I found a small booklet in my friend's library, that’s called “The American Dream”. It sounded interesting.
I come from a country where many people consider the US a dream they would like to reach. Many people, not only in Egypt but in many other poor countries, dream of emigrating to the United States or Europe.
I read the textbook. It briefly highlighted the main stages of American history. Reading it was like watching a familiar movie. A movie that is based on another true story I knew. The story of Palestine.
“The Homestead act:
in 1862 the American congress passed an act which allowed people to claim areas of land not owned or unclaimed by anyone in the West. Native American landownership was not of concern.”
“The Indian removal and relocation opened the way to the allotment of other Indian lands and the sale of the surplus acreage to settlers.”
Doesn’t it sound similar to you? It happened, and still happens, in Palestine. Indigenous Palestinian people were, still are, kicked out of their homes and lands by others who come from different countries, falsely claiming their right to these homes and lands.
“Trail Of Tears 1838
The term refers to the forced relocation of Native Americans from their homelands in the southeastern parts of the US to the present-day state of Oklahoma. The phrase describes the hardships, starvation and death on their way to their destinations. Many died, including 4,000 of the 15,000 relocated Cherokee.”
Hardships, starvation and death! What the native Americans endured in the past is the same that Palestinians have been going through. The same horrors, but in a different location.
In Gaza, we witness the same scenario on a larger scale. Palestinians have been starved, killed and tortured but they have nowhere to escape. They are caged, starved and killed in a tight space. They have no choice but die.
“Massacre at Wounded Knee 1890
The Wounded Knee Massacre occurred near Wounded Knee Creek on the Lakota Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. The US cavalry attempted to disarm Lakota and in doing so killed nearly 150 men, women and children of the Lakota Sioux.”
The pretense was, or to be more accurate, the lie, the attacks of the 7th of October. The story began much earlier than that. Look at the West Bank, and all that has been going on since 1948, and you’ll understand. They claim that they fight Hamas. Really?
How many children, women and men have been murdered or amputated in the name of fighting terrorists? (at this point, I would never call Hamas a terrorist group)
How many more should die of bombs and hunger to leave Gaza alone? What else will it take to stop the famine and genocide?
I’m afraid that leaving Gaza and its population alone is not on their agenda. They aim at annihilating the entire population.
“Manifest Destiny
The idea of manifest destiny implied that the American people had the God-given right to extend their democratic principles and thus expand their political and territorial power over the American continent and beyond. In the mid 19th century it served as justification of westward expansion. The idea was also used to justify issues as diverse as slavery or the Mexican American war (1846-1848).”
This is something that goes over my head.
Which god would promise a land that was already owned by some people to others? Couldn’t god promise these people a brand-new land? A land that wouldn’t cause wars?
No one has the right to claim something in the name of god. God is not selfish or inconsiderate. People are. They use religions and politics to achieve their dirty goals.
What is called today the US, Australia, Canada or New Zealand were of the indigenous people who have been murdered or relocated. It wasn’t a new world. It was a world that existed but these white Europeans had no idea about. Because it happened before, it shouldn’t happen again somewhere else. We should never allow it to happen again.
How many times does history have to repeat itself? How many people have to be murdered and uprooted of their land? Shouldn’t our struggle make us more empathetic and merciful towards each other? Shouldn’t we care about each other regardless of our different race, religion, beliefs or genders? Shouldn’t we get united, instead of looking for ways to annihilate each other?
“The domino theory
The term was coined by US president Eisenhower in April, 1954 and was used to justify the need for American intervention around the world.”
Mind your own business, US! Stop intervening in others’ issues! Stop backing up I*rael. It’s time to take care of your own people and keep your nose clean!
Very well written overall! I agree that it's frustrating how humans never seem to learn from history, and how we make the same mistakes over and over again. In the U.S., we learn about the history of how awful the U.S. government treated the native people, but the scale and brutality of this violence is really hard to imagine.
My American friend from Texas and I often talk about these things, but we can't find any answers about these. My country did the same thing to occupied the land from Jyomon people in our histry. We are Yayoi people. During the WW2, we did terrible things to lots of our neighboring countries too. Israel's case is very complex. I have a really good friend who is American Jew. He'd used to live in Israel. Now, he's returned to the US, though. He and I've been chatting on Skype (Teams now) for more than 18 years. As thinking about him, I can't say it's none of your business to the US. I think it's not only the Us fault.
Well written and good points. A genocide is occurring in Palestine, and Donald Trump is consistently supports Zionism. The actions of the USA are shameful.
I think we'll repeat history until it comes to an end and there is a final judgment. Then we'll see that we all did the same thing to those around us. It's said that whenever you point accusingly at someone there are three fingers pointing back at you.
Thanks, @alpaca for the corrections and the comment!
@yumiyumayume, many countries committed terrible things towards each other! I'm happy to hear that your Jew friend was back to the US! I hope others will follow suit! It's true it's not only the US fault because many other countries are on the wrong side with the US.
Thanks a lot for your supportive comment, @T-Newfields! I hope many and many will acknowledge the genocide and try to do something!
