Correction

04/19/06
Permalink 12:09:44 pm, Categories: To Make a Difference, 463 words English (US)

Correction

As we all know, quotes in the media do not always convey complete meaning of the speaker. In the April 13 edition of Livonia's Observer and Eccentric, Thaddeus McCotter and I were interviewed on the situation in the Middle East and were asked questions about Israel and the new Palestinian government now controlled by the avowed terrorist organization Hamas. I stated in the O&E that, "We can't ignore what happened in the election." This might suggest that I believe Israel or the United States should negotiate with Hamas in good faith in the same way we conduct business with England or Germany. Not so.

It is often true that politicians in democracies claim mandates far beyond the intentions of the people. We have even seen it here in our own country, especially under the current irresponsible Republican Congress and White House.

Democracy is not just the act of winning a free election. It is, as the philosopher John Locke said, a social compact between the governed and the government. The Palestinian election was not about a political battle between those who support negotiated peace with Israel and those who would seek Israel's destruction. The election was about law and order, security, good governance, and the despair Palestinian people feel about the lack of tangible benefits from their leaders' efforts to build a country. That despair led them to a desperate and unfortunate decision to put Hamas in power.

The point I was making was that when George Bush and Thaddeus McCotter argue that the United States should be in the business of spreading democracy, they better have a plan to deal with supposedly clean elections that produce results we do not like. Simply demanding democracy, or in the case of Iraq, trying to impose it at the end of a bayonet, and then doing an about face when the results come in proves the shortsightedness and narrow perspective of the people currently running our foreign policy in Washington.

Hamas is a terrorist organization and I believe that Israel should not have to deal with an organization dedicated to its violent destruction. History in the Middle East and in Northern Ireland has taught us that when both sides are talking less innocent blood is spilled, but talking requires mutual respect. Hamas is now at a watershed moment. They can shed their terrorist past, learn to govern democratically, and seek the peace their people want or they can claim a groundless mandate and lead their people to more bloodshed. If Hamas chooses the latter, its own government will self-destruct because they will have broken the social compact with the Palestinian people and will be judged as the terrorist organization they are.

Tony Trupiano
Candidate for Congress
Michigan's 11th Congressional District

http://www.tony4congress2006.com/blogs/index.php?title=letter_to_the_editor&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1