Editor's Note: Annelle Sheline, PhD, served for a year as a foreign affairs officer at the Office of Near Eastern Affairs in the Department of State's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. The views expressed here are her own.
The final two paragraphs
I am haunted by the final social media post of Aaron Bushnell, the 25-year-old US Air Force serviceman who self-immolated in front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington on February 25: "Many of us like to ask ourselves, 'What would I do if I was alive during slavery? Or the Jim Crow South? Or apartheid? What would I do if my country was committing genocide?' The answer is, you're doing it. Right now."
I can no longer continue what I was doing. I hope that my resignation can contribute to the many efforts to push the administration to withdraw support for Israel's war, for the sake of the 2 million Palestinians whose lives are at risk and for the sake of America's moral standing in the world.
no shade against the author, except for an obligatory "what took you this long" platitude, but I just gotta highlight this one bit of the article:
So many of my colleagues feel betrayed. I write for myself but speak for many others, including Feds United for Peace, a group mobilizing for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza that represents federal workers in their personal capacities across the country, and across 30 federal agencies and departments.
Feds United for Peace
Holy shit the Onion couldn't have come up with something more on point
They should be "Feds United for Peace Alliance" that way we could critically support FUPAs
I am shocked to see CNN publish an article accusing the Biden administration of having blood on their hands. It's correct obviously which is why I'm shocked CNN published it.
cynically, probably a lot fewer eyes on an online op ed on cnn.com than jake tapper's extreme zionism on nightly news
Gotta throw the Proles a bone to make it seem like the system is capable of change from within, and all that.
It is so weird to watch libs and whoever else, the ones who realise that it's a genocide, be like "I'm so betrayed!! America isn't like this! The mission statement!!" Yes it fucking is lmao, do you have any amount of pattern recognition or a memory of longer than five years ago?
People operate on vibes and idealism, that's the whole point of pushing Materialism. Bourgois ideology permeates culture to the point that people legitimately believe ideas shape reality, rather than the inverse.
It's sad, but understanding this distinction helps clarify our goals.
Believing that ideas shape reality is so fucking naive and provably, obviously not the case... I do not get these people.
Idealistic grand narratives of history are taught as established fact in schools and universities.
I agree! They don't realize they do it either, idealism and moralism are pervasive ideologies because they feel good to believe. "Of course the Capitalists will treat us better if we just explain to them that exploitation is wrong!"
Libs are Utopians, first and foremost.
Many of us like to ask ourselves, 'What would I do if I was alive during slavery? Or the Jim Crow South? Or apartheid? What would I do if my country was committing genocide?'
It’s insane to me how many people never have asked themselves those questions!!!
Like, we need to be teaching every child about John brown so they realize they can and should ask themselves those questions. Holy shit people really just go through life like horses with blinders on.
