“Call me Ishmael.”

President Obama gave a speech earlier today in Egypt, so I thought I would talk a little about what some of this means. If you want to read the speech or watch the speech, you can go to another one of my posts – click here.

I’ll start off by saying that nothing matters in any of this if the United States continues down the path we have been doing, thereby letting the speech be nothing but words. But, if President Obama can make some of his statements become starting points in a forward progress towards solutions, then what we had today can be a good start. Too often in American History, especially recent, our Presidents have said one thing and not held up to it. This reason and this reason alone has led a number of people I discuss religious and political events with to question his sincerity and to assume that it is all words. Even leaders in foreign countries say that while they are welcoming the change in rhetoric, words do not solve anything. So, it is up to us, US Citizens and non-US citizens to hold him at his word, to demand that he go through with things he has set forth and to give him support along the way. He is one man who can give a speech, one man cannot solve any of these problems if the rest of us do not join in the solution. For those of you who are US Citizens, this means putting more pressure on your congressmen to give up the complete Pro-Israel stance and realize that if we are to have peace between Israel and Palestine, we cannot ignore and turn our backs when Israel goes wrong and then scold Hamas for doing similar things. We have to hold everyone to equal standards and we have to remain firm in it. There will be a time in the future when Israel will test this and it may cause President Obama to have to start restricting aid to the country – can our Senators, Representatives, Citizens and groups like AIPAC handle this and get behind it or will we be the President’s crutch and therefore the barrier that continues to deny Palestine their freedom from this oppression.

We must get behind the President as he goes forward with Iran and drop the “terrorist”/”they want to make nuclear weapons” crap that is causing us problems, despite the fact that this might allow them to legally establish a peaceful nuclear program for energy.

And finally, can we as citizens, fight back against ignorance and hate towards Muslims and Islam? If you do not know the answer, ask someone, do not assume you are knowledgeable in a faith you do not practice. Correct those who are wrong if you do know the answer, stand up for the rights of the Muslim people to live in the world free from prejudice towards them. Do not associate Islam or Arab with terrorism, they have never been the same or will they ever be the same. Help the President fight intolerance and hatred towards the people. At the same time, protect the Jewish faith from hatred, but do not confuse dislike for a country with antisemitism. It is one thing to criticize a country, yet another to be a bigot against a race of people or religion.

Now, onto the speech. Below you will find a clip from Rachel Maddow’s show on MSNBC. I think between her and her guest, they are able to explain some of the big points in the speech. But, here are a few key things that I want to point out.

He was honest, blunt with just about every group. Likely upsetting each one or confusing each party to a point they are not sure where he is coming from. But, because he was blunt with a lot of people, he also won over a lot because he hits the enemy with the speech too. There have been leaders in the world that normally are very critical that have acknowledged his skill and ability to be honest, while still holding back because they are waiting for the “but”. I myself fit this, I’m waiting for him to say but or to just not follow through, but I am hopeful he will.

He used two words that I don’t recall a US President using: “Occupation” & “Palestine”. He is recognizing that under international law the Palestinians are occupied territories & by using the name Palestine, he is adding to the legitimacy of the land. He was strong in his stance that Israel must stop all settlements, even publicly stating that “what we say in public is what we say in private.”

He showed respect by using Arabic phrases, including calling the Qur’an the “Holy Qur’an”.

He admitted that the “War” in Iraq was a war of choice. Indirectly admitting we have tortured by saying we will not torture & will be closing Gitmo Bay.

He admits that the US Government is to blame for overthrowing the Iranian Government that later led to a revolution to over throw the US backed government, including taking over the US Embassy and holding hostages.

He talked about false Democratic Governments as well as the rights of women, including the right for all to be educated.

Here is the Rachel Maddow segment:

This was a risky speech for him to make, not just because of the implications and criticism he will have in foreign lands, but also the way it is accepted within the United States. Remember, President Obama had to fight & still continues to fight a radical group of people who see his name as a conspiracy, that he is secretly a Muslim who is to be feared and hated. That he is foreign born. While he was elected, there is still enough people in this country that are ignorant to Islam and equate terrorism with Muslims. It will be a hard line for him to walk politically, especially with powerful lobbying groups like AIPAC.

I plan to fully support the President, but I will still hold him to a high standard. He must continue to move forward on his statements. Whenever he does not, I will be critical of him, I will tell him he is wrong, I will state it publicly and I will ask that he change it. However, I also want to be able to celebrate when milestones happen, and I will continue to do so. This speech, while it did not address any specific policy choices, it did not fix any conflict or end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It did not solve anything directly, but I am hopeful that it is the start, sort of the first line of a book that is to be written….

“Call me Ishmael.”

What is next Mr. President?

Related posts:

1. AIPAC Buddy Buddy Dems & Reps think Obama is too hard on Israel
2. “We Do Not Consider Ourselves A Christian Nation”
3. Afghanistan is not a war against terrorism, but a war against ourselves
4. Welcomed Changes
5. Iran vs the United States