tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21545796517778732592024-03-06T19:44:46.461-05:00Laura Boustani (AKA Shy and Reserved One)Saying what's on my mind after years of ghost writing...Laura Boustanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788685315296227550noreply@blogger.comBlogger50125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154579651777873259.post-14672135749246626522019-10-21T12:13:00.001-04:002019-10-21T12:27:44.075-04:00Oh my Lebanon! <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="inline-triangle inline-icon hide-until-tablet" style="background-color: white; color: #767676; fill: rgb(199, 0, 0); font-family: "Guardian Text Sans Web", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; text-align: start;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #767676; font-family: "Guardian Text Sans Web", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; text-align: start;">Protesters in front of the Muhammad al-Amin mosque in Beirut, Lebanon, on Sunday. Photograph: Wael Hamzeh/EPA</span></td></tr>
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I originally posted the piece below on March 31, 2011. As I watch the absolutely beautiful and massive protests in all corners of Lebanon in the past few days, I realize I wasn't alone on my transformative journey. My heart is full as I see my fellow Lebanese rising up under one flag without regard to religious affiliation or party. Don't back down, resilient people. You are an amazing few million. Show the world how it's done. Become one.</div>
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REJECTING RELIGIOUS DIVISION</h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHlmS5Rnj5ZdykjkN7zNqn7YQ_UxzBW8WLmlxyMFreGWoGVeG6y1-Swy0FqD2mKMEQtZ2kR-R3T9LRIW2ZrO13lEKajSWW8occhVtWKdogudWm43zOe9RC54OO1iyzCII2A0C2RhTEX4Fk/s1600/The%252520Random%252520Acts%252520of%252520Kindness%252520Foundation-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; color: #6699cc; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHlmS5Rnj5ZdykjkN7zNqn7YQ_UxzBW8WLmlxyMFreGWoGVeG6y1-Swy0FqD2mKMEQtZ2kR-R3T9LRIW2ZrO13lEKajSWW8occhVtWKdogudWm43zOe9RC54OO1iyzCII2A0C2RhTEX4Fk/s1600/The%252520Random%252520Acts%252520of%252520Kindness%252520Foundation-1.jpg" style="border: none; position: relative;" unselectable="on" /></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I was a senior in high school when I participated in my first Model Arab League conference. Of the countries available, my sister, then a college freshman, and I chose to represent Lebanon. We took our work very seriously and very personally. A participant of Arab descent struck a conversation with us one day. After brief niceties, it was clear that her real intent was to find out whether we were Muslims or Christians. This was during one of Lebanon's darkest moments, and only five years after we fled Lebanon's civil war, so memories of fear, destruction, and all the ugliness of the civil war were fresh in our minds. We refused to answer the question about our religious background but she insisted. We told her we were Lebanese and it simply didn't matter whether we were Christians, Muslims or any other sect. Our response shocked her. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">You see my sister and I were Lebanese (not yet American citizens) who had witnessed the devastation of our country in large part due to religious strife. We were slowly becoming disciples of the American way of separating religion from government and politics and realizing with each passing day that we were members of one big human family--not just our Maronite Catholic heritage. But, it wasn't always this way--not in my family, neighborhood or native city and country. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The Lebanese civil war started when our younger brother was just short of 2 years old. His words on that “Black Saturday” sum it up. He said, “Don’t be afraid HamoLaura,” using the hybrid name he made up for the two of us, “God willing, all the Fedayeen will die.” (The Fedayeen were militant Palestinian Muslims who played a role in igniting the civil war.) How sad that something like this would come out of toddler’s mouth, but anyone who has lived in the Middle East would understand how deeply ingrained, visceral and accepted the hatred was. Nothing about my brother’s words was disturbing to us or our parents. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In those days, religious affiliation meant everything. Every Lebanese (regardless of which of the 17 religious sects he/she belonged to) identified with religion first and country second. Just about every sect hated the others. I don’t use this word lightly. HATE was very real. It meant we didn’t see the “others” as equal, which made it easy to commit all sorts of offenses against them. For my more genteel American readers, I’m not referring to workplace discrimination, unequal pay, harassment or the like. I’m referring to murder, and more often than not, massacres. And, let me be clear: Every religious sect in Lebanon was guilty of these crimes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Fast forward to 1984, the year our family immigrated to the United States. As we worked hard to learn English, find work and adjust to a new culture, we noticed that Americans who helped us (and many did) did not ask what religion we were. They were incredibly generous, kind and welcoming.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In school, we devoured everything we could learn about this country. We fell in love with American history, and with each passing year, we realized how much we identified with the struggles and sacrifices of Americans. We made friends at school and work with people from all walks of life—rich, poor, black, white, Catholics, Protestants, Jews and yes, eventually Muslims and many others.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Religious affiliation, ethnic background and skin color (although that’s a topic for another day) became irrelevant. So, not surprisingly, the answer to “what are you?” five years after we arrived in this country was simply “Lebanese”. Proudly and thankfully, the answer today is “Lebanese-American”. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Thousands left Lebanon under similar circumstances and I suspect many of them had similar experiences. I can’t fully explain my family’s transformation, but I know my siblings and I are grateful for every act of kindness we’ve encountered in nearly 27 years in this country. Perhaps that’s all it takes: Kindness. Could it be that simple?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><em>While I explore our reasons and influences, I want to know <u>your</u> stories. Please write to me about your transformation. Where did you start and where are you now? Tell me about the people and instances that made a difference. What hopes and dreams do you have for your family and your country and in this regard? Either comment after this post or send me your story in an e-mail to </em></span><a href="mailto:laura.boustani@gmail.com" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black;"><em>laura.boustani@gmail.com</em></span></a><span style="color: black;"><em>. And, please tell me if I have your permission to use your story in future posts. I promise not to use names.</em> </span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><em>I look forward to responses.</em></span><br />
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<em><span style="font-family: "verdana";">(Thanks go out to both my sister and brother for their help with these posts, especially this one!)</span></em></div>
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Laura Boustanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788685315296227550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154579651777873259.post-69325696577013030892019-10-14T12:12:00.000-04:002019-10-14T12:17:09.672-04:00Of Two Minds<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="color: #0c343d;">I have so much to say. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #0c343d;">I fear for my country. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #0c343d;">I fear for truth.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #0c343d;">I fear for those paying for Trump's indebtedness to Putin. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #0c343d;">I fear for journalists. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #0c343d;">I fear for public servants. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #0c343d;">I fear for my country.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #0c343d;">I have so much to do.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #0c343d;">I'll fight for my county.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #0c343d;">I'll fight for truth.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #0c343d;">I'll fight for those paying for Trump's indebtedness to Putin.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #0c343d;">I'll fight to protect journalists.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #0c343d;">I'll fight to protect public servants.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #0c343d;">I'll fight for my country. </span></b></div>
Laura Boustanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788685315296227550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154579651777873259.post-67274100534878207782018-09-17T16:09:00.003-04:002018-09-17T16:09:46.937-04:00<h3 class="post-title entry-title" style="color: #333333; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; position: relative;">
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Insist on Good Leaders - Postscript</span></h3>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">I originally posted this in March 2011. It's been read by thousands across the globe. I wrote it back when my country was on solid footing. It feels strange to read it now. I'm hoping, praying, writing and voting for that day to come again. Join me.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: medium;">Laura</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Insist on Good Leaders </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Two readers recently expressed concern about who will lead the Arab countries should more dictators fall. They fear that people will install new dictators—self-proclaimed saviors who will make promises only to prove to be no less ethical, moral or democratic than their predecessors. I share their concern, and it’s terrifying to think that people may be dying in vain. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">As I pondered this, I realized the lessons I learned about leaders here in the U.S. from 20 plus years of political work can easily apply to leaders of cities and nations beyond U.S. borders. So, I thought to share my perspective in the form of 15 characteristics I have compiled.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">But first I should say that a small handful of leaders I've worked with may recognize some points as their own, and they probably are. I have had the privilege of working for some incredible people and being in very instructive situations. I am so grateful for those lessons, and I hope they can be useful elsewhere. Here they are.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">A good leader must:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 11pt;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Want to do the job with every fiber of his/her being. It must be a calling or a mission and not a step on the ladder of power. Too many leaders have grand plans for their own future and casual commitment to their current office or constituents.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 11pt;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Make decisions form a solid, mature “center”. This is my word for having unshakeable values and beliefs that guide actions. Most politicians operate without a center. They lack focus and rarely accomplish anything of value.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 11pt;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Be honest with their supporters, staff and constituents at all times regardless of how difficult a situation or crisis may be. To have and keep a mandate to govern at any level, there is no substitute for honesty.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 11pt;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Be courageous and take risks to do what is best for the community. Making decisions based on results of opinion polls or the wishes of opinion leaders is not leadership; it is pandering. Real leaders take calculated risks daily, and when the stakes are high, they must be willing to risk everything (personal comfort, popularity and even the next election) for their constituents. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 11pt;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Have contagious passion. Motivating others to perform will require visible and sincere passion. I am not suggesting constant cheerleading, but a leader should believe deeply in their cause demonstrate it daily.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 11pt;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Be humble and kind no matter how much power he/she accumulates, how large a budget he/she oversees, and how large the contracts he/she awards. Power is intoxicating, but elected officials often forget that they are servants of the people. Forgetting this very thing leads to all kinds of missteps and bad decisions. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 11pt;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Never ask staff/followers to sacrifice more than the leader is willing to give. As one of my mentors once said, “A leader should be the first one in the office in the morning and the last to leave at night.” This mentor practiced what he preached.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 11pt;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Inspire staff and constituents alike to live by the highest moral and ethical standards no matter the temptations and opportunities. There is no substitute for leading by example. A leader should never tolerate unethical or immoral behavior from staff at any level. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 11pt;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Be guided by what is best for their community and its residents--not contributors, business associates, relatives or personal interest. I believe this is one of the rarest traits of public officials. Far too often, they are influenced by the agendas of others who are not committed to the constituents. This goes along with having a “center” that I discussed earlier—never losing focus on core values and beliefs.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 11pt;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Act upon the belief that “the greatest exercise of power is to empower others who want to do good or have been marginalized, regardless of race, ethnicity, age, religion or any other differentiator,” according to one leader I worked for. Bad leaders do the opposite to keep people under their tight control, but good leaders on every level of government encourage, develop, educate and listen to their constituents.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 11pt;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Surround himself or herself with the best and brightest, most committed and most honest individuals available. Those who will carry out a leader’s vision must share his/her passion and possess the intellect and ability to perform at the highest levels. They must also have the courage to give the leader honest feedback and bad news however unpleasant those may be.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 11pt;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Never accept mediocrity. In 2011, excellence is underrated, undervalued and rare in many places. A leader should feed the hunger for achievement in every undertaking. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 11pt;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Be someone who unites people around solutions and positive efforts as opposed to others who thrive on using race, religion, party affiliation, geography or any number of other factors to divide constituents.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 11pt;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Work to reignite hope in their communities. I am convinced that at the core of many socioeconomic problems is the lack of hope and expectation. A leader must pay special attention to this if a community is to have a bright future.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 11pt;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Be tenacious and relentless in pursuit of what is best for the community. Once an important goal is identified, a leader should not accept failure or take no for an answer from stakeholders. Many leaders fall short on this point and give up too easily.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">So my message to those protesting against the tyranny of corrupt, criminal dictators is simply this: Please don’t settle for any less than good leaders. No one is perfect, but all people deserve to be led with integrity, commitment, passion and compassion. Insist on those qualities at the outset and throughout the years. You, your children and future generations deserve no less.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Godspeed!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Laura</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">(Originally posted on March 24, 2011.)</span></div>
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Laura Boustanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788685315296227550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154579651777873259.post-13549453918459460572015-06-13T14:52:00.001-04:002015-06-13T14:52:40.262-04:00A Tribute <i>I wrote this piece in 2011 about a wonderful teacher who taught me about the civil rights movement as a college student. After two plus decades, I saw him frequently during the last year when I came back to John Carroll University as a teacher. He was older and grayer but still inspiring. </i><br />
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<i>I'm reposting it even though it's not Black History Month because Rev. Valentino Lassiter died last night. I'm so very sad and so very glad his life touched mine and the lives of so many others. He is irreplaceable but lives on in many of us as do all great teachers. </i><i>Godspeed, Rev. Lassiter.</i><br />
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<br />
Fuel Someone Different<br />
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February, 12, 2011<br />
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During my senior year in college, I took a course on the history of the civil rights movement, taught by one of the few African American professors on campus. Like many in his generation, he participated in the movement. He volunteered, organized and marched with the greats, felt the triumphs and the heartbreaks, and was still plugging away in the early 1990s at shaping the future through his teaching.
I had reached that point in my education without learning much about the movement and Martin Luther King, Jr., so <br /><br />
I devoured everything he had to offer. I was enthralled by every lecture, every speech, every letter and every book. I simply loved every bit of it.
At the end of the semester, I finished my exam early and began to walk out of the class. The professor followed me and asked if I have a minute to talk. Standing just outside the classroom, he said, "Don't stop now," referring to my upcoming graduation. <br />
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While I don't remember exactly what followed, the essence of his words was something like this: Use your brain and your heart. Learn more and do more. There are scholarships out there. Go on and get graduate degrees and share what you know. There's no limit to what you can do.
I was floored. I had no idea he thought highly of my ability. I was flattered and grateful that he intentionally reached out to me to encourage me and let me know he had high hopes and expectations for my future.
I was particularly touched because very few people had taken the time to say such things to me—not in this country.<br />
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Ten years earlier, I was the awkward kid who couldn't make it through the school day without consulting my thick Arabic-English dictionary. I knew precious little about American history or culture. I was an immigrant who looked, dressed, spoke and acted a bit strangely for the all-American kids in my suburban school, which made friendships, compliments and plain old conversation difficult to come by.<br />
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Most likely, this professor does not remember me or what he said to me. But to this day, I still remember and I marvel at how such kind words can give a young person so much fuel to go out into the world and make a difference.