I hope the final judgement will come soon! @MusiqueGraeme
Firstly, no country is innocent or pure. Every country in the world has a few dark chapters in its history. For example, under the fascist regime, Italy used weapons of mass destruction in Africa. Nobody in Europe raised a finger. Why were we let off the hook despite violating internation law? It's simple. The UK and France were trying to appease Italy in the hope of luring it away from Nazi Germany. With hindsight, France and the UK should've gone to war with Italy. But I do understand why they just let us rampage through Africa. It wasn't about money. It was about diplomacy and the risk of a greater war. This brings us to the genocide in Gaza. The reasons Israel is not being called out is money and complicity. Remember the invasion of Iraq? My point is that the US calls the shot and the rest of the western world follows them without objecting. Well, except France. Since Israel is US's special boy, nobody even dares to criticise it. If any other country did what Israel is doing, it would be wiped off the face of the earth in no time. The US and Israeli's missile attacks on Iran seemed like a cheap copy of the Iraq invasion. They produced fake evidence to sustain that Iraq was using weapons of mass destruction. Now they're saying that Iran is close to building the nuclear bomb, without even bothering to provide any evidence, fake or otherwise. The most disgusting thing is that in order to justify the attacks, the world's media and politicians (including those in my own country) have been trying to portray Iran as some evil enemy. Dude, I live in Italy. The biggest threat to Italian stability is the unpredictable, greedy US, not some Middle Eastern state that has never threatened my country.
We live in a kind of bubble in Japan, and I believe the information we receive is distorted at its root. That’s why I feel we’re only getting the kind of information that’s convenient for us. I have a best friend in the U.S. who is married to an Iranian man. Over the past nine years, I’ve stayed at their home many times, and we've traveled together to painting schools all across the U.S. He left Iran after the revolution and has never returned. I've heard many stories from him about how much the Iranian people suffered after the revolution.
If there’s one possible solution, I believe it’s to become friends with people from all over the world and to hear the truth directly from them. To do that, we have to learn languages. I often think that if I could speak Arabic, Italian, and Hebrew fluently, I would be able to see what’s happening in the world today from perspectives far beyond just the Japanese one.
Yumi, I'm not debating whether or not the Iranian regime is brutal and barbaric. There's no doubt that Iran is under a totalitarian regime and that women have no freedom. However, that doesn't make the Iranian government my enemy. If we, the democratic world, have to attack Iran, it should be because we've had enough of the way the Iranian government treats its people. But first and foremost, you declare war and then you launch your attack. You can't just strike Iran with a few missiles and call it a day as though nothing had happened. This is madness. In any case, if there's one country that can't afford to lecture others on social rights, it's certainly the USA: the same country that pulled out of Afghanistan leaving the Afghan people at the mercy of the very same terrorists they went to Afghanistan to fight: the Talibans. Is Iran trying to build its own nuclear bombs? Yes, it is. Do I feel threatened by this? Absolutely not. They attacked Iran because Neta-something hates Iran. It's so blatantly obvious.
I understand what you wrote and I totally agree that what the current Israel government is doing is crazy. I think it's obvious they have nuclear weapon weapons but they never say it officially. I also agree America shouldn't help the country either.
I'm sorry. Which country do you refer to when you say "it's obvious they have nuclear weapons"? Iran doesn't have nuclear weapons. It's trying to build them, but that's no easy feat. If you meant Israel, then yes, Israel does have a large number of nuclear bombs, which raises another point. The US goes around the world telling everyone to ditch their nuclear arsenal—cough Ukraine cough—but they never knock on Israel's door.
Well said, @Simone-! You hit the nail on the head. I agree with every single point you mentioned. I so admire you and how you articulated your opinions on all these issues!
And, yes, Israel has nuclear bombs and it's not even a member in the International Atomic Energy Agency. It's a threat to our whole region. And, yes, Iran is a dictator country, like many of our countries in the ME, but how it reached this point and who played a role in the coup that happened in 50s! It's the US!
@yumiyumayume, I'm afraid the media doesn't tell the whole truth in most countries. They just follow their government's agenda. It's our duty to look for truth and be aware of what's going on in the world, and spread the word.
Speaking of the IAEA, Iran was actually a member. It took many years to convince Iran to join. Then out of the blue, Trump cancelled the deals between the US and Iran and expelled them from the IAEA. Now, the very same man says that Iran is up to no good and orders a missile attack. DUDE!
The European Union and the US have just agreed on 15% tariffs. Like wtf?! He has the audacity to claim that there's a deficit between the US and the EU regardings goods. What about the service industry?! What about Amazon, Google, Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Microsoft, Apple, and so on? The US is the biggest threat to Europe. Yes, there's is Russia, but it's actually Putin. On the other hand, it's not just Trump, but the whole American capitalism. If Putin were to invade the rest of Europe, I'm sure most Russians would be shocked and disapprove. In constrat, roughly half of American people—Trump voters—think that Europe is the enemy.
@Simone- I'm talking about Israel, not Iran. Both my neighboring countries, China and North Korea have the weapons and do you remember my country is the only one attacked by the weapons. I'm quite sensitive the topic, but I understand Iran's feelings. If our neighboring country has one, why we can't? Well, I don't support the thought, though.
We should create another trade marketing group not including America then!