and the Palestinian people. A cursory look at the history of the region affirms a tragic cycle: violence begets more violence. It is insanity if not outright naivete for Isreal to allocate vast resources toward warfare, expecting that killing — be it of innocent people or not — will somehow stem the tide of retaliation. It would reason — as witnessed over and over throughout history — that such actions only foster deeper hatred and resentment, often leading to organized responses that can persist through generations. Don’t get me wrong. The rationale holds true for both sides. No one race, nation, or breed is better than the other. Only A person can be better or worse than another by virtue of its conscience and love for humanity.
How did it all begin?
This morning, exasperated by all the news of war and senseless killings, I pondered about the root causes of the conflict. My mind kept jumping from one point of inflection to another, regretting missed opportunities for peace, appalled by the arrogance of leaders playing with people’s lives and livelihood either out of self-vengeance, or ignorance, or worse, to further and strengthen their own power.
I am not a scholar of history, but I am familiar with the story of the pharaohs and Moses. I also know that each event is but part of a larger narrative with before and aftermath implications.
Let’s fast forward to more recent history, when the holocaust senselessly eradicated six million Jews in the most brutal way. The revelations of the Holocaust intensified global sympathy for the Jewish people leading to the establishment of the State of Israel in May of 1948. It is of monumental irony that Hitler’s efforts to exterminate the Jewish people in fact ended up giving rise to a nation driven to make its mark in the world under a Jewish identity.
The United Nation accord to make right the sin of the 20th century, as noble as the intent was, caused the displacement of yet another nation, and the genesis of another mass atrocity, which ballooned into bigger injustice as more Israelites settled into land taken illegitimately, driving more Palestinians out of their homes. The aggressed became the ‘aggressor’, giving fuel to the cycle of hatred and revenge, against which Isreal had no recourse but to fight back in defense of its survival and yes, more expansion.
Throughout the past 70+ years of conflict there have been some genuine attempts at peace through diplomacy. You know, the hallmark of our humanity, the use of which signifies us humans above animals! Alas, one attempt failed after another with one side or the other taking turn for blame.
But we don’t have to look too far back to observe the impact of failed diplomacy. let’s jump through to more recent times when genuine diplomacy worked. That is until it was undone.
As you may recall, the landmark Iran nuclear agreement (JCPOA), crafted by a multinational coalition made up of several world powers, including the United States, was signed in July of 2015. The deal had come on the heels of a two-year-long extensive discussions, a process inspirational to any peace-loving person wishing for talk to trump war.
Under its terms, Iran agreed to dismantle much of its nuclear program and open its facilities to more extensive international inspections in exchange for billions of dollars’ worth of sanctions relief. The implementation had gotten to a smooth and compliant start by all parties.
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From its outset, many experts said that if the parties adhered to their pledges, the deal almost certainly would achieve its goal for longer than a decade. I disagree. I believe that the effects would have been farther reaching. Let’s contemplate that prospect.
Bear with me as I take you through an alternate reality; one in which the will of the American people as demonstrated by the popular vote — despite the damage done by the untimely and eventually baseless accusation made public by Comey — put Hillary Clinton into the white house in 2016.
After having been sworn into office, encouraged by the progress made through the Iran deal and eager to make her mark in the world, President Clinton attempted to leverage the groundbreaking diplomacy and reignite discussion on a two-state solution and a peace accord between Isreal and Palestine. She felt empowered and considered it poetic justice to bring to fruition what her husband had started some 24 years earlier.
But her ambition was taking the best of her. Her narrow victory had left a divided nation with many republicans wounded, throwing many obstacles her way on both domestic and international fronts. She realized that she needed to focus on her internal affairs first and to address the root cause of the rise of right-wing nationalism which almost cost her the presidency. She needed to focus on middle America, mainly white American citizens, who, since the late 1960s felt abandoned or even betrayed by the economic restructuring that favored the urban regions, the cultural changes that left them behind and resentful, and demographic transitions that were pushing them into minority.
Halfway across the world, the Iranian regime was enjoying the newly found riches afforded them by the unfreezing of about $100 billion worth of its assets. No one knows where the money went to; how much of it served to propel the economy and how much feeding the deep pockets of the clerics. The accord, nonetheless, had a thawing effect and put Iran in a better light within the international community. For once, the regime felt recognized and respected. Feeling the warmth of international recognition and reaping its economic benefits, Iran started mending its relationship with other countries in the west. Most importantly, a shift started to take place within the government and its policy away from extremism as it no longer felt the need to foster terrorism to be taken seriously.
With more political stability in a country rich with history and human resources, a young, educated population hungry for prosperous lives, business entrepreneurship flourished. Many of the older generation within the Iranian diaspora — mostly of substantial financial means- who had long longed for their lives back in Iran, started making investments back home, necessitating more travels in between and/or much desired migration back to the homeland. Money was poured into technology, which already had a strong base in Iran. Tehran and Tabriz became the world’s next Silicon Valley. With more economic opportunities available in Iran, harsh Islamic restrictions replaced by more tolerable and progressive, the outward fleeting wave of the bright and educated youth started to decline, gifting the country with fresh, eager mind power to build the nation anew.
Not too far away in Lebanon, Hezbollah began feeling the effect of Iran’s reduced attention. With less money contributed to support its military apparatus, Hezbollah pursued deeper integration in Lebanon’s government structure through political means.
With the region stabilizing, diminished support from Hezbollah, and murmurs of peace talk from the Clinton administration, Hamas felt cornered to take the route of peace over war. The memory of Arafat’s missed opportunity for peace in 2002 during Osla negotiation served as an impetus to avoid similar fate. Hearts and minds are filled with hope replacing fear as extensive groundwork and pre-planning have been underway in anticipation of the planned summit set to take place in Cairo starting in October 20th, 2024. The eyes of the world are fixed on this event. Will the age old rife come to pass?
Back to reality, at least in our universe, we wake up to a world in which it was Trump who took office that January of 2016. It was Trump who withdrew from the nuclear peace treaty, neglecting the rule of law, the honor of an agreement made by its government, and in the process, derailed the prospect of a highly plausible alternate reality such as the one I daydreamed this morning.
Instead, millions of lives, those of Israelites, Palestinians, Lebanese, Iranians, and yes, some Americans alike have been lost to violent and senseless death. Large communities are devastated, and families displaced.
Iran’s regime is still standing and closer than ever to becoming a nuclear power. According to a yardstick of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the U.N. watchdog, in theory it has enough material enriched to 90% required grade for almost four bombs.
Hamas still holds 125 hostages in Gaza, 39 of whom are believed to be dead, according to Israeli officials.
Gaza is in ruins and stricken by disease and famine. According to the U.N. since the Hamas’s October 7, 2023 terror attack on Israeli civilians an estimated 44,000 Palestinians, and 1,400 Israelites have been killed and an estimated 1.8 million Palestinians have been displaced. Lebanon seems destined the same fate as incessant bombardment by Isreal continues.
Leadership matters. Basic human Integrity matters more. Let’s not make the same mistake.