When was the last time you encouraged, praised or set high expectations for a young person? Start with the people you see every day--the intern at the office, a young associate, a fast food worker, your child’s classmate, and so on.<br />
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One last thing...In honor of Black History Month and in this time of strong anti-immigrant rhetoric, make a point of reaching out to someone who's different--in skin color, ethnicity, language, religion, or whatever. You may just fuel something or someone awesome.Laura Boustanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788685315296227550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154579651777873259.post-19130586375968424602014-05-12T17:50:00.000-04:002014-05-13T17:44:01.001-04:00America the Savior<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0x88TdE80O8VhiEoZ1wF2Fjg8s_T5417So-3869EZkmf88lj6JD8O8x_k-qzUdIFhdhsLYgzCd5UwoVhFVZJ6LX_0ZrhzEuCHw-vqIaL18F1IhhcI8TorlvVTWRWVAwQ0yui6Qxg_bEo5/s1600/Lady+liberty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0x88TdE80O8VhiEoZ1wF2Fjg8s_T5417So-3869EZkmf88lj6JD8O8x_k-qzUdIFhdhsLYgzCd5UwoVhFVZJ6LX_0ZrhzEuCHw-vqIaL18F1IhhcI8TorlvVTWRWVAwQ0yui6Qxg_bEo5/s1600/Lady+liberty.jpg" height="195" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a><br />
Growing up in war-torn Lebanon in the 1970s and 1980s, my family was on the side of Beirut that liked, or rather loved, America and Americans. (Yes, there is such a place in the Middle East, or at least there was.)<br />
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What we knew came from television and movies, but what we<b> </b>felt came from somewhere inexplicable. At least in my family, we always knew America, with its people, technology, culture and of course political clout, was an amazing place.<br />
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We felt there was little America and Americans couldn't do and we desperately needed them to do something to save us from our miserable, fearful existence.<br />
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In the dark, long days and nights of the Lebanese civil war, we longed for America to come to our aid. And America came twice. Once America came in the form of the US Marines. They were so welcomed, admired and truly adored (by many) until one fateful morning in 1983 when those doing the bidding of the Syrian and Iranian regimes killed 241 of them and put an end to their comforting, hope-inspiring presence.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjhS9W4QCWxw58dbOUaF6RubmfyhNAD4UCN9DA_hB9bCXMkSguV67jyOFCA64UweExS1XOSGhcxxwQekIO45H9FXOMruSGYh-KeIoNcK7cFHaLIf0SLOa7roxCgFyd6JM5-K2H74yCMfKw/s1600/Beirut_Memorial_1Marines.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjhS9W4QCWxw58dbOUaF6RubmfyhNAD4UCN9DA_hB9bCXMkSguV67jyOFCA64UweExS1XOSGhcxxwQekIO45H9FXOMruSGYh-KeIoNcK7cFHaLIf0SLOa7roxCgFyd6JM5-K2H74yCMfKw/s1600/Beirut_Memorial_1Marines.jpg" height="131" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beirut Memorial at Camp LeJeune</td></tr>
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Then America came again in 1984 when East Beirut was under attack. This time, the USS New Jersey came to Lebanon's coast and fired nearly 300 shells towards the hills above Beirut to stop our attackers. These were the loudest explosions of the entire war, but they gave us a perverse comfort since they were American and were directed at our enemies.<br />
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But as the war raged on, America stopped coming.<br />
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Then later in 1984, on a rare, quiet spring morning after a sleepless night of shelling, my parents woke me and my siblings to ask us one question: If we could leave for the United States, would you want to go? The answer was a quick and unanimous yes. After trips to the U.S. Embassy and the American University of Beirut Hospital, we were awarded visas and cleared for travel to the U.S. Little more than two months later, we had sold almost everything we owned, said our goodbyes and were on our way.<br />
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And so we came to America.<br />
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What we found in America was much more than what the world sees in movies and on television. We found a people with a generous spirit and unlimited kindness; we found endless potential for those who dare to dream and limitless results for those who work on their dreams. We found a place with plenty of bad and more of the good, a place always evolving to become a better version of itself, a place where the future holds enormous promise. Simply put, we fell in love with this amazing country.<br />
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I am so grateful for all that I found and I'm even more grateful for the freedom from the fear that dominated my childhood. Almost 30 years later, I believe now more than ever that there's little America and Americans can't do.<br />
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But as much as I love this country, I'm filled with sadness as I look at the devastation in Syria. I'm sad and appalled that America hasn't come for the Syrians as it came for us. I worry that Syrians who survive this insane war may never know the America I found. I worry that by walking away from the people of Syria and allowing hundreds of thousands to be killed and millions to be displaced, America itself is diminished. My America is better than that. I still have hope that she will live up to her own standard of greatness, and I pray the Syrian people will see and feel this greatness first hand.<br />
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<br />Laura Boustanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788685315296227550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154579651777873259.post-38794319158988982262014-02-03T13:27:00.000-05:002014-02-03T13:38:20.579-05:00Inhumanity and the Moral Limit in Syria<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I wrote <a href="http://www.cleveland.com/opinion/index.ssf/2014/02/inhumanity_and_the_moral_limit.html#incart_river">this</a> piece for the Cleveland Plain Dealer about Syria. I welcome your feedback. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Laura</span><br />
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Inhumanity and the moral limit in Syria</h1>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.333333015441895px; line-height: 13px;">In this September 2013 photo, smoke rises after a TNT bomb was thrown from</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.333333015441895px; line-height: 13px;">a helicopter, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.333333015441895px; line-height: 13px;">hitting a rebel position during heavy fighting between troops loyal </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.333333015441895px; line-height: 13px;">to president</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.333333015441895px; line-height: 13px; text-align: left;"> Bashar Assad and opposition fighters, in the </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.333333015441895px; line-height: 13px; text-align: left;">neighbouring </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.333333015441895px; line-height: 13px; text-align: left;">village </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.333333015441895px; line-height: 13px; text-align: left;">of Kafr Nabuda, in the Idlib province countryside, Syria.</span><em style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.333333015441895px; line-height: 13px; text-align: left;">(AP)</em></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;">By </span><span class="author vcard" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;"><a class="bl" href="http://connect.cleveland.com/staff/neomgguest/posts.html" style="color: #305cb6; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none;">Guest Columnist/cleveland.com </a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;"> February 01, 2014</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">At the
start of the “Arab Spring”, I was so optimistic about the prospect of democracy
in the Middle East and heartened by the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt. On my mind was the oppression of millions of
Syrians by the brutal Bashar Assad regime.
Also on my mind was my experience during Lebanon's civil war and the
enormous damage the Syrian regime did there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">For 10 of
Lebanon’s 15-year civil war, my siblings and I outran bombs to reach home from
school, took tests while watching sniper bullets bounce off of the building
next-door, heard and felt that terrifyingly loud sound of exploding bombs,
spent long days and nights in rat-infested shelters; and of course dealt with
the poverty and degradation of being refugees—not to mention the repeated damage
to our family's home and grocery store, navigating off-limits streets and
intersections targeted by snipers and so much more. These horrors probably make anyone who's had a
normal childhood cringe.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">But
here's the bad news: What the Assad regime has done to its own people since
March 2011 is far more brutal, destructive and degrading than the enormous
damage it did in Lebanon. I never imagined this was possible, but it turns out
there's no limit to the regime's inhumanity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Syria's
numbers today are astounding: 130,000 dead (including thousands of children),
more than 575,000 injured, nearly three million refugees outside Syria, nearly
five million refugees displaced inside Syria; 43,000 Syrians detained and
thousands suffering from starvation and lack of shelter. Then there are the
latest revelations of<a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2014/01/20/world/syria-torture-photos-amanpour/index.html?hpt=hp_t1"><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Holocaust-like torture</a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>of thousands.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I suspect
these numbers are conservative and don't account for the destruction of entire
villages and cities and the fear, pain and hopelessness millions of Syrians are
enduring every day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">When the
uprising began, I naively thought that once the world community sees the real
Assad regime, something would happen to remove it from power and Syrians would
finally have a dignified life. I thought what kept Western countries from
looking into the atrocities committed by the regime for the past four decades
was the nearly perfected, sophisticated, lying facade of the Assad family and
their apologists. Once the truth was revealed, I was sure things would change.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Fast
forward to January 2014. Thanks to traditional and social media, the world is aware
of the massacres and we continue to see horrifying images of mutilated bodies,
rows of dead children and so much more. My hat is off to saintly aid workers
and journalists, but the rest of us do nothing to stop the madness. Where is
our outrage? Where is our humanity?
Where is the world's conscience? Have we become numb to the images of the
suffering, torture and mutilation? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Forget
the fiasco about red lines and chemical weapons. And, forget the peace talks in
Geneva, which are unlikely to be productive as long as Assad is in power. The
fact of the matter now is clear as day: The world knows Assad's brutality well
and does not care. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I don’t
claim to have the answers to the difficult and complicated geopolitical
considerations, but I know two things must happen: The bloodshed must be
stopped and the criminal regime must be removed and punished.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I
understand the plight of Christian minority inside Syria. And, yes, Iran,
Russia, Israel and the American public make military action difficult. But when
does it all stop? Teams of experts
reviewing the recently released torture archives have made a direct comparison
to the Holocaust. Are we waiting until
the number of dead Syrians reaches six million?
Has the world learned nothing from Holocaust? Shame on every world leader and on every one
of us for not doing more, for not caring more, and for not demanding the end to
this holocaust.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">In the
words of the late journalist and author Christopher Hitchens (who was writing
in 2010 about Henry Kissinger's reference to gas chambers on the Nixon tapes),
"<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #281b21;">There has to be a moral limit, and either this has to be it
or we must cease pretending to ourselves that we observe one." <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #281b21;">So, does my beloved country have a moral limit
when it comes to Syria? Does the world?</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #281b21;"> </span></span></div>
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<i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #281b21;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Boustani
is a Lebanese-American who immigrated to the United States from Lebanon in the
1980s. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<br />Laura Boustanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788685315296227550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154579651777873259.post-82072055219548609422013-08-29T16:15:00.000-04:002013-08-29T16:15:27.457-04:00Rations, Wishes and the Syrian Regime<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2fO6MFS7SCjHfWrrSBr6SZ3peTqnTgzjXGsauFBMvvGUNteIhQInpAGN0qo6ULp95GboVAPMzVZmeUCT4nP-8b8zmd2-oJ_Z_sWggaekFFEP8n0stQcHOlsC2CVLpZ2L72wzwjwlRVsJV/s1600/young+girl+in+Syria.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2fO6MFS7SCjHfWrrSBr6SZ3peTqnTgzjXGsauFBMvvGUNteIhQInpAGN0qo6ULp95GboVAPMzVZmeUCT4nP-8b8zmd2-oJ_Z_sWggaekFFEP8n0stQcHOlsC2CVLpZ2L72wzwjwlRVsJV/s400/young+girl+in+Syria.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo is courtesy of the Facebook page <span style="background-color: white; color: grey; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px; text-align: left;"> </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/hamza.alshaheeed" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px; text-align: left;">We are all Hamza Alkhateeb</a>.</span></td></tr>
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With Syria on my mind, I stopped at a local restaurant for takeout falafel for lunch yesterday. The owner, a Syrian immigrant, is usually happy to serve up a side
of politics with my lunch. Yesterday's side was a little different. I asked her
what she thought of the current talk of the U.S. attacking the Syrian regime.
She expressed her concern for civilians but said it has to be done. She went on
to tell me that she believes the Americans will aim for precise targets and do
what they can to spare civilians' lives. As we waited for my<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>falafel<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>to cook, she leaned over the counter
to tell me about food shortages and the financial struggles of her friends and
family in Syria. I asked about water and electricity which she confirmed are
scarce. I then shared that my family experienced very similar struggles courtesy
of the Syrian regime during the Lebanese civil war. She shook her head in
disgust. <o:p></o:p></div>
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As she packed my pita bread, I shared the story of my mother and I
waiting in line for many hours for flour in Beirut to bake our own bread (unheard
of in a city the size of Beirut but bakeries were closed). This was one of the
many occasions when the army of the first Assad shelled Lebanese roads and
bridges closing supply routes and forcing the rationing of what little was
available. She seemed a bit surprised but I realized that I was speaking to
someone who's heard about but not experienced the realities of war. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I should have stopped there, but I went on to share one more
thing. I told her that my wish as a child was for my parents to let me leave
home so I can make my way to Syria and personally kill Assad. Yes, I said that.
I personally wanted to kill Assad to put an end to the suffering of so many,
particularly my family. I was confident (or foolish to think) I could reach
Syria somehow and get close enough to kill him. Fortunately or not, my wise
parents did not agree and I did not get my wish. The woman looked at me
puzzled, shook her head and said, "I have never heard anything like this
before." Her response bothered me but I'm not sure why. I suspect Syrian
children living through their war now more easily identify with my childhood
experiences and state of mind. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
But what if I did leave home, reached Damascus and made my wish
come true? One thing is for sure; I wouldn't be here writing about it today. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
Today, as a Lebanese American, I'm praying that my country
delivers decisive, definitive and devastating strikes to the son of Assad and
his lieutenants. I'm also praying that Syrian children will live to write and
talk about it. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Laura Boustanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788685315296227550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154579651777873259.post-8748814211656795162013-04-30T13:17:00.004-04:002013-04-30T13:17:59.347-04:00Fidelity and Betrayal <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbiY_WLi3NdkXq3he8E_kKp0gYsP_fLcy8ytym-gIv9mkVvzd9xaAqU5pj3mZtqVfy0h5ZYM2pQhkxa7u4CImkuZWsm8qSXwNTBcIO1m6Oaph_Q9t58P5hvLmqnO_AzuAmu5SBrMby42YW/s1600/boston+marathon+bombing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="147" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbiY_WLi3NdkXq3he8E_kKp0gYsP_fLcy8ytym-gIv9mkVvzd9xaAqU5pj3mZtqVfy0h5ZYM2pQhkxa7u4CImkuZWsm8qSXwNTBcIO1m6Oaph_Q9t58P5hvLmqnO_AzuAmu5SBrMby42YW/s200/boston+marathon+bombing.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Boston Marathon bombing - April 15, 2013</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings and related events, I can't help but feel outrage toward the members of the Tsarnaev family who were directly and indirectly responsible for the bombings. They were naturalized American citizens who chose this country and took an oath to "bear true faith and allegiance" to it, and then they betrayed it. I'm finding no room for understanding or empathy whatsoever.<br />
<br />
I posted the piece below a while back but I thought to share it again for obvious reasons. It is by no means a putdown of immigrants' loyalty to the United States. (I dare anyone to take me up on that point.) Rather, it's my story and my way of expressing my anger toward those who pledged their loyalty to this great country and then proved themselves unworthy of the privilege of American citizenship. Unforgivable.<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguJWO1BP38zqAjq5AlNLQLwGdqV1WL6OPveuhLUpe_1QRuBa9vR_TNvXE_hkaGm9rQdxMlmEn-V68yBofy_KNhcnTTQsq0ThyIi1YREO_QnticbboYC8HhfkCmA2MJwWa0QMnCcCW2r4fP/s1600/220px-Green_Line,_Beirut_1982.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguJWO1BP38zqAjq5AlNLQLwGdqV1WL6OPveuhLUpe_1QRuBa9vR_TNvXE_hkaGm9rQdxMlmEn-V68yBofy_KNhcnTTQsq0ThyIi1YREO_QnticbboYC8HhfkCmA2MJwWa0QMnCcCW2r4fP/s200/220px-Green_Line,_Beirut_1982.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Beirut's Green Line</span></td></tr>
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Living on Beirut's Green Line for 10 years of the 15-year Lebanese civil war was no picnic. The constant fear, uncertainty and disappointment had worn my parents down, so they finally took advantage of something most Lebanese coveted--the opportunity to legally immigrate to the United States and start a new life. From learning the language, to finding work and adjusting to a new culture and way of life, our family's early years here were difficult to say the least.<br />
<br />
But we were grateful to be in America. We were grateful for a full night's sleep, safe streets, law and order, open schools and what we felt was a clear path to a real future. I'm grateful to be alive and here today to write this blog. I know I speak for each family member when I say we simply fell in love with this country--its ideals, its history and its people. The kindness of countless Americans helped us through so many challenges, and it didn't take long for us to feel we were home.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.beloblog.com/ProJo_Blogs/newsblog/Citizens%201%20KB.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://www.beloblog.com/ProJo_Blogs/newsblog/Citizens%201%20KB.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">A US Naturalization Ceremony</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Then on a sunny day in May 1990, nearly six years after we landed on American soil, my father, sister and I raised our hands and took the <a href="http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=facd6db8d7e37210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=dd7ffe9dd4aa3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD">Oath of Allegiance to the United States of America</a>. (My mother and brother followed a few years later.) We were finally Americans and we couldn't be prouder. To us, becoming American was a privilege and an honor. The oath we recited that day was not casual or optional. It was a serious commitment to our new home, the one that welcomed us with open arms and held so much promise.<br />
<br />
