More developments
The American embassy is closed today–just temporarily. According to Al-Jazeera, there were protests throughout Damascus which remained peaceful.
Most Damascenes that I’ve spoken to continue to distinguish, as they always have in my experience, between a people and their government. But Syrians are also extremely angry at this violation of state soveriegnty, and rightfully so, so it’s always better to stay away from demonstrations and the like.
Today one of our teachers asked us how America could commit an act like this and still criticize Syria for atrocities the government committed in the past. At first the question surprised me, because I long ago stopped thinking that American foreign policy in the Middle East had anything to do with notions of justice or any other kind of logic that I can recognize. Then I remembered that even though America’s international reputation is in shreds, some sheen still remains to the values my country claims to promote, and the government seems intent on scratching that sheen off as quickly as possible.
ali said,
October 30, 2008 at 7:18 am
If I can read your third paragraph right about the teacher question I would say that the teacher raise very good point. “I’m surprised to here his question, can people think on their own in Syria. It is only two days ago they put 12 people of civil society in prison because they are thinking and saying what they think!”
Most people in the US recognize the hypocrisy of the current USA administration of claiming the higher moral ground, but on the other hand a country like Syria or its government, “which never changed and still responsible for all the past because it has never change hands”
The government in Syrian “not the people” have no right to criticize the USA administration because they are in the same scheme with them, doing what they want and in precise performance, remember the case of Arrar as an example.
This is my opinion and I do not mind here different one?
Wassim said,
October 30, 2008 at 8:16 am
Most Damascenes that I’ve spoken to continue to distinguish, as they always have in my experience, between a people and their government.
That is completely illogical. There is a crucial difference that people always forget. One group voted for, and continues to vote for, governments which carry out the same foreign policy. The other doesn’t have a choice. No points for guessing which one is which.
Sarah said,
October 31, 2008 at 5:57 am
Ali–
I think you may have misunderstood why was surprised at my teacher’s comment. I definitely wasn’t surprised to hear someone in Syria thinking for themselves. In fact, I cannot tell you how much I respect this teacher and how lucky I feel to be studying with her. Rather, I was surprised that anyone still expected America to act in accordance with moral values, such as not killing civilians. Of course I would still like to use such values as a yardstick for foreign policy, but I guess I’ve suffered from some disillusionment in this regard.
Wassim–
Personally, I didn’t vote for Bush. A democracy, or a “democracy” like American, if you prefer, isn’t based on the consent of all its citizens, but rather a simple majority. Nearly as many Americans voted against Bush as voted for him. Foreign policy is not always the deciding factor in any one person’s vote; except in times of great fear-mongering, I’d say it rarely is. I voted for Obama even though I don’t believe that his policy toward the Middle East will be radically different (a tiny bit different is the best I can hope for), because I drastically prefer his domestic policies. There is no mainstream American candidate who supports the kind of policy I would prefer to see here. That fact, I think, returns partly to an ignorance on the part of the populace about what our government is doing here in the first place. Does a “democracy” work with ignorant citizens? You tell me.
You can equate me with my government if you like. I cannot deny, for example, that I benefit from the American government interest in the Middle East, mainly in the form of scholarships to study Arabic. I would never work actively with the American government, but there is an intimate connection between knowledge and power, and even the most disinterested academic or well-intentioned humanitarian runs the risk that her or his work will be put use for political causes to which he or she is vehemently opposed. Sometimes I wonder if that means we should all just stay home. In my personal life, though, I appreciate that most Syrians don’t make this conflation.