Good-For-Nothing

Back in the day, the song "War" by Edwin Starr (the stage name of one Charles Hatcher) was one of my favorites. As a teenager, I would take a tape player out with me when I cut the grass, so I could listen to it as I pushed the mower around. The song's anti-war message was pretty hard to miss, even for someone like me, who was more into the music, and it flits around inside my head from time to time.

I was reminded of it again yesterday, when I was reading an NPR article on a small rally in Israel in support of resuming Israeli Jewish settlement in Gaza. I have been of the opinion for some time that Palestinian militants shoot themselves (and the rest of the Palestinian population, for that matter) in the proverbial foot every time they pick a fight with Israel. Not simply because the casualty counts are always remarkably one-sided, but because it's always an open invitation for Israeli Zionists to make the case for their project of ethnic cleansing. And while it's not government policy in the United States to back such a thing any more than it is in Israel, the fact that there are American Christians, especially Evangelicals, who view the presence of the Palestinians in the area as an obstacle to a Messianic new world tends to seep into policy, just as much as people's belief's that crime is worse than it is or that their experience of inflation demonstrates that the economy is tanking.

But it seems that no matter how little it gets the Palestinians in the end, there will always be people spoiling for the next fight. It's possible that there's a drive for the large-scale martyrdom of the Palestinian people behind it all, but I suspect that it's really just as simple as as anyone else's reasons for backing a war; the belief that it can result in, or is the only viable path to, the desired outcome. And that people who are convinced that there's no real profit to be had in the enterprise are simply being defeatist.

Maybe it's time to own that label, however, under the philosophy of "if the shoe fits..." For my part, I am "defeatist" when it comes to the Palestinian's chances of undoing the grant of a substantial portion of the former Mandate of Palestine to the State of Israel. That is to say, I fully expect, and accept, that the result of more fighting will be the eventual displacement of a good number of the Palestinians (to where, I have no idea), and the extermination of most of those who remain. Granted the battle is not always to the strong, nor the race to the swift, but it's pretty evident that here, that's the way to bet.

And it's possible that I'm not the only one who would place their money on this outcome, and there are elements within Gaza, the West Bank and maybe even the Palestinian diaspora who have decided that they're going to go down swinging. If so, I salute them, even as I expect that I will mourn for them. But it does seem like something of a waste. Then again, I suppose that for some people, there are more important things in life than living. And I can understand the principle, even if I must admit to being unable to understand the specific application being put force here.

In "War," Mr. Starr notes that "War has caused unrest, within the younger generation. Induction, then destruction; who wants to die?" And maybe that's why the message seems to not find it's mark. For the people this conflict is forced upon, it is something worthy of unrest; it's a fight they don't want. But not all wars are waged on the wishes of "élites" who have no direct skin in the game. Sometimes, they're waged with the (sometimes grudging) support of people who understand that, despite the costs, the fight is worth it. Because I suspect that very few of the people who start these conflicts want to die. But they see it as an acceptable outcome, in the larger scheme of things.

I've noted before that I believe the Palestinian's problem to be that they have nothing to offer in return for what they understand is theirs. So they are reduced to extortion, in the same way that protestors here who chant "no justice, no peace," are playing the only card they have. Even if it would be better, even for them, to fold.