I know our story is essentially the same as that of countless immigrants from every corner of the globe who chose this country and have become (or are in the process of becoming) woven into its glorious fabric. It's probably safe to say that throughout America's history, immigrants have returned every bit of kindness and every ounce of opportunity offered to them by this great country. They have paid back with hard work, ingenuity and fidelity.<br />
<br />
Yes, fidelity is really what's on my mind today. As I learn more about two naturalized American citizens--Mansour Arbabsiar, the man at the center of <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/12/us/us-accuses-iranians-of-plotting-to-kill-saudi-envoy.html" title="Times article."><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">an alleged Iranian plot to kill a Saudi diplomat in Washington</span></a>, and Mohamad Soueid, who was indicted yesterday for <a href="http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2011/October/11-nsd-1347.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">acting as an agent of the Syrian government and spying on Syrian protesters in America</span></a>, I'm outraged and disgusted. We don't quite know either man's motivation yet, but we do know they were both lured by foreign governments to put American lives in danger and undermine the very basic rights and liberties guaranteed to all in this country.<br />
<br />
I am grateful that law enforcement officials found these two individuals and that they're now in the hands of our justice system, but the words of that oath are haunting me. Did they mean anything they said the day they raised their hands and became American citizens? Clearly not.<br />
<br />
Below is the actual Naturalization Oath of Allegiance to the United States of America. Whether you're a naturalized or native American citizen, please read it carefully and renew your commitment. Let's all return every bit of kindness and every ounce of opportunity offered to us by this great country.<br />
<br />
<strong>Oath</strong><br />
<em>"I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the armed forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God."</em><br />
<em><br /></em>Laura<br />
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Laura Boustanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788685315296227550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154579651777873259.post-5820176445740911652013-03-21T13:11:00.000-04:002013-03-21T13:11:12.240-04:00A New Middle East<br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">As President Obama visits Israel, I have more thoughts and blog posts brewing in my head than I have time to write, but it occurred to me that I should have titled the piece below "A Modest Proposal for a New Middle East". Scroll down under for the November 2011 post. </span></span></h3>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6c8siAVzBDSGpr0NCB2gx9xgEyuTGwLwafcTTPLjgzunP4gkfypeAwbTXw4botESestJhzs0Qcfm0WyeLvcImtztSFSAdWxMZoQVgPuOlplZPCQicvMjZuHNQhk392dq6V1v-68IsD4wG/s1600/US_Obama_Mideast_Israel_0014b+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6c8siAVzBDSGpr0NCB2gx9xgEyuTGwLwafcTTPLjgzunP4gkfypeAwbTXw4botESestJhzs0Qcfm0WyeLvcImtztSFSAdWxMZoQVgPuOlplZPCQicvMjZuHNQhk392dq6V1v-68IsD4wG/s320/US_Obama_Mideast_Israel_0014b+%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Israeli President Shimon Peres shows President Obama <br /> an olive tree at the presidential palace on March 20, 2013. <br />Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP<br /></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: normal;">(And here's the<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/22/world/middleeast/transcript-of-obamas-speech-in-israel.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0"> transcript</a> of the speech the President gave in Israel today. Brilliant!)</span></h3>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: large;">November 15, 2011</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">A Modest Proposal for a New Arab World</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>The Voice of America's new Middle East site today published this piece I wrote. Take a look and let me know what you think. Click <a href="http://middleeastvoices.com/2011/11/viewpoint-a-modest-proposal-for-the-arab-world/#" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: none;">HERE</a> for the VOA site or see the text below.</i></span><br /><div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">A Modest Proposal for a New Arab World</span></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">By Laura Boustani</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">There are so many unspoken rules, ancient prejudices, historical tipping points and complicated allegiances in Arab politics. Most of them have a great deal to do with religion and little to do with human rights, equality or freedom. In fact, hating and oppressing all the</span><span style="line-height: 17px;"> “others” is a time-honored Arab tradition.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Shiites oppress Sunnis and Sunnis oppress Shiites. Christians are oppressed in most Arab countries and arguably oppressive in one. Palestinians are personae non gratae just about everywhere, but their cause is front and center for militants who use it to justify attacking Israel. Most al-Qaida and Hamas members appear to be Sunni. Hezbollah members and Iranians are Shiites. Jews seem to be everyone’s enemy.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="line-height: 13.15pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Are you confused yet? You’re not alone. It’s maddening, but those of us from that part of the world have no problem keeping all this straight. Much of it explains our past, defines our present and shapes our future. In fact, much of the current unrest in Arab countries is a direct result of the connection between religious identity and power. And, let me be clear: Probably all religions and sects are guilty of exploiting their faith to commit countless atrocities – if not currently, then it is likely to have happened at some point in history.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I began this piece wanting to argue that Christians in Syria and Lebanon should wholeheartedly support the Syrian revolution and stand on the side of human rights, freedom and dignity for all, regardless of their fears. But I realized that any such argument will fall on deaf ears if religious affiliation, oppression of the “others”, and fear always come first.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, to borrow from <span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;"><a href="http://middleeastvoices.com/2011/11/viewpoint-a-modest-proposal-for-the-arab-world/" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: none;"><span style="border: none;"><span style="border: none;">Jonathan Swif<span style="border: none;">t</span></span></span></a></span>, here’s my modest proposal for a new Arab world that rejects the modus operandi of past centuries:</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span>Separate religion from all affairs of a nation and grant everyone the right to worship as they wish.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span>Recognize the inherent worth and dignity of every person and grant all citizens the same rights regardless of their religious beliefs, gender, political affiliation or family history.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span>Give everyone equal say on who they trust to serve them at every level of government. Yes, free and fair elections are a must.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span>Value and protect everyone’s right to express their opinions and associate with whomever they please.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span>Administer equal justice to all according to fair laws approved by citizens.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Perhaps what I’m suggesting is simply for Arab countries to weave into the fabric of their new nations a universal teaching of all the world’s great religions, the Golden Rule, or the ethic that we are to treat other people as we would wish to be treated ourselves.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Can it be that simple? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As the American revolutionary <span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;"><span style="border: none;"><span style="border: none;"><a href="http://middleeastvoices.com/2011/11/viewpoint-a-modest-proposal-for-the-arab-world/" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: none;">Thomas Paine</a> </span></span></span>once said, “We have it in our power to begin the world <span style="line-height: 13.15pt;">over again.” So, why don’t we?</span></span></div>
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Laura Boustanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788685315296227550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154579651777873259.post-42194209176200882312012-11-06T00:15:00.000-05:002012-11-06T00:15:47.292-05:00Dreaming on Election Eve<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On this election eve, I am filled with hope and anxiety over what may happen tomorrow. I've decided to let hope win as I contemplate going to bed. I pray my glorious country's future will be better than its past in every way imaginable. This poem by Langston Hughes says it best. </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #f88000; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.583em;">Dream A World</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5;">I dream a world where man</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.5;">No other man will scorn,</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.5;">Where love will bless the earth</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.5;">And peace its paths adorn</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.5;">I dream a world where all</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.5;">Will know sweet freedom's way,</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.5;">Where greed no longer saps the soul</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.5;">Nor avarice blights our day.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.5;">A world I dream where black or white,</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.5;">Whatever race you be,</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.5;">Will share the bounties of the earth</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.5;">And every man is free,</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.5;">Where wretchedness will hang its head</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.5;">And joy, like a pearl,</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.5;">Attends the needs of all mankind-</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.5;">Of such I dream, my world!</span><span style="line-height: 1.5;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Langston Hughes</span></div>
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Laura Boustanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788685315296227550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154579651777873259.post-81137805337090156502012-07-20T23:43:00.000-04:002012-07-20T23:43:29.456-04:00A Note to the Syrian Opposition<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As violence in Syria escalates, I am haunted by my memories of Beirut during Lebanon's civil war. For a number of reasons, chief among them the weak and self-interested so-called leaders, armed groups on all sides of the conflict forgot what they were fighting for. Life for most became "</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short" to quote Hobbes. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz-l3DpviFbPUvRL6BeqeSTmiKzKLsTNvbd24qRtg0zDEWXDvKM4oAljOtKXsM9-8fpDo8a9_gBMG8PfQ2y8o2Do6mzklPfTkmY1KTblK-cb9E7QWioscb_CRYXIBpk6VO7BVKjWTVGmNg/s1600/220px-Jasminum_sambac_'Grand_Duke_of_Tuscany'.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz-l3DpviFbPUvRL6BeqeSTmiKzKLsTNvbd24qRtg0zDEWXDvKM4oAljOtKXsM9-8fpDo8a9_gBMG8PfQ2y8o2Do6mzklPfTkmY1KTblK-cb9E7QWioscb_CRYXIBpk6VO7BVKjWTVGmNg/s200/220px-Jasminum_sambac_'Grand_Duke_of_Tuscany'.jpg" width="150" /></a><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Back to Syria... I am by no means advocating the return to an unjust peace. Assad 's reign must end quickly and a new democratic Syria must emerge. But until that happens, I hope the armed opposition does not lose sight of the goals of the uprising--freedom</span><span style="background-color: white;">, dignity and democracy. Yes, war is messy and atrocities are committed by all sides, but I have high hopes for the good Syrian people. Be better than Assad and his thugs. Be kinder. Be more honest, more authentic, more decent. Be more human. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Below is a poem I wrote a while ago about the militia boys in Beirut. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Please don't forget like they did. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>For the Boys</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Stores are closed; buildings seem empty.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Streets are deserted, littered, silent and dusty.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Where in the world have they gone?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The children’s voices, the birds, the crickets,</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The street vendors, the car horns, the school buses.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">They've</span> all gone away, scattered like terrified prey.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But the boys--they are here to stay.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yes, the boys with their AK47s, RPGs and grenades.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Their jeeps speed through the city, patrolling they say.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But there’s no one to watch over; no living soul needs care.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The tanks roll through with nothing leading the way,</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">No purpose, no ideal, no moral or value to spare.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Fighting for a cause long forgotten, an enemy without a face.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There are no laws, no reverence and no grace.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I pray for this country—Lord, for the boys I pray.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Born into war, darkness, hate and despair.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I pray they know the sweet scent of roses and jasmine past, before death and decay.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I pray they find love, hope, joy, a future --and peace if they dare. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For the boys, Lord I pray.</span></div>
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<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Laura Boustanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788685315296227550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154579651777873259.post-48021324036916259192012-03-20T15:23:00.000-04:002012-04-24T11:03:37.543-04:00Precious Daughters<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq-Hpx3MmZcMugvKjMhNgdPBS5o7rBTddzMi1HywvHuyD_zx77_aTyT9VZilSeoUKeVHOzXcqaEATiRjNEc09HCNt0ZBkIVxAqHNSrHrxMvsaT1izx0p2pABwZSGzWNlLSWUSC4yWj5m5K/s1600/medical-check-up-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq-Hpx3MmZcMugvKjMhNgdPBS5o7rBTddzMi1HywvHuyD_zx77_aTyT9VZilSeoUKeVHOzXcqaEATiRjNEc09HCNt0ZBkIVxAqHNSrHrxMvsaT1izx0p2pABwZSGzWNlLSWUSC4yWj5m5K/s320/medical-check-up-2.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My old-fashioned, immigrant mother would not have appreciated
this, but I'll admit it... I was sexually active before I was married. Are you gasping?
I even used birth control, which explains why I didn't have children until I
was 30 years old. As if that's not enough, I received care at (wait for
it...) Planned Parenthood as a young adult. Yes, Planned Parenthood. That's
where, as a poor college student with no health insurance, I learned how
to take care of myself and went for my annual checkups.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the annual
exams in my early twenties revealed abnormal cell growth in my
cervix. This led to a biopsy, a procedure to remove the abnormal cells and
instructions for frequent Pap tests, a <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">screening
procedure that can find changes in the cervix before cancer develops.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Several years
later (after I finished college, became gainfully employed with health
insurance, married my wonderful husband and continued frequent checkups at a
private clinic) another routine exam revealed abnormal cells, but
this time it was more serious. The pathology report called it a
"severe abnormality." I was referred to an oncologist at a premier
Cleveland hospital, and I was terrified. He explained that women can
develop cervical cancer without any symptoms and I was very lucky to have an
early warning.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cervical cancer is deadly. About12,170 new cases of invasive
cervical cancer will be diagnosed and about 4,220 women will die from
cervical cancer in 2012 according to the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.cancer.org/Cancer/CervicalCancer/DetailedGuide/cervical-cancer-key-statistics">American Cancer Society</a>. These are dramatically lower numbers than those from a
few decades ago before Pap tests <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">became
commonplace. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At this point, I
was in the last precancerous stage and there was no time to waste. A
biopsy, procedure and another biopsy later, I was good to go. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How fortunate was
I? I too would have died had it not been for the care and awareness
I received at Planned Parenthood when I was young and poor and my
access to world-class care as a gainfully employed professional. Having been on
both sides of this fence, I know cancer does not discriminate. Today, I'm
the mother of three beautiful children and a fan of birth control, Planned Parenthood
and access to quality health care for all women. And, I want no less for my
daughter than was available to me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg8Ow3MYPLECvRqpRC-6v0MVkoRXtMnTxaGsJtaIo4Ld8fMx_LJcmIt88yNCfPnc0_ygE6buKM59O0S2kJaUv-WlI2QeWErrm598lIvEARXADkgz579tWL6nNjqomAen_2pbAObvFCh_Kp/s1600/The+Sam+2009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg8Ow3MYPLECvRqpRC-6v0MVkoRXtMnTxaGsJtaIo4Ld8fMx_LJcmIt88yNCfPnc0_ygE6buKM59O0S2kJaUv-WlI2QeWErrm598lIvEARXADkgz579tWL6nNjqomAen_2pbAObvFCh_Kp/s320/The+Sam+2009.JPG" width="304" /></span></a><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'll admit one
more thing: It took me several days to decide to publish this post.
"Too private," I thought. But as politicians continued their assault
on women, I decided I had to speak up. I wonder how many women have similar
stories but have shied away from sharing them. For the sake of our daughters
and their daughters, let's not waste any more time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Please share your story <a href="http://www.ppao.org/Advocacy/Stories1.html">HERE </a>or find your own way to speak up. Access
to quality care for women of every age, color and income level is not child's
play or material for political grandstanding. It saves lives. Our daughters'
lives are too precious.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="color: #073763;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: #073763;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: #073763;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: #073763;"><br /></span><br />
<br />Laura Boustanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788685315296227550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154579651777873259.post-22165565131823470932011-11-15T14:01:00.001-05:002012-01-29T08:49:54.110-05:00A Modest Proposal for a New Arab World<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>The Voice of America's new Middle East site today published this piece I wrote. Take a look and let me know what you think. Click <a href="http://middleeastvoices.com/2011/11/viewpoint-a-modest-proposal-for-the-arab-world/#">HERE</a> for the VOA site<span style="background-color: white;"> or see the text below.</span></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">A Modest Proposal for a New Arab World</span></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">By Laura Boustani</b></div>
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unspoken rules, ancient prejudices, historical tipping points and complicated
allegiances in Arab politics. Most of them have a great deal to do
with religion and little to do with human rights, equality or freedom. In
fact, hating and oppressing all the</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="background-color: white;">“others” is a time-honored Arab tradition.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Shiites oppress
Sunnis and Sunnis oppress Shiites. Christians are oppressed in most Arab
countries and arguably oppressive in one. Palestinians are personae non
gratae just about everywhere, but their cause is front and center for militants
who use it to justify attacking Israel. Most al-Qaida and Hamas
members appear to be Sunni. Hezbollah members and Iranians are Shiites.
Jews seem to be everyone’s enemy.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 13.15pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Are you confused yet? You’re not alone.
