A Russian political commentator argues that modern day political correctness is ineffective when it comes to resolving the Israeli-Arab conflict, and that the two sides should be left to fight it out.
“According to political correctness, bad negotiations are better than a good war. This humane postulate seems beyond question, and therefore all peace initiatives of intermediaries in the Middle East are praised even if they are practically useless. …Political reality is not, and is unlikely to ever become, politically correct.”
The author, Pyotr Romanov, suggests what he admits is today viewed as a “heretical solution”:
“Let the two sides fight it out.”
Romanov goes on to extol the political clarity of the British more than a century ago in realizing there was little that could realistically be done diplomatically to end fighting between the Ottoman Empire and rebel forces in the Balkans, and urging the more emotional Russians to just let the two sides fight it out.
“…the British, who did not know the term ‘political correctness’ then, regarded the problem from the viewpoint of common sense and reason.”
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6 comments so far ↓
1 Jan Unger // Jul 5, 2006 at 5:18 pm
I have to agree with Romanov. I get SO SICK of this whole “political correctness” game that we are forced to play in this “enlightened” age in which we live! Rarely, if ever, do common sense and reason cross paths with political correctness. The odd time they do - great. Go for it! But the rest of the time political correctness tends to defy reason. The Arab-Israeli conflict is definitely one of these times. Israel needs to toss this modern day approach to things where it belongs, in the garbage. Then it needs to get on with taking back what is hers - the entire biblical heartland. Come on Israel! BE A DAVID and GO FOR IT!
2 Nathan // Jul 7, 2006 at 9:58 am
No body is going to do that…I mean Israel will win and apart from the Arabs and Muslims howling and using the ‘oil weapon’ this is Israel we are talking about….Jews! Given that the world can only just tolerate Jews full stop and regrets ever allowing a Jewish state to come into existance…. it could not abide a victorious Jewish State…its deeply engrained in people’s minds that Jews must ‘know their place’, not get ‘above themselves’….the mind set is still anti semetic….I mean its just not the done thing for Jews to defend themselves….and Jews taking revenge for bad things done to them….that must scare the hell out of people…for the record I speak as a Jew by choice….its quite a revelaton having been on the outside looking in and now being on the inside looking out….
I see the world doing the PC thing…always saving the Arabs from the consequences of their actions and allowing them hope of a revanchist dream….this is very unhealthy for them, us and the world….better they are obliged to give it up so they can move on and in another direction…people who hope for victory don’t admit defeat….but a defeated people can and often does rise from the ashes and prosper….the Germans and Japanese come to mind…..
3 Anon // May 13, 2007 at 2:45 am
Indeed. Political correctness has got way out of hand. Here, in Good Ol’ England - oh sorry, I forgot that praising my homeland was racist. :roll: The PC Brigade have banned making fun of other people’s accents - that might not be a big deal in America but here in England, we use puns a lot (wordplay) and often mocking accents is merely part of our humorous gems. We mock everything that moves and some things that don’t. I was telling a joke about Irishmen the other day, to be informed by some dim-witted member of the PC Brigade that I should really be ‘more culturally sensitive.’ I promptly looked at them and went “Why can’t I make fun of my great-grandfather?” or words to that effect. Needless to say, this soon shut them up. I then told jokes mocking everyone, mainly myself. Oh and the whole brainstorming business. Grrrrr….. I’m only saying that because the thingy issued the statement about it. How long before silence is the only way to be politically correct?
4 Marylin // Feb 4, 2008 at 2:58 am
It is time we shut political correctness to hell. when it comes to the Israeli/”palestinian”- arab conflict political correctness is a stepping stone for double standards. Political correctness as it appears only applies strictly to Israel. There is something to note here, while this double standard is ludicrous and unfair, it also shows how the sub—conscious of the world thinks of the Jews and the Arabs. What is meant here is that the significantly higher expectations for Jews rather than Arabs seems to admit that Jews are a better moral people. The world knows the arab people posses a barbaric nature leading a medieval lifestyle, however political correctness tells them (the world nations) they cannot admit this. And yet this truth leaks out from the world’s grasp when it applies these double standards to Israel. So in some way world nations compliment Israel with it’s high expectations. But this is beside the point. It is something we just need to take a note of. Moving on than, it has become common place to see arab leaders/politicians/people openly speaking out against Israel and Jews.
5 Marylin // Feb 4, 2008 at 3:51 am
Bashing Israel right and left, spreading propaganda, making false accusations against Jews, and now even blunt anti- semitism (ahmedenajad) or else known as the infamous president Tom. That is the iranian president, but for simplicity and time’s sake we shall address him as president Tom, also to avoid your tongue accidentally twisting. He is well known for being a Holocaust denier and at his interview with the university of columbia he clearly expressed this view, moreover this denial itself is a stage in the genocidal cycle. When the interview touched on the Holocaust, columbia’s spokes person started as a very hard standing strong voice. Of course this untoward tactic did not persist as here are some of the things president Tom said in reply: When asked about denying the Holocaust, president Tom said- and why should the palestinains pay for this,??? He successfully shifted the focus from his accusation to the “palestinians”.. Columbia’s spokes person basically settled with this for an answer…… in another instance president Tom justified his Holocaust denial with the idea that we should always question and research everything, cough cough.. %*#!& , and these are the words of an arab ruler! You heard him iranians, question everything that comes your way, be the best free thinkers that you can be, shall your judgment be free from iranian authority, if needed you shall overthrow authority…. wait a minute, thats me!?! errr…… just kiddin…hahahahaha…. Lets get back to the interview, a quick recap, president Tom stated that we ought to question namely the most documented atrocity in human history, nevertheless it is a Jewish atrocity and therefore we should question it, even though it is the most documented genocide in human history.. The hallmark of all genocides- the Holocaust is being brought into question by the noble man that is president Tom! In the importance of validity he also found it appropriate to compare the Holocaust with physics… indeed a very sensitive man.. what more he only included the Holocaust in his list of things to deny, that is he forgot to question the other less documented genocides ( the armenian, ukrainan, north american, tutsi, chinese, cambodian genocides.. etc..) I Guess it is just another double standard for all Jewish… if we to deny the Holocaust, we must deny all genocides, indeed we must deny whether we even exit, deny we heard president Tom speak! It is all just a very bad dream we’re having…Alas, i wish i could say it was a dream… but we must face it, we live in total surrealism, where ignorant men lead entire nations, where one can construct a fictional people and sell it to the world, and the world will take it on a silver platter, and the world will repeat the palestinian myth over and over again, and people will blow buildings and crush planes in broad daylight, and even than conspiracy theories will arise, naturally finding away to trace the blame to the Jews, what a sur~prise… a world where not one nation ever missed the chance to take it out on the Jews, the evil Zionists, the Jewish masterminds! This- This is the world we live in.
and while president ahmedenajad gets to enjoy his international freedom of verbal diarrhea, Israel is watched through a magnifying glass to be kept on its best behavior, like your little four year old,
best it doesnt put a single toe out of line or else it just might cause the whole world to stand on its head, perhaps even begin rotating in an opposite direction, or blowup…..
Lets shut political correctness to hell. Shell we…
6 Marylin // Feb 4, 2008 at 4:09 am
Some words of wisdom for Israel to contemplate:
“Being generous to your enemy is being ungenerous to your people.”
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