Altering Israel's Moral Rudder

The more I hear about Israel's actions in the recent conflict in Lebanon, the more horrified and disgusted I become. How must the world perceive us? How arrogant are our politicians and our military? Our leaders claim to want peace, but sometimes I wonder. Actions speak louder than words, and when we say that our war was not with the people of Lebanon, but it is then revealed that our military may have dropped upwards of 1,800 cluster bombs (which apparently works out to approximately 1.2 MILLION cluster bomblets), it makes me more inclined than ever to question my government's intentions. I cannot imagine any possible scenario in this conflict that could justify such action, and it destroys any legitimacy there might be in Israel's desire to demolish the Hizbollah infrastructure.

The arrogance of the upper military and political eschelons in this country is driving us deeper and deeper into the mire, and while we certainly have a legitimate right to defend ourselves, we seem to have a talent for disproportionate response that simply boggles the mind, whether it be our actions in Gaza or in Lebanon. While the Lebanese people are busy picking up the pieces of their ruined country, they are surely laughing bitterly at our audacity to claim that our conflict was not with Lebanon itself, and only with the Hizbollah. If I were a Lebanese citizen, I can't imagine that I would believe Israel either. The way this government is handling things, it is slowly but surely destroying itself, rotting away from the top down. Clearly, a serious shake-up is in order, and unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be anyone capable of guiding us towards a better path.

A friend told me the other day that he was done dabbling in local politics in the area in which he lives. His undoing has to do with the fact that he is a good person, one who became involved because he truly wanted to make a difference, one who wanted to improve the quality of his community. He is not sly or underhanded, but rather moral and ethical, and found himself unable to stomach the dirty world of Israeli politics. I can hardly blame him, though I do think that it's a shame. Clearly, we do not have enough politicians in this country who truly care about people, no matter on what side of the border they may be. Instead, we are left with large egos and bank accounts, a morally bereft elite who believe that they are above all others and responsible to no one, doing as they please while running the country into the ground, taking the citizens down with them.

I love my country, but I am sorely ashamed of its leaders, and cannot help but wonder where we will go from here, alternately drifting and careening towards an abyss with no safety net in sight. We have no choice but to change as a nation. Our leaders cannot go around making shady real estate deals, sexually harassing employees and cluster bombing the citizens of other countries. We cannot expect the world to continue tolerating our actions (and indeed, many people do not). If we do not change course, if we do not alter our moral rudder, our situation will only get worse, and it will be no one's fault but our own.