It’s maddening, but those of us from that part of the world have no
problem keeping all this straight. Much of it explains our past, defines
our present and shapes our future. In fact, much of the current unrest in
Arab countries is a direct result of the connection between religious identity
and power. And, let me be clear: Probably all religions and
sects are guilty of exploiting their faith to commit countless atrocities – if
not currently, then it is likely to have happened at some point in history.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I began this piece wanting to argue that
Christians in Syria and Lebanon should wholeheartedly support the Syrian
revolution and stand on the side of human rights, freedom and dignity for all,
regardless of their fears. But I realized that any such argument will
fall on deaf ears if religious affiliation, oppression of the “others”, and
fear always come first.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, to borrow
from <span style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-image: initial; border-left-color: windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 1pt; border-top-color: windowtext; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 1pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><a href="http://middleeastvoices.com/2011/11/viewpoint-a-modest-proposal-for-the-arab-world/"><span style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; text-decoration: none;"><span style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial;">Jonathan Swif<span style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial;">t</span></span></span></a></span>,
here’s my modest proposal for a new Arab world that rejects the modus
operandi of past centuries:</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1.<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">
</span>Separate religion from
all affairs of a nation and grant everyone the right to worship as they wish.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2.<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">
</span>Recognize the inherent
worth and dignity of every person and grant all citizens the same rights
regardless of their religious beliefs, gender, political affiliation or family
history.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3.<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">
</span>Give everyone equal
say on who they trust to serve them at every level of government. Yes, free and
fair elections are a must.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4.<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">
</span>Value and protect
everyone’s right to express their opinions and associate with whomever they
please.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5.<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">
</span>Administer equal
justice to all according to fair laws approved by citizens.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Perhaps what I’m suggesting is simply for Arab countries to weave into the fabric of their new nations a universal teaching of all the world’s great religions, the Golden Rule, or the ethic that we are to treat other people as we would wish to be treated ourselves.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Can it be that simple? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As the American revolutionary <span style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-image: initial; border-left-color: windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 1pt; border-top-color: windowtext; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 1pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><span style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; text-decoration: none;"><span style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial;"><a href="http://middleeastvoices.com/2011/11/viewpoint-a-modest-proposal-for-the-arab-world/">Thomas Paine</a> </span></span></span>once said, “We
have it in our power to begin the world <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 13.15pt;">over again.” So, why don’t we?</span></span></div>Laura Boustanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788685315296227550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154579651777873259.post-25205005413961943642011-11-07T13:11:00.001-05:002011-11-07T13:13:02.859-05:00AWESOME!<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This is a beautiful, defiant poem by famous <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nizar_Qabbani">Syrian poet, Nizar Qabbani</a>. He's calling for disobedience and rebellion. Note he passed away 13 years ago. The video and audio combo is simply awesome. </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="179" src="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSMDqj9Dvi_0m3NgmAuvD0vyaV3nyZAQRegWVjHpEEEekMWU3ZE" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="200" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Poet Nizar Qabbani</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I wish I can find an English version to share. I could write many posts about topics he touches on in just this one poem, but I won't for now. I want those </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 14px;">who can understand Arabic to see it </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 14px;">NOW and share it. Simply Awesome. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Click </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjGrUiOf9Io&feature=share" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">HERE</a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> for the video. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Laura</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
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<br />Laura Boustanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788685315296227550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154579651777873259.post-18389665732403294312011-10-24T13:08:00.000-04:002012-05-27T13:29:09.127-04:00Hope, Sacrifice and Faith 28 Years Later<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">I have always had a soft spot in my heart for the US Marines. I knew them in the early 1980s in my father's grocery store in Beirut and loved seeing them ride around the city in their jeeps. They gave us hope and a general sense that we mattered to the world. It was the message Lebanese people needed in a very dark time in our history. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">But one day, the unthinkable happened. Just after 6 o'clock on a fateful Sunday morning (Oct. 23) in 1983, we woke up to what we thought was an earthquake, only to find out moments later that it was an attack on the Marine barracks on the west side of town. The casualties were in the hundreds, including 241 Marines. Our hearts were broken and our hope was shattered. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">A young girl recognizes a name on the Beirut Memorial wall and <br />reaches out to touch it during the commemoration of the 24th annual <br />Beirut Memorial Observance Ceremony, held at the Beirut Memorial,<br />Jacksonville, N.C. Oct. 23, 2010. It is a tradition to pay service members <br />who gave the ultimate sacrifice respects by touching their names and<br />vowing never to forget. (Photo by</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Lance Cpl. Damany S. Coleman)</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"> </span></span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">Less than a year later, my family completed interviews and paperwork at the US Embassy in Beirut and received the coveted visa to enter the US. We quickly sold</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"> almost everything we owned in our beloved city, said our goodbyes and were on a </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">plane to New York City. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">Our hope for a better future was back and we knew we mattered again. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">As soon as I was old enough, I went to a recruiting office to </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">discuss enlisting in the Marines. Thanks to my mother's sage advice and keen understanding of my independent nature, I decided against it. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">Today, I'm far different from the person I was in 1983 or at that recruiting office, but I'll never forget the sacrifice those Marines made. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">The years have been very kind to us and so have Americans, but I still tear up when I see a US Marine. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">I will always be grateful and faithful.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Laura</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">p.s.: Please accept my apologies. I initially posted this with the headline saying, "...25 Years Later." Clearly 1983 was 28 years ago. My mistake. I apologize.</span></span></div>
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</h6>Laura Boustanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788685315296227550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154579651777873259.post-46222429873974914942011-10-13T21:17:00.001-04:002013-04-30T13:08:52.477-04:00Fidelity and Betrayal<div style="text-align: right;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Boston Marathon bombing, April 15, 2013</span></td></tr>
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In the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings and related events, I can't help but feel outrage toward the members of the Tsarnaev family who were directly and indirectly responsible for the bombings. They were naturalized American citizens who chose this country and took an oath to "bear true faith and allegiance" to it, and then they betrayed it. I'm finding no room for understanding or empathy whatsoever. <br />
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I posted the piece below a while back but I thought to share it again for obvious reasons. It is by no means a putdown of immigrants' loyalty to the United States. (I dare anyone to take me up on that point.) Rather, it's my story and my way of expressing my anger toward those who pledged their loyalty to this great country and then proved themselves unworthy of the privilege of American citizenship. Unforgivable.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Beirut's Green Line</span></td></tr>
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Living on Beirut's Green Line for 10 years of the 15-year Lebanese civil war was no picnic. The constant fear, uncertainty and disappointment had worn my parents down, so they finally took advantage of something most Lebanese coveted--the opportunity to legally immigrate to the United States and start a new life. From learning the language, to finding work and adjusting to a new culture and way of life, our family's early years here were difficult to say the least.<br />
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But we were grateful to be in America. We were grateful for a full night's sleep, safe streets, law and order, open schools and what we felt was a clear path to a real future. I'm grateful to be alive and here today to write this blog. I know I speak for each family member when I say we simply fell in love with this country--its ideals, its history and its people. The kindness of countless Americans helped us through so many challenges, and it didn't take long for us to feel we were home.<br />
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Then on a sunny day in May 1990, nearly six years after we landed on American soil, my father, sister and I raised our hands and took the <a href="http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=facd6db8d7e37210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=dd7ffe9dd4aa3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD">Oath of Allegiance to the United States of America</a>. (My mother and brother followed a few years later.) We were finally Americans and we couldn't be prouder. To us, becoming American was a privilege and an honor. The oath we recited that day was not casual or optional. It was a serious commitment to our new home, the one that welcomed us with open arms and held so much promise. <br />
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I know our story is essentially the same as that of countless immigrants from every corner of the globe who chose this country and have become (or are in the process of becoming) woven into its glorious fabric. It's probably safe to say that throughout America's history, immigrants have returned every bit of kindness and every ounce of opportunity offered to them by this great country. They have paid back with hard work, ingenuity and fidelity. <br />
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Yes, fidelity is really what's on my mind today. As I learn more about two naturalized American citizens--Mansour Arbabsiar, the man at the center of <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/12/us/us-accuses-iranians-of-plotting-to-kill-saudi-envoy.html" title="Times article."><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">an alleged Iranian plot to kill a Saudi diplomat in Washington</span></a>, and Mohamad Soueid, who was indicted yesterday for <a href="http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2011/October/11-nsd-1347.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">acting as an agent of the Syrian government and spying on Syrian protesters in America</span></a>, I'm outraged and disgusted. We don't quite know either man's motivation yet, but we do know they were both lured by foreign governments to put American lives in danger and undermine the very basic rights and liberties guaranteed to all in this country.<br />
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I am grateful that law enforcement officials found these two individuals and that they're now in the hands of our justice system, but the words of that oath are haunting me. Did they mean anything they said the day they raised their hands and became American citizens? Clearly not. <br />
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Below is the actual Naturalization Oath of Allegiance to the United States of America. Whether you're a naturalized or native American citizen, please read it carefully and renew your commitment. Let's all return every bit of kindness and every ounce of opportunity offered to us by this great country. <br />
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<strong>Oath</strong><br />
<em>"I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the armed forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God."</em><br />
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Laura<br />
<br />Laura Boustanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788685315296227550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154579651777873259.post-21679638517081743142011-10-12T20:41:00.001-04:002011-10-12T22:38:46.994-04:00Some Perspective<span class="messageBody translationEligibleUserMessage">Many will disagree with my comment in <a href="http://www.voanews.com/english/news/usa/Arab-Activists-Little-in-Common-Between-Occupy-Wall-Street-Arab-Spring-131594593.html">this article</a> on the Voice of America site. While I support any awakening and activism by my fello</span><span class="messageBody translationEligibleUserMessage">w Americans, I do plead for perspective. I also plead for real participation in the political system (I mean the duty and privilege to vote as a start) which earns us the right to make demands once our comparatively comfortable lives are disturbed. So, consider this a challenge to vote this November, in the upcoming spring primaries and beyond. I welcome comments.</span><br />
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October 12, 2011 <br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Arab Activists: Little in Common Between Occupy Wall Street, Arab Spring</span></h2>
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Cecily Hilleary</div>
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Many Arab activists say comparing the Occupy Wall Street movement in America to the uprisings of the Arab Spring denigrates their cause. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img 10,="" 2011.?="" a="" alt="A protester affiliated with the " bill="" border="0" dollar="" height="212" his="" in="" mouth="" new="" occupy="" october="" over="" park="" protests="" src="http://media.voanews.com/images/480*320/ap_new_york_occupy_wall_street_protest_10Oct11-resizedpx480q100dpi96shp8.jpg" stands="" street?="" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" taped="" title="A protester affiliated with the " us="" wall="" width="320" with="" york,="" zuccotti="" /></td></tr>
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A protester affiliated with the "Occupy Wall Street" protests </div>
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stands with a US dollar bill taped over his mouth in Zuccotti </div>
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Park in New York, October 10, 2011. <strong> Photo: AP</strong></div>
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Lately, the mainstream media is making parallel comparisons between the United States’ Occupy Wall Street movement and the ongoing Arab Spring. However, the linking of the two movements has outraged some Arab activists who say their movement was spawned out of decades of oppression from undemocratic leaders.<br />
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While social media has played a role in the spontaneous mobilization of both movements across many cities, Arab activists say the stakes in the Arab Spring are greater because they address the denial of fundamental civil and human rights.<br />
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Occupy Wall Street did not begin as an organized movement. Rather, it grew out of a call by <a href="http://www.adbusters.org/" target="_blank" title="Adbusters"><strong>Adbusters</strong></a>, a Vancouver-based activist network which boasts a <a href="http://www.adbusters.org/about/adbusters" target="_blank" title="Abdusters Mission"><strong>mission</strong></a> to “topple existing power structures and forge a major shift in the way we live.” Last July, citing Egypt’s Tahrir Square and the 15-M youth protests in Spain, Adbusters called for a protest against what it called the “Financial Gomorrah of America.” By this they meant the financial community of Wall Street and the unharnessed control, they say, it exercises over the lives of millions of ordinary people.<br />
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<strong>Plan-as-you go movement</strong><br />
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In response, Occupy Wall Street began to organize itself as a sort of plan-as-you go movement that gathered momentum and spread to cities across the United States. <br />
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Ed Needham is a spokesman for Occupy Wall Street in New York. He says the Arab Spring reinforced the idea that sometimes it’s necessary for citizens to take to the streets in order to effect political change. <br />
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“When your normal avenues of redress in whatever type of system you are a part of are no longer open to you or are not there to begin with, there’s a breaking point, a point where people stop and say - we’re just not going to accept the way that things are done anymore,” said Needham.</div>
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He says that in the case of the Arab Spring, a certain catalyst - the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi in Tunisia- set off the imaginations of people across the region. “I think the metaphor is accurate in describing Occupy Wall Street in the way that this started as a spark and it kind of swept off across the country,” said Needham. <br />
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Others, however, argue against any comparison between the desperation that drove a hungry Tunisian to kill himself and the relatively minor discomforts of the average American during an economic downturn.<br />
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<a href="http://www.aicongress.org/about/leadership.html" target="_blank" title="Nasser Weddady"><strong>Nasser Weddady</strong></a>, blogger activist and Civil Rights Outreach Director at the <strong></strong><a href="http://www.aicongress.org/" target="_blank" title="American Islamic Conferences"><strong>American Islamic Congress</strong></a> <strong></strong>says that while he is sympathetic to American protesters, he does not believe they have a clue about what really went on in the Middle East this year. <br />
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“Occupy Wall Street planners only see the skeleton of the Arab spring movement,” he said. “They don’t know that it was an evolutionary process, the result of decades of work, trial and error, and eventual breakthroughs. These people went out in the streets out of shared desperation after all other means had been exhausted. And they knew full well that they could die for it.” <br />
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The worst that happens in American streets, says Weddady, is that “protesters get pepper-sprayed.”<br />
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Dr. Nervana Mahmoud, a UK physician and blogger, agrees. “With no disrespect to the sense of injustice perceived by many [Americans] against the financial institutions and their corruption,” she said, “comparing their struggle to the Arab Spring denigrates the Arab protesters.” <br />
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<strong>Movement inspired by bad economy</strong><br />
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The American protest movement, says Mahmoud, is inspired by a bad economy, not the kind of long-term abuses and economic hardships that triggered the Arab Spring. “I really don’t think the American demonstrators are willing to die for their cause,” she said. She does admit, however, to a few similarities between the movements: Both demonstrate “the savvy use of social media” and lack of “coherent plans or solutions.”<br />
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Blogger <a href="http://shyandreservedone.blogspot.com/" target="_blank" title="Laura Boustani"><strong>Laura Boustani</strong></a> is a bit more vocal in her indignation. “Shame on them!” she said. “These American protesters have no concept of the oppression Arab protesters have gone through - not that I want them to see or experience these things first-hand. Let’s just keep perspective here!”<br />
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Occupy Wall Street’s Needham does concede there is a big difference between the Arab and American movements. What they do share, he says, is a “meta-theme, the theme that, you know, everyone has certain unalienable rights and that, together, we can effect change to ensure those and provide safe-keeping for those.”<br />
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In September, <a href="http://october2011.org/" target="_blank" title="October 2011"><strong>October 2011</strong></a> - a movement similar in purpose to Occupy Wall Street - issued a <a href="http://october2011.org/solidaritywithegypt" target="_blank" title="Joint Statement"><strong>joint statement</strong></a> with ten Egyptian revolutionaries, among them, blogger and activist <a href="http://www.manalaa.net/" target="_blank" title="Alaa Abd el Fattah"><strong>Alaa Abd el Fattah</strong></a>. He says that on the surface, the two movements are very different. “In the Arab world, protesters are fighting to achieve democracy. In America, people who live in democracy and enjoy a lot of rights fear that democracy may be failing them.” <br />
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However, in the end, both movement stand for the same rights and freedoms. We might do better, Fattah says, to focus not so much on our differences, but on our shared commitment to social justice and equality. </div>
