Prez O: “Can’t We All Just Get Along?”
Yesterday, President Obama gave a speech in Cairo that has been regarded as both balanced and fair-handed as well as “discursive and uninspired”. Ultimately, the reaction was mixed. However, there’s one part of the speech that just about everyone seems to be talking about:
Essentially, Obama attempted to extend an olive branch to the Muslim world during a key moment of his speech, calling for civil discourse and an end to threats of violence and terror.
The real question is: what is hindering the relations with the Islamic world and the US? The issues are liable to make one’s head spin. But have no fear! Here at 99Problems, we’re gonna go over a few factors, AFTER THE JUMP!
Much of the hatred lobbed towards America abroad has to do with our former tendency to “militarize without discussion” or “force democracy”. President Obama had this to say:
“I know there has been controversy about the promotion of democracy in recent years,” the president began, referring to the recent unpleasantness, “and much of this controversy is connected to the war in Iraq. So let me be clear: No system of government can or should be imposed by one nation by any other.”
To say that former president George W. Bush was hated in the middle east is an understatement. According to political analyst Robert Creamer, much of the hatred that had been brewed in recent years had to do with the topic of cultural respect:
What the Bush policy on terrorism ignored was that more than anything else people want a sense of meaning and identity – and their corollary: respect. The polling shows that Muslims feel that their culture and the religious traditions, that in many ways define their sense of personal identity, have been disrespected by Americans and former American leadership.
The overwhelming narrative of the years after 9/11 seemed to address that terrorism, the hotbutton issue of the day, was a product of “hatred of freedom”, or quite simply was “a product of the radical extremism of the Muslim World”. That sense of political rhetoric seemed to damn an entire section of the globe, condemning an entire group of countries for being way too ‘batshit-wacko-koo-koo-for-Cocoa-Puffs’. Luckily, this political condemnation has seemed to all but disappear during the Obama administration’s foreign policy relations.
Even in and of itself, the statement ‘Muslim World’ is itself a fairly ironic phrase – colloquially, it means those groups of countries that mandate Islam as a state religion or are predominantly populated by followers of Islam, but in truth, Islam is one of the world’s most prevalent religions, second only behind Christianity.
So, in a few words, what is Obama trying to do? When it is boiled down to its essence, it’s simple. He’s pushing for the same things that all people desire, that is considered an inalienable right all over the world. Mutual respect of religious views, human rights, and a life free from the fear of attack.
By working together and engaging in vibrant, open-minded dialogue with countries worldwide, Prez O has the opportunity to undo years of deep seated mistrust, anger and violence and push forward to further peace in the global community. In manifesting a sense of communication, the extremism that breeds will cease to have such a strong foothold. Discussion can do much better work than bombs can.
What do you think? Have the threat of wars and drastic extremism killed any semblance of peace or is Obama doing a great job? Say your piece in the comments.