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</div>Laura Boustanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788685315296227550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154579651777873259.post-21013381367048007852011-10-08T00:21:00.000-04:002011-10-11T13:01:35.278-04:00President Obama on Peace and War <br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN5PTGktu73XN9iqnsP9WFgpUNbwIYYM6pOyDpeOqllVV8dMEE7o4Ujmhg7qtN8sQAefy3xIH370fgf5PoDJ5U9KoPs_5s4W6XleN0qCBYS0MG0xJ8PV4V202rDVwTgcLd6qdCMuK2lhRd/s1600/Pensive+Obama+May+1+2011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="177" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN5PTGktu73XN9iqnsP9WFgpUNbwIYYM6pOyDpeOqllVV8dMEE7o4Ujmhg7qtN8sQAefy3xIH370fgf5PoDJ5U9KoPs_5s4W6XleN0qCBYS0MG0xJ8PV4V202rDVwTgcLd6qdCMuK2lhRd/s320/Pensive+Obama+May+1+2011.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">President Obama in the White House </span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">in </span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">May 2011. (Official White House Photo)</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I heard today an excerpt of <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_2059920559">President</a></span><a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-acceptance-nobel-peace-prize"> Obama's Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech</a> from December 2009. Considering world events since then, including the awakening in the Arab world, the killing of Osama Bin Laden and the 10th anniversary of 9/11, I went searching for the full text of the speech to better understand the President's thoughts and what's driving America's foreign policy under his leadership. What I found was an amazing world view grounded in reality yet rooted in deeply held ideals about human rights and the dignity of the individual, respectful of moral giants yet resolute in the face of those with ill will toward the U.S., and informed by history yet hopeful about the future. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">If you're curious about what's driving American foreign policy under President Obama, take some time to read this phenomenal speech. </span><br />
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<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">The White House</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">December 10, 2009</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: #880000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 18pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Remarks by the President at the Acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize</span></div>
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<placename w:st="on"><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Oslo</span></placename><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;"> <placetype w:st="on">City Hall</placetype><br /><place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Oslo</city>, <country-region w:st="on">Norway</country-region></place></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">THE PRESIDENT: Your Majesties, Your Royal Highnesses, distinguished members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, citizens of <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">America</place></country-region>, and citizens of the world:<br /><br />I receive this honor with deep gratitude and great humility. It is an award that speaks to our highest aspirations -- that for all the cruelty and hardship of our world, we are not mere prisoners of fate. Our actions matter, and can bend history in the direction of justice.<br /><br />And yet I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the considerable controversy that your generous decision has generated. (Laughter.) In part, this is because I am at the beginning, and not the end, of my labors on the world stage. Compared to some of the giants of history who've received this prize -- Schweitzer and King; <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Marshall</place></city> and Mandela -- my accomplishments are slight. And then there are the men and women around the world who have been jailed and beaten in the pursuit of justice; those who toil in humanitarian organizations to relieve suffering; the unrecognized millions whose quiet acts of courage and compassion inspire even the most hardened cynics. I cannot argue with those who find these men and women -- some known, some obscure to all but those they help -- to be far more deserving of this honor than I.<br /><br />But perhaps the most profound issue surrounding my receipt of this prize is the fact that I am the Commander-in-Chief of the military of a nation in the midst of two wars. One of these wars is winding down. The other is a conflict that America did not seek; one in which we are joined by 42 other countries -- including Norway -- in an effort to defend ourselves and all nations from further attacks.<br /><br />Still, we are at war, and I'm responsible for the deployment of thousands of young Americans to battle in a distant land. Some will kill, and some will be killed. And so I come here with an acute sense of the costs of armed conflict -- filled with difficult questions about the relationship between war and peace, and our effort to replace one with the other.<br /><br />Now these questions are not new. War, in one form or another, appeared with the first man. At the dawn of history, its morality was not questioned; it was simply a fact, like drought or disease -- the manner in which tribes and then civilizations sought power and settled their differences.<br /><br />And over time, as codes of law sought to control violence within groups, so did philosophers and clerics and statesmen seek to regulate the destructive power of war. The concept of a "just war" emerged, suggesting that war is justified only when certain conditions were met: if it is waged as a last resort or in self-defense; if the force used is proportional; and if, whenever possible, civilians are spared from violence.<br /><br />Of course, we know that for most of history, this concept of "just war" was rarely observed. The capacity of human beings to think up new ways to kill one another proved inexhaustible, as did our capacity to exempt from mercy those who look different or pray to a different God. Wars between armies gave way to wars between nations -- total wars in which the distinction between combatant and civilian became blurred. In the span of 30 years, such carnage would twice engulf this continent. And while it's hard to conceive of a cause more just than the defeat of the Third Reich and the Axis powers, World War II was a conflict in which the total number of civilians who died exceeded the number of soldiers who perished.<br /><br />In the wake of such destruction, and with the advent of the nuclear age, it became clear to victor and vanquished alike that the world needed institutions to prevent another world war. And so, a quarter century after the United States Senate rejected the League of Nations -- an idea for which Woodrow Wilson received this prize -- America led the world in constructing an architecture to keep the peace: a Marshall Plan and a United Nations, mechanisms to govern the waging of war, treaties to protect human rights, prevent genocide, restrict the most dangerous weapons.<br /><br />In many ways, these efforts succeeded. Yes, terrible wars have been fought, and atrocities committed. But there has been no Third World War. The Cold War ended with jubilant crowds dismantling a wall. Commerce has stitched much of the world together. Billions have been lifted from poverty. The ideals of liberty and self-determination, equality and the rule of law have haltingly advanced. We are the heirs of the fortitude and foresight of generations past, and it is a legacy for which my own country is rightfully proud.<br /><br />And yet, a decade into a new century, this old architecture is buckling under the weight of new threats. The world may no longer shudder at the prospect of war between two nuclear superpowers, but proliferation may increase the risk of catastrophe. Terrorism has long been a tactic, but modern technology allows a few small men with outsized rage to murder innocents on a horrific scale.<br /><br />Moreover, wars between nations have increasingly given way to wars within nations. The resurgence of ethnic or sectarian conflicts; the growth of secessionist movements, insurgencies, and failed states -- all these things have increasingly trapped civilians in unending chaos. In today's wars, many more civilians are killed than soldiers; the seeds of future conflict are sown, economies are wrecked, civil societies torn asunder, refugees amassed, children scarred.<br /><br />I do not bring with me today a definitive solution to the problems of war. What I do know is that meeting these challenges will require the same vision, hard work, and persistence of those men and women who acted so boldly decades ago. And it will require us to think in new ways about the notions of just war and the imperatives of a just peace.<br /><br />We must begin by acknowledging the hard truth: We will not eradicate violent conflict in our lifetimes. There will be times when nations -- acting individually or in concert -- will find the use of force not only necessary but morally justified.<br /><br />I make this statement mindful of what Martin Luther King Jr. said in this same ceremony years ago: "Violence never brings permanent peace. It solves no social problem: it merely creates new and more complicated ones." As someone who stands here as a direct consequence of Dr. King's life work, I am living testimony to the moral force of non-violence. I know there's nothing weak -- nothing passive -- nothing naïve -- in the creed and lives of Gandhi and King.<br /><br />But as a head of state sworn to protect and defend my nation, I cannot be guided by their examples alone. I face the world as it is, and cannot stand idle in the face of threats to the American people. For make no mistake: Evil does exist in the world. A non-violent movement could not have halted Hitler's armies. Negotiations cannot convince al Qaeda's leaders to lay down their arms. To say that force may sometimes be necessary is not a call to cynicism -- it is a recognition of history; the imperfections of man and the limits of reason.<br /><br />I raise this point, I begin with this point because in many countries there is a deep ambivalence about military action today, no matter what the cause. And at times, this is joined by a reflexive suspicion of <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">America</place></country-region>, the world's sole military superpower.<br /><br />But the world must remember that it was not simply international institutions -- not just treaties and declarations -- that brought stability to a post-World War II world. Whatever mistakes we have made, the plain fact is this: The United States of America has helped underwrite global security for more than six decades with the blood of our citizens and the strength of our arms. The service and sacrifice of our men and women in uniform has promoted peace and prosperity from <country-region w:st="on">Germany</country-region> to <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Korea</place></country-region>, and enabled democracy to take hold in places like the Balkans. We have borne this burden not because we seek to impose our will. We have done so out of enlightened self-interest -- because we seek a better future for our children and grandchildren, and we believe that their lives will be better if others' children and grandchildren can live in freedom and prosperity.<br /><br />So yes, the instruments of war do have a role to play in preserving the peace. And yet this truth must coexist with another -- that no matter how justified, war promises human tragedy. The soldier's courage and sacrifice is full of glory, expressing devotion to country, to cause, to comrades in arms. But war itself is never glorious, and we must never trumpet it as such.<br /><br />So part of our challenge is reconciling these two seemingly irreconcilable truths -- that war is sometimes necessary, and war at some level is an expression of human folly. Concretely, we must direct our effort to the task that President Kennedy called for long ago. "Let us focus," he said, "on a more practical, more attainable peace, based not on a sudden revolution in human nature but on a gradual evolution in human institutions." A gradual evolution of human institutions.<br /><br />What might this evolution look like? What might these practical steps be?<br /><br />To begin with, I believe that all nations -- strong and weak alike -- must adhere to standards that govern the use of force. I -- like any head of state -- reserve the right to act unilaterally if necessary to defend my nation. Nevertheless, I am convinced that adhering to standards, international standards, strengthens those who do, and isolates and weakens those who don't.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">The world rallied around <country-region w:st="on">America</country-region> after the 9/11 attacks, and continues to support our efforts in <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Afghanistan</place></country-region>, because of the horror of those senseless attacks and the recognized principle of self-defense. Likewise, the world recognized the need to confront Saddam Hussein when he invaded <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Kuwait</place></country-region> -- a consensus that sent a clear message to all about the cost of aggression.<br /><br />Furthermore, <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">America</place></country-region> -- in fact, no nation -- can insist that others follow the rules of the road if we refuse to follow them ourselves. For when we don't, our actions appear arbitrary and undercut the legitimacy of future interventions, no matter how justified.<br /><br />And this becomes particularly important when the purpose of military action extends beyond self-defense or the defense of one nation against an aggressor. More and more, we all confront difficult questions about how to prevent the slaughter of civilians by their own government, or to stop a civil war whose violence and suffering can engulf an entire region.<br /><br />I believe that force can be justified on humanitarian grounds, as it was in the Balkans, or in other places that have been scarred by war. Inaction tears at our conscience and can lead to more costly intervention later. That's why all responsible nations must embrace the role that militaries with a clear mandate can play to keep the peace.<br /><br /><country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">America</place></country-region>'s commitment to global security will never waver. But in a world in which threats are more diffuse, and missions more complex, <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">America</place></country-region> cannot act alone. <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">America</place></country-region> alone cannot secure the peace. This is true in <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Afghanistan</place></country-region>. This is true in failed states like <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Somalia</place></country-region>, where terrorism and piracy is joined by famine and human suffering. And sadly, it will continue to be true in unstable regions for years to come.<br /><br />The leaders and soldiers of NATO countries, and other friends and allies, demonstrate this truth through the capacity and courage they've shown in <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Afghanistan</place></country-region>. But in many countries, there is a disconnect between the efforts of those who serve and the ambivalence of the broader public. I understand why war is not popular, but I also know this: The belief that peace is desirable is rarely enough to achieve it. Peace requires responsibility. Peace entails sacrifice. That's why NATO continues to be indispensable. That's why we must strengthen U.N. and regional peacekeeping, and not leave the task to a few countries. That's why we honor those who return home from peacekeeping and training abroad to <city w:st="on">Oslo</city> and <city w:st="on">Rome</city>; to <city w:st="on">Ottawa</city> and Sydney; to Dhaka and <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Kigali</place></city> -- we honor them not as makers of war, but of wagers -- but as wagers of peace.<br /><br />Let me make one final point about the use of force. Even as we make difficult decisions about going to war, we must also think clearly about how we fight it. The Nobel Committee recognized this truth in awarding its first prize for peace to Henry Dunant -- the founder of the Red Cross, and a driving force behind the Geneva Conventions.<br /><br />Where force is necessary, we have a moral and strategic interest in binding ourselves to certain rules of conduct. And even as we confront a vicious adversary that abides by no rules, I believe the <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">United States of America</place></country-region> must remain a standard bearer in the conduct of war. That is what makes us different from those whom we fight. That is a source of our strength. That is why I prohibited torture. That is why I ordered the prison at <place w:st="on"><placename w:st="on">Guantanamo</placename> <placetype w:st="on">Bay</placetype></place> closed. And that is why I have reaffirmed <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">America</place></country-region>'s commitment to abide by the Geneva Conventions. We lose ourselves when we compromise the very ideals that we fight to defend. (Applause.) And we honor -- we honor those ideals by upholding them not when it's easy, but when it is hard.<br /><br />I have spoken at some length to the question that must weigh on our minds and our hearts as we choose to wage war. But let me now turn to our effort to avoid such tragic choices, and speak of three ways that we can build a just and lasting peace.<br /><br />First, in dealing with those nations that break rules and laws, I believe that we must develop alternatives to violence that are tough enough to actually change behavior -- for if we want a lasting peace, then the words of the international community must mean something. Those regimes that break the rules must be held accountable. Sanctions must exact a real price. Intransigence must be met with increased pressure -- and such pressure exists only when the world stands together as one.<br /><br />One urgent example is the effort to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, and to seek a world without them. In the middle of the last century, nations agreed to be bound by a treaty whose bargain is clear: All will have access to peaceful nuclear power; those without nuclear weapons will forsake them; and those with nuclear weapons will work towards disarmament. I am committed to upholding this treaty. It is a centerpiece of my foreign policy. And I'm working with President Medvedev to reduce <country-region w:st="on">America</country-region> and <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Russia</place></country-region>'s nuclear stockpiles.<br /><br />But it is also incumbent upon all of us to insist that nations like <country-region w:st="on">Iran</country-region> and <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">North Korea</place></country-region> do not game the system. Those who claim to respect international law cannot avert their eyes when those laws are flouted. Those who care for their own security cannot ignore the danger of an arms race in the Middle East or <place w:st="on">East Asia</place>. Those who seek peace cannot stand idly by as nations arm themselves for nuclear war.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">The same principle applies to those who violate international laws by brutalizing their own people. When there is genocide in Darfur, systematic rape in <country-region w:st="on">Congo</country-region>, repression in <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Burma</place></country-region> -- there must be consequences. Yes, there will be engagement; yes, there will be diplomacy -- but there must be consequences when those things fail. And the closer we stand together, the less likely we will be faced with the choice between armed intervention and complicity in oppression.<br /><br />This brings me to a second point -- the nature of the peace that we seek. For peace is not merely the absence of visible conflict. Only a just peace based on the inherent rights and dignity of every individual can truly be lasting.<br /><br />It was this insight that drove drafters of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights after the Second World War. In the wake of devastation, they recognized that if human rights are not protected, peace is a hollow promise.<br /><br />And yet too often, these words are ignored. For some countries, the failure to uphold human rights is excused by the false suggestion that these are somehow Western principles, foreign to local cultures or stages of a nation's development. And within <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">America</place></country-region>, there has long been a tension between those who describe themselves as realists or idealists -- a tension that suggests a stark choice between the narrow pursuit of interests or an endless campaign to impose our values around the world.<br /><br />I reject these choices. I believe that peace is unstable where citizens are denied the right to speak freely or worship as they please; choose their own leaders or assemble without fear. Pent-up grievances fester, and the suppression of tribal and religious identity can lead to violence. We also know that the opposite is true. Only when <place w:st="on">Europe</place> became free did it finally find peace. <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">America</place></country-region> has never fought a war against a democracy, and our closest friends are governments that protect the rights of their citizens. No matter how callously defined, neither <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">America</place></country-region>'s interests -- nor the world's -- are served by the denial of human aspirations.<br /><br />So even as we respect the unique culture and traditions of different countries, <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">America</place></country-region> will always be a voice for those aspirations that are universal. We will bear witness to the quiet dignity of reformers like Aung Sang Suu Kyi; to the bravery of Zimbabweans who cast their ballots in the face of beatings; to the hundreds of thousands who have marched silently through the streets of <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Iran</place></country-region>. It is telling that the leaders of these governments fear the aspirations of their own people more than the power of any other nation. And it is the responsibility of all free people and free nations to make clear that these movements -- these movements of hope and history -- they have us on their side.<br /><br />Let me also say this: The promotion of human rights cannot be about exhortation alone. At times, it must be coupled with painstaking diplomacy. I know that engagement with repressive regimes lacks the satisfying purity of indignation. But I also know that sanctions without outreach -- condemnation without discussion -- can carry forward only a crippling status quo. No repressive regime can move down a new path unless it has the choice of an open door.<br /><br />In light of the Cultural Revolution's horrors, Nixon's meeting with Mao appeared inexcusable -- and yet it surely helped set <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">China</place></country-region> on a path where millions of its citizens have been lifted from poverty and connected to open societies. Pope John Paul's engagement with <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Poland</place></country-region> created space not just for the Catholic Church, but for labor leaders like Lech Walesa. Ronald Reagan's efforts on arms control and embrace of perestroika not only improved relations with the Soviet Union, but empowered dissidents throughout <place w:st="on">Eastern Europe</place>. There's no simple formula here. But we must try as best we can to balance isolation and engagement, pressure and incentives, so that human rights and dignity are advanced over time.<br /><br />Third, a just peace includes not only civil and political rights -- it must encompass economic security and opportunity. For true peace is not just freedom from fear, but freedom from want.<br /><br />It is undoubtedly true that development rarely takes root without security; it is also true that security does not exist where human beings do not have access to enough food, or clean water, or the medicine and shelter they need to survive. It does not exist where children can't aspire to a decent education or a job that supports a family. The absence of hope can rot a society from within.<br /><br />And that's why helping farmers feed their own people -- or nations educate their children and care for the sick -- is not mere charity. It's also why the world must come together to confront climate change. There is little scientific dispute that if we do nothing, we will face more drought, more famine, more mass displacement -- all of which will fuel more conflict for decades. For this reason, it is not merely scientists and environmental activists who call for swift and forceful action -- it's military leaders in my own country and others who understand our common security hangs in the balance.<br /><br />Agreements among nations. Strong institutions. Support for human rights. Investments in development. All these are vital ingredients in bringing about the evolution that President Kennedy spoke about. And yet, I do not believe that we will have the will, the determination, the staying power, to complete this work without something more -- and that's the continued expansion of our moral imagination; an insistence that there's something irreducible that we all share.<br /><br />As the world grows smaller, you might think it would be easier for human beings to recognize how similar we are; to understand that we're all basically seeking the same things; that we all hope for the chance to live out our lives with some measure of happiness and fulfillment for ourselves and our families.<br /><br />And yet somehow, given the dizzying pace of globalization, the cultural leveling of modernity, it perhaps comes as no surprise that people fear the loss of what they cherish in their particular identities -- their race, their tribe, and perhaps most powerfully their religion. In some places, this fear has led to conflict. At times, it even feels like we're moving backwards. We see it in the <place w:st="on">Middle East</place>, as the conflict between Arabs and Jews seems to harden. We see it in nations that are torn asunder by tribal lines.<br /><br />And most dangerously, we see it in the way that religion is used to justify the murder of innocents by those who have distorted and defiled the great religion of Islam, and who attacked my country from Afghanistan. These extremists are not the first to kill in the name of God; the cruelties of the Crusades are amply recorded. But they remind us that no Holy War can ever be a just war. For if you truly believe that you are carrying out divine will, then there is no need for restraint -- no need to spare the pregnant mother, or the medic, or the Red Cross worker, or even a person of one's own faith. Such a warped view of religion is not just incompatible with the concept of peace, but I believe it's incompatible with the very purpose of faith -- for the one rule that lies at the heart of every major religion is that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Adhering to this law of love has always been the core struggle of human nature. For we are fallible. We make mistakes, and fall victim to the temptations of pride, and power, and sometimes evil. Even those of us with the best of intentions will at times fail to right the wrongs before us.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">But we do not have to think that human nature is perfect for us to still believe that the human condition can be perfected. We do not have to live in an idealized world to still reach for those ideals that will make it a better place. The non-violence practiced by men like Gandhi and King may not have been practical or possible in every circumstance, but the love that they preached -- their fundamental faith in human progress -- that must always be the North Star that guides us on our journey.<br /><br />For if we lose that faith -- if we dismiss it as silly or naïve; if we divorce it from the decisions that we make on issues of war and peace -- then we lose what's best about humanity. We lose our sense of possibility. We lose our moral compass.<br /><br />Like generations have before us, we must reject that future. As Dr. King said at this occasion so many years ago, "I refuse to accept despair as the final response to the ambiguities of history. I refuse to accept the idea that the 'isness' of man's present condition makes him morally incapable of reaching up for the eternal 'oughtness' that forever confronts him."<br /><br />Let us reach for the world that ought to be -- that spark of the divine that still stirs within each of our souls. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Somewhere today, in the here and now, in the world as it is, a soldier sees he's outgunned, but stands firm to keep the peace. Somewhere today, in this world, a young protestor awaits the brutality of her government, but has the courage to march on. Somewhere today, a mother facing punishing poverty still takes the time to teach her child, scrapes together what few coins she has to send that child to school -- because she believes that a cruel world still has a place for that child's dreams.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Let us live by their example. We can acknowledge that oppression will always be with us, and still strive for justice. We can admit the intractability of depravation, and still strive for dignity. Clear-eyed, we can understand that there will be war, and still strive for peace. We can do that -- for that is the story of human progress; that's the hope of all the world; and at this moment of challenge, that must be our work here on Earth.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Thank you very much. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">(Courtesy of the White House Press Office)</span></div>
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<br />Laura Boustanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788685315296227550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154579651777873259.post-72038833617072666092011-09-11T23:59:00.002-04:002011-09-11T23:59:54.449-04:00On this day of all days...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiej1cItaYGOSKkuWpr6Kigv2pLQotGZyixk92aUkGEigrMWZn8O7WNSsFQ55KTdi0VfUMX6F9Ml-zHwDyFq94lT9Y0UvOn9geEm21viYiNDggUKytsRWG5NCTkjsHecVidXEYTJWX29Zaz/s1600/flag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiej1cItaYGOSKkuWpr6Kigv2pLQotGZyixk92aUkGEigrMWZn8O7WNSsFQ55KTdi0VfUMX6F9Ml-zHwDyFq94lT9Y0UvOn9geEm21viYiNDggUKytsRWG5NCTkjsHecVidXEYTJWX29Zaz/s320/flag.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
The last several days have been filled with heartfelt stories, reflections and memorials. Instead of adding one more reflection, I want to share a wonderful poem before 9/11/2011 draws to a close. While it was written from the perspective of a slave, I find it appropriate to share as we remember one of the most tragic days in American history. I so believe that America always rises, and I am so looking forward to the morning. Goodnight all!<br />
I hope you take a moment to read this. <br />
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<b><span style="color: #cc6600; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 26pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Still I Rise</span></b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 26pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">by
<a href="http://mayaangelou.com/bio/"><span style="color: #336699; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Maya Angelou</span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">You may write me down
in history<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">With your bitter,
twisted lies,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">You may trod me in the
very dirt<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But still, like dust,
I'll rise.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Does my sassiness upset
you?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Why are you beset with
gloom?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">'Cause I walk like I've
got oil wells<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Pumping in my living
room.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Just like moons and
like suns,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">With the certainty of
tides,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Just like hopes
springing high,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Still I'll rise.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Did you want to see me
broken?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Bowed head and lowered
eyes?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Shoulders falling down
like teardrops,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Weakened by my soulful
cries?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Does my haughtiness
offend you?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Don't you take it awful
hard<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">'Cause I laugh like
I've got gold mines<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Diggin' in my own
backyard.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">You may shoot me with
your words,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">You may cut me with
your eyes,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">You may kill me with
your hatefulness,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But still, like air,
I'll rise.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Does my sexiness upset
you?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Does it come as a
surprise<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">That I dance like I've
got diamonds<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">At the meeting of my
thighs?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Out of the huts of
history's shame<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I rise<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Up from a past that's
rooted in pain<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I rise<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I'm a black ocean,
leaping and wide,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Welling and swelling I
bear in the tide.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Leaving behind nights
of terror and fear<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I rise<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Into a daybreak that's
wondrously clear<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I rise<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Bringing the gifts that
my ancestors gave,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I am the dream and the
hope of the slave.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I rise<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I rise<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I rise.</span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
Laura Boustanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788685315296227550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154579651777873259.post-8561954404386313752011-09-09T11:36:00.000-04:002011-09-09T11:36:36.441-04:00Hard Times and Leadership IIA couple of days ago, I posted FDR's first inaugural address from 1933, a time similar to ours in many ways. That was a powerful speech with the right tone and message for the times. Today, I'm posting last night's address to Congress by President Obama (text below and video <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/photos-and-video/video/2011/09/08/president-obama-presents-american-jobs-act-enhanced-version">HERE</a>). I believe it was the right tone and message for our time. Let's hope EVERYONE will set aside the divisive partisan rhetoric for the good of all Americans. Godspeed, Mr. President!<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSjySBpxulf6ar9HUapdL4JwR8VfahpxQzjfamWWXfnBahxIjKzKZP-DWtOFbUJYYPvEeTOLVjz6syeXZ-GFGaVibPH3VDc4jcLFicbYcq0beKmbPNCoYT2vQvA9nbhakLsKGCs2mL0Afe/s1600/Obama+jointsession-graphics-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSjySBpxulf6ar9HUapdL4JwR8VfahpxQzjfamWWXfnBahxIjKzKZP-DWtOFbUJYYPvEeTOLVjz6syeXZ-GFGaVibPH3VDc4jcLFicbYcq0beKmbPNCoYT2vQvA9nbhakLsKGCs2mL0Afe/s200/Obama+jointsession-graphics-2.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">President Obama speaking to Congress<br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<h1 property="dc:title" style="text-align: center;">
Address by the President to a Joint Session of
Congress</h1>
<div style="text-align: center;">
United States Capitol<br />Washington, D.C.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
September 08, 2011</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
THE PRESIDENT: Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, members of Congress, and
fellow Americans:<br />
<br />
Tonight we meet at an urgent time for our country. We continue to face an
economic crisis that has left millions of our neighbors jobless, and a political
crisis that’s made things worse. <br />
<br />
This past week, reporters have been asking, “What will this speech mean for
the President? What will it mean for Congress? How will it affect their polls,
and the next election?”<br />
<br />
But the millions of Americans who are watching right now, they don’t care
about politics. They have real-life concerns. Many have spent months looking
for work. Others are doing their best just to scrape by -- giving up nights out
with the family to save on gas or make the mortgage; postponing retirement to
send a kid to college. <br />
<br />
These men and women grew up with faith in an America where hard work and
responsibility paid off. They believed in a country where everyone gets a fair
shake and does their fair share -- where if you stepped up, did your job, and
were loyal to your company, that loyalty would be rewarded with a decent salary
and good benefits; maybe a raise once in a while. If you did the right thing,
you could make it. Anybody could make it in America. <br />
<br />
For decades now, Americans have watched that compact erode. They have seen
the decks too often stacked against them. And they know that Washington has not
always put their interests first. <br />
<br />
The people of this country work hard to meet their responsibilities. The
question tonight is whether we’ll meet ours. The question is whether, in the
face of an ongoing national crisis, we can stop the political circus and
actually do something to help the economy. (Applause.) The question is -- the
question is whether we can restore some of the fairness and security that has
defined this nation since our beginning. <br />
<br />
Those of us here tonight can’t solve all our nation’s woes. Ultimately, our
recovery will be driven not by Washington, but by our businesses and our
workers. But we can help. We can make a difference. There are steps we can
take right now to improve people’s lives. <br />
<br />
I am sending this Congress a plan that you should pass right away. It’s
called the American Jobs Act. There should be nothing controversial about this
piece of legislation. Everything in here is the kind of proposal that’s been
supported by both Democrats and Republicans -- including many who sit here
tonight. And everything in this bill will be paid for. Everything.
(Applause.)<br />
<br />
The purpose of the American Jobs Act is simple: to put more people back to
work and more money in the pockets of those who are working. It will create
more jobs for construction workers, more jobs for teachers, more jobs for
veterans, and more jobs for long-term unemployed. (Applause.) It will provide
-- it will provide a tax break for companies who hire new workers, and it will
cut payroll taxes in half for every working American and every small business.
(Applause.) It will provide a jolt to an economy that has stalled, and give
companies confidence that if they invest and if they hire, there will be
customers for their products and services. You should pass this jobs plan right
away. (Applause.) <br />
<br />
Everyone here knows that small businesses are where most new jobs begin. And
you know that while corporate profits have come roaring back, smaller companies
haven’t. So for everyone who speaks so passionately about making life easier
for “job creators,” this plan is for you. (Applause.)<br />
<br />
Pass this jobs bill -- pass this jobs bill, and starting tomorrow, small
businesses will get a tax cut if they hire new workers or if they raise workers’
wages. Pass this jobs bill, and all small business owners will also see their
payroll taxes cut in half next year. (Applause.) If you have 50 employees --
if you have 50 employees making an average salary, that’s an $80,000 tax cut.
And all businesses will be able to continue writing off the investments they
make in 2012. <br />
<br />
It’s not just Democrats who have supported this kind of proposal. Fifty
House Republicans have proposed the same payroll tax cut that’s in this plan.
You should pass it right away. (Applause.) <br />
<br />
Pass this jobs bill, and we can put people to work rebuilding America.
Everyone here knows we have badly decaying roads and bridges all over the
country. Our highways are clogged with traffic. Our skies are the most
congested in the world. It’s an outrage. <br />
<br />
Building a world-class transportation system is part of what made us a
economic superpower. And now we’re going to sit back and watch China build
newer airports and faster railroads? At a time when millions of unemployed
construction workers could build them right here in America? (Applause.) <br />
<br />
There are private construction companies all across America just waiting to
get to work. There’s a bridge that needs repair between Ohio and Kentucky
that’s on one of the busiest trucking routes in North America. A public transit
project in Houston that will help clear up one of the worst areas of traffic in
the country. And there are schools throughout this country that desperately
need renovating. How can we expect our kids to do their best in places that are
literally falling apart? This is America. Every child deserves a great school
-- and we can give it to them, if we act now. (Applause.) <br />
<br />
The American Jobs Act will repair and modernize at least 35,000 schools. It
will put people to work right now fixing roofs and windows, installing science
labs and high-speed Internet in classrooms all across this country. It will
rehabilitate homes and businesses in communities hit hardest by foreclosures.
It will jumpstart thousands of transportation projects all across the country.
And to make sure the money is properly spent, we’re building on reforms we’ve
already put in place. No more earmarks. No more boondoggles. No more bridges
to nowhere. We’re cutting the red tape that prevents some of these projects
from getting started as quickly as possible. And we’ll set up an independent
fund to attract private dollars and issue loans based on two criteria: how
badly a construction project is needed and how much good it will do for the
economy. (Applause.)<br />
<br />
This idea came from a bill written by a Texas Republican and a Massachusetts
Democrat. The idea for a big boost in construction is supported by America’s
largest business organization and America’s largest labor organization. It’s
the kind of proposal that’s been supported in the past by Democrats and
Republicans alike. You should pass it right away. (Applause.)<br />
<br />
Pass this jobs bill, and thousands of teachers in every state will go back to
work. These are the men and women charged with preparing our children for a
world where the competition has never been tougher. But while they’re adding
teachers in places like South Korea, we’re laying them off in droves. It’s
unfair to our kids. It undermines their future and ours. And it has to stop.
Pass this bill, and put our teachers back in the classroom where they belong.
(Applause.)<br />
<br />
Pass this jobs bill, and companies will get extra tax credits if they hire
America’s veterans. We ask these men and women to leave their careers, leave
their families, risk their lives to fight for our country. The last thing they
should have to do is fight for a job when they come home. (Applause.)<br />
<br />
Pass this bill, and hundreds of thousands of disadvantaged young people will
have the hope and the dignity of a summer job next year. And their parents --
(applause) -- their parents, low-income Americans who desperately want to work,
will have more ladders out of poverty.<br />
<br />
Pass this jobs bill, and companies will get a $4,000 tax credit if they hire
anyone who has spent more than six months looking for a job. (Applause.) We
have to do more to help the long-term unemployed in their search for work. This
jobs plan builds on a program in Georgia that several Republican leaders have
highlighted, where people who collect unemployment insurance participate in
temporary work as a way to build their skills while they look for a permanent
job. The plan also extends unemployment insurance for another year.
(Applause.) If the millions of unemployed Americans stopped getting this
insurance, and stopped using that money for basic necessities, it would be a
devastating blow to this economy. Democrats and Republicans in this chamber
have supported unemployment insurance plenty of times in the past. And in this
time of prolonged hardship, you should pass it again -- right away.
(Applause.)<br />
<br />
Pass this jobs bill, and the typical working family will get a $1,500 tax cut
next year. Fifteen hundred dollars that would have been taken out of your
pocket will go into your pocket. This expands on the tax cut that Democrats and
Republicans already passed for this year. If we allow that tax cut to expire --
if we refuse to act -- middle-class families will get hit with a tax increase at
the worst possible time. We can’t let that happen. I know that some of you
have sworn oaths to never raise any taxes on anyone for as long as you live.
Now is not the time to carve out an exception and raise middle-class taxes,
which is why you should pass this bill right away. (Applause.) <br />
<br />
This is the American Jobs Act. It will lead to new jobs for construction
workers, for teachers, for veterans, for first responders, young people and the
long-term unemployed. It will provide tax credits to companies that hire new
workers, tax relief to small business owners, and tax cuts for the middle
class. And here’s the other thing I want the American people to know: The
American Jobs Act will not add to the deficit. It will be paid for. And here’s
how. (Applause.) <br /> <br />The agreement we passed in July will cut government
spending by about $1 trillion over the next 10 years. It also charges this
Congress to come up with an additional $1.5 trillion in savings by Christmas.
Tonight, I am asking you to increase that amount so that it covers the full cost
of the American Jobs Act. And a week from Monday, I’ll be releasing a more
ambitious deficit plan -- a plan that will not only cover the cost of this jobs
bill, but stabilize our debt in the long run. (Applause.) <br />
<br />
This approach is basically the one I’ve been advocating for months. In
addition to the trillion dollars of spending cuts I’ve already signed into law,
it’s a balanced plan that would reduce the deficit by making additional spending
cuts, by making modest adjustments to health care programs like Medicare and
Medicaid, and by reforming our tax code in a way that asks the wealthiest
Americans and biggest corporations to pay their fair share. (Applause.) What’s
more, the spending cuts wouldn’t happen so abruptly that they’d be a drag on our
economy, or prevent us from helping small businesses and middle-class families
get back on their feet right away. <br />
<br />
Now, I realize there are some in my party who don’t think we should make any
changes at all to Medicare and Medicaid, and I understand their concerns. But
here’s the truth: Millions of Americans rely on Medicare in their retirement.
And millions more will do so in the future. They pay for this benefit during
their working years. They earn it. But with an aging population and rising
health care costs, we are spending too fast to sustain the program. And if we
don’t gradually reform the system while protecting current beneficiaries, it
won’t be there when future retirees need it. We have to reform Medicare to
strengthen it. (Applause.) <br />
<br />
I am also -- I’m also well aware that there are many Republicans who don’t
believe we should raise taxes on those who are most fortunate and can best
afford it. But here is what every American knows: While most people in this
country struggle to make ends meet, a few of the most affluent citizens and most
profitable corporations enjoy tax breaks and loopholes that nobody else gets.
Right now, Warren Buffett pays a lower tax rate than his secretary -- an outrage
he has asked us to fix. (Laughter.) We need a tax code where everyone gets a
fair shake and where everybody pays their fair share. (Applause.) And by the
way, I believe the vast majority of wealthy Americans and CEOs are willing to do
just that if it helps the economy grow and gets our fiscal house in
order. <br />
<br />
I’ll also offer ideas to reform a corporate tax code that stands as a
monument to special interest influence in Washington. By eliminating pages of
loopholes and deductions, we can lower one of the highest corporate tax rates in
the world. (Applause.) Our tax code should not give an advantage to companies
that can afford the best-connected lobbyists. It should give an advantage to
companies that invest and create jobs right here in the United States of
America. (Applause.) <br />
<br />
So we can reduce this deficit, pay down our debt, and pay for this jobs plan
in the process. But in order to do this, we have to decide what our priorities
are. We have to ask ourselves, “What’s the best way to grow the economy and
create jobs?”<br />
<br />
Should we keep tax loopholes for oil companies? Or should we use that money
to give small business owners a tax credit when they hire new workers? Because
we can’t afford to do both. Should we keep tax breaks for millionaires and
billionaires? Or should we put teachers back to work so our kids can graduate
ready for college and good jobs? (Applause.) Right now, we can’t afford to do
both. <br />
<br />
This isn’t political grandstanding. This isn’t class warfare. This is
simple math. (Laughter.) This is simple math. These are real choices. These
are real choices that we’ve got to make. And I’m pretty sure I know what most
Americans would choose. It’s not even close. And it’s time for us to do what’s
right for our future. (Applause.) <br />
<br />
Now, the American Jobs Act answers the urgent need to create jobs right
away. But we can’t stop there. As I’ve argued since I ran for this office, we
have to look beyond the immediate crisis and start building an economy that
lasts into the future -- an economy that creates good, middle-class jobs that
pay well and offer security. We now live in a world where technology has made
it possible for companies to take their business anywhere. If we want them to
start here and stay here and hire here, we have to be able to out-build and
out-educate and out-innovate every other country on Earth. (Applause.)<br />
<br />
And this task of making America more competitive for the long haul, that’s a
job for all of us. For government and for private companies. For states and
for local communities -- and for every American citizen. All of us will have to
up our game. All of us will have to change the way we do business. <br />
<br />
My administration can and will take some steps to improve our competitiveness
on our own. For example, if you’re a small business owner who has a contract
with the federal government, we’re going to make sure you get paid a lot faster
than you do right now. (Applause.) We’re also planning to cut away the red
tape that prevents too many rapidly growing startup companies from raising
capital and going public. And to help responsible homeowners, we’re going to
work with federal housing agencies to help more people refinance their mortgages
at interest rates that are now near 4 percent. That’s a step -- (applause) -- I
know you guys must be for this, because that’s a step that can put more than
$2,000 a year in a family’s pocket, and give a lift to an economy still burdened
by the drop in housing prices. <br />
<br />
So, some things we can do on our own. Other steps will require congressional
action. Today you passed reform that will speed up the outdated patent process,
so that entrepreneurs can turn a new idea into a new business as quickly as
possible. That’s the kind of action we need. Now it’s time to clear the way for
a series of trade agreements that would make it easier for American companies to
sell their products in Panama and Colombia and South Korea -– while also helping
the workers whose jobs have been affected by global competition. (Applause.)
If Americans can buy Kias and Hyundais, I want to see folks in South Korea
driving Fords and Chevys and Chryslers. (Applause.) I want to see more
products sold around the world stamped with the three proud words: “Made in
America.” That’s what we need to get done. (Applause.)<br />
<br />
And on all of our efforts to strengthen competitiveness, we need to look for
ways to work side by side with America’s businesses. That’s why I’ve brought
together a Jobs Council of leaders from different industries who are developing
a wide range of new ideas to help companies grow and create jobs. <br />
<br />
Already, we’ve mobilized business leaders to train 10,000 American engineers
a year, by providing company internships and training. Other businesses are
covering tuition for workers who learn new skills at community colleges. And
we’re going to make sure the next generation of manufacturing takes root not in
China or Europe, but right here, in the United States of America. (Applause)
If we provide the right incentives, the right support -- and if we make sure our
trading partners play by the rules -- we can be the ones to build everything
from fuel-efficient cars to advanced biofuels to semiconductors that we sell all
around the world. That’s how America can be number one again. And that’s how
America will be number one again. (Applause.) <br />
<br />
Now, I realize that some of you have a different theory on how to grow the
economy. Some of you sincerely believe that the only solution to our economic
challenges is to simply cut most government spending and eliminate most
government regulations. (Applause.) <br /> <br />Well, I agree that we can’t afford
wasteful spending, and I’ll work with you, with Congress, to root it out. And I
agree that there are some rules and regulations that do put an unnecessary
burden on businesses at a time when they can least afford it. (Applause.)
That’s why I ordered a review of all government regulations. So far, we’ve
identified over 500 reforms, which will save billions of dollars over the next
few years. (Applause.) We should have no more regulation than the health,
safety and security of the American people require. Every rule should meet that
common-sense test. (Applause.) <br />
<br />
But what we can’t do -- what I will not do -- is let this economic crisis be
used as an excuse to wipe out the basic protections that Americans have counted
on for decades. (Applause.) I reject the idea that we need to ask people to
choose between their jobs and their safety. I reject the argument that says for
the economy to grow, we have to roll back protections that ban hidden fees by
credit card companies, or rules that keep our kids from being exposed to
mercury, or laws that prevent the health insurance industry from shortchanging
patients. I reject the idea that we have to strip away collective bargaining
rights to compete in a global economy. (Applause.) We shouldn’t be in a race
to the bottom, where we try to offer the cheapest labor and the worst pollution
standards. America should be in a race to the top. And I believe we can win
that race. (Applause.)<br />
<br />
In fact, this larger notion that the only thing we can do to restore
prosperity is just dismantle government, refund everybody’s money, and let
everyone write their own rules, and tell everyone they’re on their own -- that’s
not who we are. That’s not the story of America. <br />
<br />
Yes, we are rugged individualists. Yes, we are strong and self-reliant. And
it has been the drive and initiative of our workers and entrepreneurs that has
made this economy the engine and the envy of the world.<br />
<br />
But there’s always been another thread running throughout our history -- a
belief that we’re all connected, and that there are some things we can only do
together, as a nation.<br />
<br />
We all remember Abraham Lincoln as the leader who saved our Union. Founder
of the Republican Party. But in the middle of a civil war, he was also a leader
who looked to the future -- a Republican President who mobilized government to
build the Transcontinental Railroad -- (applause) -- launch the National Academy
of Sciences, set up the first land grant colleges. (Applause.) And leaders of
both parties have followed the example he set. <br />
<br />
Ask yourselves -- where would we be right now if the people who sat here
before us decided not to build our highways, not to build our bridges, our dams,
our airports? What would this country be like if we had chosen not to spend
money on public high schools, or research universities, or community colleges?
Millions of returning heroes, including my grandfather, had the opportunity to
go to school because of the G.I. Bill. Where would we be if they hadn’t had
that chance? (Applause.) <br />
<br />
How many jobs would it have cost us if past Congresses decided not to support
the basic research that led to the Internet and the computer chip? What kind of
country would this be if this chamber had voted down Social Security or Medicare
just because it violated some rigid idea about what government could or could
not do? (Applause.) How many Americans would have suffered as a result? <br />
<br />
No single individual built America on their own. We built it together. We
have been, and always will be, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty
and justice for all; a nation with responsibilities to ourselves and with
responsibilities to one another. And members of Congress, it is time for us to
meet our responsibilities. (Applause.) <br />
<br />
Every proposal I’ve laid out tonight is the kind that’s been supported by
Democrats and Republicans in the past. Every proposal I’ve laid out tonight
will be paid for. And every proposal is designed to meet the urgent needs of
our people and our communities. <br />
<br />
Now, I know there’s been a lot of skepticism about whether the politics of
the moment will allow us to pass this jobs plan -- or any jobs plan. Already,
we’re seeing the same old press releases and tweets flying back and forth.
Already, the media has proclaimed that it’s impossible to bridge our
differences. And maybe some of you have decided that those differences are so
great that we can only resolve them at the ballot box. <br />
<br />
But know this: The next election is 14 months away. And the people who sent
us here -- the people who hired us to work for them -- they don’t have the
luxury of waiting 14 months. (Applause.) Some of them are living week to week,
paycheck to paycheck, even day to day. They need help, and they need it
now. <br />
<br />
I don’t pretend that this plan will solve all our problems. It should not be,
nor will it be, the last plan of action we propose. What’s guided us from the
start of this crisis hasn’t been the search for a silver bullet. It’s been a
commitment to stay at it -- to be persistent -- to keep trying every new idea
that works, and listen to every good proposal, no matter which party comes up
with it. <br />
<br />
Regardless of the arguments we’ve had in the past, regardless of the
arguments we will have in the future, this plan is the right thing to do right
now. You should pass it. (Applause.) And I intend to take that message to
every corner of this country. (Applause.) And I ask -- I ask every American
who agrees to lift your voice: Tell the people who are gathered here tonight
that you want action now. Tell Washington that doing nothing is not an option.
Remind us that if we act as one nation and one people, we have it within our
power to meet this challenge.<br />
<br />
President Kennedy once said, “Our problems are man-made –- therefore they can
be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants.”<br />
<br />
These are difficult years for our country. But we are Americans. We are
tougher than the times we live in, and we are bigger than our politics have
been. So let’s meet the moment. Let’s get to work, and let’s show the world
once again why the United States of America remains the greatest nation on
Earth. (Applause.)<br />
<br />
Thank you very much. God bless you, and God bless the United States of
America. (Applause.)<br />
<br />
<div jquery1315580578971="23">
END<br /> </div>
<div jquery1315580578971="23">
Source: The White House, Office of the Press Secretary</div>
Laura Boustanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788685315296227550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154579651777873259.post-21239997821389817362011-09-08T00:37:00.000-04:002011-09-08T00:37:19.566-04:00My MistakeWednesday's post, <a href="http://shyandreservedone.blogspot.com/2011/09/hard-times-and-leadership.html">Hard Times and Leadership</a>, contained an obvious error. I mistakenly wrote that President Obama's speech was scheduled for Wednesday evening. He will address Congress today, Thursday, September 8 at 7 p.m. EST. I apologize for the error.<br />
<br />
LauraLaura Boustanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788685315296227550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154579651777873259.post-54209632871054773452011-09-07T15:54:00.000-04:002011-09-07T15:54:26.380-04:00Hard Times and Leadership<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKdPp5kQt_aHyFgjONYh4qZ953obmkUwTdQWwlvyFhqKg1DHCi7Uora_Q5RG4caCZyMR9mi0_gAHacD0tWKufO1bJWhj48f20seJfCa4ssRpGo8g3JpnH-YClqEemBTsMxxzcxc_CLwyL2/s1600/FDR+PIC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKdPp5kQt_aHyFgjONYh4qZ953obmkUwTdQWwlvyFhqKg1DHCi7Uora_Q5RG4caCZyMR9mi0_gAHacD0tWKufO1bJWhj48f20seJfCa4ssRpGo8g3JpnH-YClqEemBTsMxxzcxc_CLwyL2/s200/FDR+PIC.jpg" width="155" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="center">Franklin D. Roosevelt at his </div><div align="center">first inaugural address on </div><div align="center">March 4, 1933</div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
As America awaits President Obama's address to Congress this evening, I thought it was appropriate to dig up FDR's first inaugural address. Times aren't so different. Are they?<br />
<br />
The text below is from George Mason University's <a href="http://historymatters.gmu.edu/credits.html">History Matters</a> site. The audio and video are available <a href="http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/fdrfirstinaugural.html">HERE</a> on the American Rhetoric site. <br />
<div style="text-align: center;"></div><hr class="cleared" /><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>FDR’s First Inaugural Address</strong></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>I am certain that my fellow Americans expect that on my induction into the Presidency I will address them with a candor and a decision which the present situation of our people impel. This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today. This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory. I am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days. <br />
<br />
In such a spirit on my part and on yours we face our common difficulties. They concern, thank God, only material things. Values have shrunken to fantastic levels; taxes have risen; our ability to pay has fallen; government of all kinds is faced by serious curtailment of income; the means of exchange are frozen in the currents of trade; the withered leaves of industrial enterprise lie on every side; farmers find no markets for their produce; the savings of many years in thousands of families are gone. <br />
<br />
More important, a host of unemployed citizens face the grim problem of existence, and an equally great number toil with little return. Only a foolish optimist can deny the dark realities of the moment. <br />
<br />
Yet our distress comes from no failure of substance. We are stricken by no plague of locusts. <br />
<br />
Compared with the perils which our forefathers conquered because they believed and were not afraid, we have still much to be thankful for. Nature still offers her bounty and human efforts have multiplied it. Plenty is at our doorstep, but a generous use of it languishes in the very sight of the supply. <br />
<br />
Primarily this is because the rulers of the exchange of mankind’s goods have failed, through their own stubbornness and their own incompetence, have admitted their failure, and abdicated. Practices of the unscrupulous money changers stand indicted in the court of public opinion, rejected by the hearts and minds of men. <br />
<br />
True they have tried, but their efforts have been cast in the pattern of an outworn tradition. Faced by failure of credit they have proposed only the lending of more money. Stripped of the lure of profit by which to induce our people to follow their false leadership, they have resorted to exhortations, pleading tearfully for restored confidence. They know only the rules of a generation of self-seekers. <br />
<br />
They have no vision, and when there is no vision the people perish. <br />
<br />
The money changers have fled from their high seats in the temple of our civilization. We may now restore that temple to the ancient truths. The measure of the restoration lies in the extent to which we apply social values more noble than mere monetary profit. <br />
<br />
Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort. The joy and moral stimulation of work no longer must be forgotten in the mad chase of evanescent profits. These dark days will be worth all they cost us if they teach us that our true destiny is not to be ministered unto but to minister to ourselves and to our fellow men. <br />
<br />
Recognition of the falsity of material wealth as the standard of success goes hand in hand with the abandonment of the false belief that public office and high political position are to be valued only by the standards of pride of place and personal profit; and there must be an end to a conduct in banking and in business which too often has given to a sacred trust the likeness of callous and selfish wrongdoing. Small wonder that confidence languishes, for it thrives only on honesty, on honor, on the sacredness of obligations, on faithful protection, on unselfish performance; without them it cannot live. <br />
<br />
Restoration calls, however, not for changes in ethics alone. This Nation asks for action, and action now. <br />
<br />
Our greatest primary task is to put people to work. This is no unsolvable problem if we face it wisely and courageously. It can be accomplished in part by direct recruiting by the Government itself, treating the task as we would treat the emergency of a war, but at the same time, through this employment, accomplishing greatly needed projects to stimulate and reorganize the use of our natural resources. <br />
<br />
Hand in hand with this we must frankly recognize the overbalance of population in our industrial centers and, by engaging on a national scale in a redistribution, endeavor to provide a better use of the land for those best fitted for the land. The task can be helped by definite efforts to raise the values of agricultural products and with this the power to purchase the output of our cities. It can be helped by preventing realistically the tragedy of the growing loss through foreclosure of our small homes and our farms. It can be helped by insistence that the Federal, State, and local governments act forthwith on the demand that their cost be drastically reduced. It can be helped by the unifying of relief activities which today are often scattered, uneconomical, and unequal. It can be helped by national planning for and supervision of all forms of transportation and of communications and other utilities which have a definitely public character. There are many ways in which it can be helped, but it can never be helped merely by talking about it. We must act and act quickly. <br />
<br />
Finally, in our progress toward a resumption of work we require two safeguards against a return of the evils of the old order; there must be a strict supervision of all banking and credits and investments; there must be an end to speculation with other people’s money, and there must be provision for an adequate but sound currency. <br />
<br />
There are the lines of attack. I shall presently urge upon a new Congress in special session detailed measures for their fulfillment, and I shall seek the immediate assistance of the several States. <br />
<br />
Through this program of action we address ourselves to putting our own national house in order and making income balance outgo. Our international trade relations, though vastly important, are in point of time and necessity secondary to the establishment of a sound national economy. I favor as a practical policy the putting of first things first. I shall spare no effort to restore world trade by international economic readjustment, but the emergency at home cannot wait on that accomplishment. <br />
<br />
The basic thought that guides these specific means of national recovery is not narrowly nationalistic. It is the insistence, as a first consideration, upon the interdependence of the various elements in all parts of the United States—a recognition of the old and permanently important manifestation of the American spirit of the pioneer. It is the way to recovery. It is the immediate way. It is the strongest assurance that the recovery will endure. <br />
<br />
In the field of world policy I would dedicate this Nation to the policy of the good neighbor—the neighbor who resolutely respects himself and, because he does so, respects the rights of others—the neighbor who respects his obligations and respects the sanctity of his agreements in and with a world of neighbors. <br />
<br />
If I read the temper of our people correctly, we now realize as we have never realized before our interdependence on each other; that we can not merely take but we must give as well; that if we are to go forward, we must move as a trained and loyal army willing to sacrifice for the good of a common discipline, because without such discipline no progress is made, no leadership becomes effective. We are, I know, ready and willing to submit our lives and property to such discipline, because it makes possible a leadership which aims at a larger good. This I propose to offer, pledging that the larger purposes will bind upon us all as a sacred obligation with a unity of duty hitherto evoked only in time of armed strife. <br />
<br />
With this pledge taken, I assume unhesitatingly the leadership of this great army of our people dedicated to a disciplined attack upon our common problems. <br />
<br />
Action in this image and to this end is feasible under the form of government which we have inherited from our ancestors. Our Constitution is so simple and practical that it is possible always to meet extraordinary needs by changes in emphasis and arrangement without loss of essential form. That is why our constitutional system has proved itself the most superbly enduring political mechanism the modern world has produced. It has met every stress of vast expansion of territory, of foreign wars, of bitter internal strife, of world relations. <br />
<br />
It is to be hoped that the normal balance of executive and legislative authority may be wholly adequate to meet the unprecedented task before us. But it may be that an unprecedented demand and need for undelayed action may call for temporary departure from that normal balance of public procedure. <br />
<br />
I am prepared under my constitutional duty to recommend the measures that a stricken nation in the midst of a stricken world may require. These measures, or such other measures as the Congress may build out of its experience and wisdom, I shall seek, within my constitutional authority, to bring to speedy adoption. <br />
<br />
But in the event that the Congress shall fail to take one of these two courses, and in the event that the national emergency is still critical, I shall not evade the clear course of duty that will then confront me. I shall ask the Congress for the one remaining instrument to meet the crisis—broad Executive power to wage a war against the emergency, as great as the power that would be given to me if we were in fact invaded by a foreign foe. <br />
<br />
For the trust reposed in me I will return the courage and the devotion that befit the time. I can do no less. <br />
<br />
We face the arduous days that lie before us in the warm courage of the national unity; with the clear consciousness of seeking old and precious moral values; with the clean satisfaction that comes from the stern performance of duty by old and young alike. We aim at the assurance of a rounded and permanent national life. <br />
<br />
We do not distrust the future of essential democracy. The people of the United States have not failed. In their need they have registered a mandate that they want direct, vigorous action. They have asked for discipline and direction under leadership. They have made me the present instrument of their wishes. In the spirit of the gift I take it. <br />
<br />
In this dedication of a Nation we humbly ask the blessing of God. May He protect each and every one of us. May He guide me in the days to come.<br />
<br />
Source: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Inaugural Address, March 4, 1933, as published in Samuel Rosenman, ed.,<i> The Public Papers of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Volume Two: The Year of Crisis, 1933</i> (New York: Random House, 1938), 11–16.Laura Boustanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788685315296227550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154579651777873259.post-87212535337930520482011-08-26T11:31:00.000-04:002012-11-20T12:02:19.285-05:00Gratitude II<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFpGx0Fnpr48_3B2jiUjBsAuL5c3AX2xW097msYK7EU7FjdaJvUaSR_VLDdySWAoYigNRATdXMWDJK_mknl9vivZeqTl2tpuysLXUXj4pvLed9-hsM-6qqE31UnDliLIRn31A-woY_u8R2/s1600/gratitude.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFpGx0Fnpr48_3B2jiUjBsAuL5c3AX2xW097msYK7EU7FjdaJvUaSR_VLDdySWAoYigNRATdXMWDJK_mknl9vivZeqTl2tpuysLXUXj4pvLed9-hsM-6qqE31UnDliLIRn31A-woY_u8R2/s200/gratitude.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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I thought to repost this from August 6, 2011 as we approach the American Thanksgiving holiday and as the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians escalates. These journalists are amazing. I'm thankful for what they're doing and praying for their safety.</div>
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<br /></div>
My 9-year-old daughter asked me the other day if I miss Beirut, my home for the first 13 years of my life. I explained that I miss my family, friends and the unparalleled beauty of the city, but I'm very happy I live and raise my kids in the United States now. Then I told her that if I didn't have a family here, I'd be somewhere in the Arab world right now reporting on the uprisings. She gasped and said, "But wouldn't you be scared? You can get killed." I acknowledged the fear and the danger but told her, if given the opportunity, I would love to be part of the change sweeping the region and I'd figure out how to stay safe. <br />
<br />
On second thought, would I really have the courage to be in Libya, Syria or Yemen right now? Would I tolerate at age 40 the sound of bombs and the constant possibility of death that I and so many others tolerated as children during Lebanon's civil war? Can I run as fast? Would snipers spare me now as they did then? And, what would cheer me up amid the chaos as my father's gifts of candy did every time we took shelter? <br />
<br />
I don't have the answers to those questions. Perhaps courage and adventure are for the young, and I'm squarely in my middle years now. But as I follow the news every day, I'm amazed at the journalists who are risking their lives to shine the light on daily acts of injustice and brutality. I worry about their safety and their mental health. I worry about them being kidnapped and tortured. I just worry. <br />
<br />
But more than worry, I feel an enormous sense of gratitude that they are there. Oppression all over the Arab world is nothing new. What is new is that it's no longer hidden behind the facade of the oppressors. Thanks to the Internet, the world knows to pay attention. Thanks to courageous journalists, the world can have eyes and ears on the ground to make sense of the events. Hopefully, this translates into international determination and action to stop and prevent atrocities. My hat is off to these amazingly brave men and women who are truly helping to shape a better future for millions of people.<br />
<br />
Godspeed!<br />
<br />
LauraLaura Boustanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788685315296227550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154579651777873259.post-36805083989357197962011-08-21T19:35:00.000-04:002011-08-21T19:35:04.844-04:00AFTER GADDAFI<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8867uUSHEVR9EGhIERibWvlXnYyIFgXTKwdg2n5LsMMlNPk6lhbCI_N9RpqQdF-rhnWZxOddkTmz_I3nCubydn7lO70ym9uU5nS8leBvLP1IqfWLa5Hb-0XI8w1eiptNJiC8r6edj3g6g/s1600/libyan+kid+w+flag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8867uUSHEVR9EGhIERibWvlXnYyIFgXTKwdg2n5LsMMlNPk6lhbCI_N9RpqQdF-rhnWZxOddkTmz_I3nCubydn7lO70ym9uU5nS8leBvLP1IqfWLa5Hb-0XI8w1eiptNJiC8r6edj3g6g/s1600/libyan+kid+w+flag.jpg" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">A Libyan child with the rebel flag. (AP)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At this moment, I am glued to my laptop and television watching events unfold in the Libyan capital as Gaddafi's tyranny comes to an end. As people rightfully celebrate, I can't help but think of what the next 40 years hold for the Libyan people. I will write more about this very quickly, but for now, I wanted to repost </span><a href="http://shyandreservedone.blogspot.com/2011/02/note-to-arab-people.html"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A Note to the Arab People</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> from a few months back, which is about building nations after the fall of dictators. </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I sincerely hope the people of Libya will show the world how to build a nation on a rock solid foundation. </span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here the post:</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<h3 class="post-title entry-title"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">A Note to the Arab People</span> </span></h3><div class="post-title entry-title"><br />
</div><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As an immigrant to the United States from your part of the world, I am so thrilled that your sacrifices, courage and persistence are bearing fruit. I am following your efforts and cheering you on every day. I should also tell you that <u>every American</u> I know is cheering you on.</span> </span></span><br />
<div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-8297822584570494771"><br />
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We are filled joy and hope for your future, and we are determined to help you and stand with you. You see our country was born out of a revolution too. The early Americans fought, organized and struggled against tyranny.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They started with nothing and from nothing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They, like you, took huge risks and suffered countless casualties to reach that day of unlikely victory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, while our independence from Great Britain was a major turning point in our history, it was only the beginning of a lot of work that shaped this country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What followed independence was simply awesome!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The land’s best minds came together to create the pillars upon which this great nation stands today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a messy process with a number of false starts and much disagreement and debate, but what resulted has sustained this great country for more than 223 years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those pillars didn’t eliminate all injustice and free the enslaved; they didn’t immediately produce peace and prosperity; and they sure didn’t solve every social ill.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But they have guided us toward a more perfect nation with every passing year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are solid, strong and unshakable pillars that have withstood a bloody civil war, much strife, economic devastation, and many social and political movements of both the violent and nonviolent kind.</span></span></div><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, as you risk everything and turn your world upside down in the quest for freedom and democracy, I hope you deliberately choose strong foundations that will last for hundreds of years as ours have. Our founding fathers were far from perfect, but they were intent on creating a country in which its people are its epicenter. I pray that this is only the beginning of your progress and that you, the people, are the epicenter of your new systems of government.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></span></div><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> heard the criticisms when I went back home some years ago, especially this one:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“The U.S. is only 200+ years old but we have thousands of years of history and culture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What can you possibly teach us?” I also heard much about U.S. foreign policy not being true to the ideals we hold sacred inside our country and that the U.S. exploits the rest of the world for its own gain. There's more than one kernel of truth in those and many other criticisms, and our nation is not yet perfect. But our founding fathers were principled and honorable as you are, and the results of their work speak for themselves. So for the sake of your nations' next 200 years, I hope you take a look at what has worked here, liberally copy from our founding principles and consider embracing any or all of our ideals. I'm fairly confident today's Americans won't mind one bit.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lastly, in the coming months and years, please don’t forget that you are our brothers and sisters in struggle—no matter your religion, skin color or political convictions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We share your hopes and dreams and we stand with you with open hearts and minds.</span></span></div><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Godspeed!</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A Lebanese-American</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span></div><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">p.s.:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The documents outlining the pillars of our great democracy make for inspiring reading material.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The links are below, but I have to warn you that you may very well get emotional reading.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know I do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span><br />
<ol type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><a href="http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_transcript.html"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Declaration of Independence</span></a><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">--The document that started it all. </span> </span></span></li>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><a href="http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_transcript.html"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Constitution</span></a><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">--Solid but flexible enough to remain at the core of our nation. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span> </span></span></li>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><a href="http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/bill_of_rights_transcript.html"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Bill of Rights</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">--This is central to many of the freedoms we enjoy. It is truly an amazing document. </span></li>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/charters_downloads.html"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Images of all three original documents</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> are available in case you want a little extra magic and inspiraton. </span></span></div></div>Laura Boustanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788685315296227550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154579651777873259.post-21556256217445763992011-08-08T19:20:00.000-04:002011-08-08T19:20:06.860-04:00Tom Friedman on HamaFor those following the appalling developments in Syria, I wanted to share a recent column by New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman whose work I've referenced in two previous posts, the <a href="http://shyandreservedone.blogspot.com/2011/02/syrians-turn.html">Syrians' Turn</a> and <a href="http://shyandreservedone.blogspot.com/2011/08/still-angry.html">Still Angry</a>. Of all people who write about the Middle East, he gets it best. Here's his <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/03/opinion/the-new-hama-rules.html?scp=1&sq=hama&st=Search">column</a> from August 2.<br />
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<div class="timestamp"> </div><div class="kicker"></div><h1><nyt_headline type=" " version="1.0">The New Hama Rules</nyt_headline></h1><nyt_byline><h6 class="byline">August 2, 2011</h6><h6 class="byline">By <a class="meta-per" href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/opinion/editorialsandoped/oped/columnists/thomaslfriedman/index.html?inline=nyt-per" rel="author" title="More Articles by Thomas L. Friedman"><span style="color: #000066;">THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN</span></a></h6></nyt_byline><nyt_text><div id="articleBody"><nyt_correction_top></nyt_correction_top>What a difference three decades make. In April 1982, I was assigned to be the Beirut correspondent for The Times. Before I arrived, word had filtered back to Lebanon about an uprising in February in the Syrian town of Hama — famed for its water wheels on the Orontes River. Rumor had it that then President Hafez al-Assad had put down a Sunni Muslim rebellion in Hama by shelling the neighborhoods where the revolt was centered, then dynamiting buildings, some with residents still inside, and then steamrolling them flat, like a parking lot. It was hard to believe and even harder to check. No one had cellphones back then, and foreign media were not allowed access. <br />
<br />
That May I got a visa to Syria, just as Hama had been reopened. It was said that the Syrian regime was “encouraging” Syrians to drive through the town, see the crushed neighborhoods and contemplate the silence. So I just hired a cab in Damascus and went. It was, and remains, one of the most chilling things I’ve ever seen: Whole neighborhoods, the size of four football fields, looked as though a tornado had swept back and forth over them for a week — but this was not the work of Mother Nature. <br />
<br />
This was an act of unprecedented brutality, a settling of scores between Assad’s minority Alawite regime and Syria’s Sunni Muslim majority that had dared to challenge him. If you kicked the ground in some areas that had been flattened, a tattered book, a shred of clothing, the tip of a steel reinforcing rod were easily exposed. It was a killing field. According to Amnesty International, up to 20,000 people were buried there. I contemplated the silence and gave it a name: “Hama Rules.” <br />
<br />
Hama Rules were the prevailing leadership rules in the Arab world. They said: Rule by fear — strike fear in the heart of your people by letting them know that you play by no rules at all, so they won’t ever, ever, ever think about rebelling against you. <br />
<br />
It worked for a long time in Syria, Iraq, Tunisia, etc., until it didn’t. Today, Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, Hafez’s son, is now repeating his father’s mass murdering tactics to quash the new Syrian uprising, again centered in Hama. But, this time, the Syrian people are answering with their own Hama Rules, which are quite remarkable. They say: “We know that every time we walk out the door to protest, you will gun us down, without mercy. But we are not afraid anymore, and we will not be powerless anymore. Now, you leaders will be afraid of us. Those are our Hama Rules.” <br />
<br />
This is the struggle today across the Arab world — the new Hama Rules versus the old Hama Rules — “I will make you afraid” versus “We are not afraid anymore.” <br />
<br />
Good for the people. It is hard to exaggerate how much these Arab regimes wasted the lives of an entire Arab generation, with their foolish wars with Israel and each other and their fraudulent ideologies that masked their naked power grabs and predatory behavior. Nothing good was possible with these leaders. The big question today, though, is this: Is progress possible without them? <br />
<br />
That is, once these regimes are shucked off, can the different Arab communities come together as citizens and write social contracts for how to live together without iron-fisted dictators — can they write a positive set of Hama Rules based not on anyone fearing anyone else, but rather on mutual respect, protection of minority and women’s rights and consensual government? <br />
<br />
It is not easy. These dictators built no civil society, no institutions and no democratic experience for their people to work with. Iraq demonstrates that it is theoretically possible to go from an old Hama Rules tyranny to consensual politics — but it required $1 trillion, thousands of casualties, a herculean mediation effort by the U.S. and courageous Iraqi political will to live together — and even now the final outcome is uncertain. Iraqis know how vital we were in this transition, which is why many don’t want us to leave. <br />
Now Yemen, Libya, Syria, Egypt and Tunisia are all going to attempt similar transitions — at once — but without a neutral arbiter to referee. It is unprecedented in this region, and we can already see just how hard this will be. I still believe that the democratic impulse by all these Arab peoples to throw off their dictators is heroic and hugely positive. They will oust all of them in the end. But the new dawn will take time to appear. <br />
<br />
I think the former foreign minister of Jordan, Marwan Muasher, has the right attitude. “One cannot expect this to be a linear process or to be done overnight,” he said to me. “There were no real political parties, no civil society institutions ready to take over in any of these countries. I do not like to call this the ‘Arab Spring.’ I prefer to call it the ‘Arab Awakening,’ and it is going to play out over the next 10 to 15 years before it settles down. We are going to see all four seasons multiple times. These people are experiencing democracy for the first time. They are going to make mistakes on the political and economic fronts. But I remain optimistic in the long run, because people have stopped feeling powerless.” </div>Laura Boustanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788685315296227550noreply@blogger.com