Citizenship Revoked
Nothing like getting your citizenship and patriotism attacked to really brighten your day…
I got into a pretty big argument with my brother-in-law about military service today and he essentially told me that he believes my citizenship should be revoked because I have not and will not serve in the army.
It is quite frustrating to have my sense of belonging challenged from two sides. In the first, I feel less and less that this land belongs to my ancestors and more that it was stolen from others. I feel estranged from the very process that led to the nation’s existence. Now, I am also being told from the other side that if I do not fight to propagate and support that theft that my identity and my belonging is also useless.
I feel that it’s the individual duty of any person opposed to warfare and bloodshed to morally oppose and conscientiously object from any support of the institutions of violence and killing as well as to promote this idea to others. I truly believe that if all those who truly opposed war would stand up and say so, that the war machine of the various nations would dry up. War requires soldiers to act as automatons without opposition, and I believe that when individuals act up and oppose that war can stop.
This of course does not mean that I do not believe in the existence of the state of Israel. I think that the state has as much right to exist as any other artificial state body. I do not believe that force should ever be required to be used to support the power of a majority over a minority. States are artificial entities that I ultimately think are dangerous formulations. Ultimately I truly believe a new world order or global government must be created to unify all individuals. However, until that point I believe nations must be as just as possible.
As a state, this means extended every right to minority groups and dissolving any elements that enforce a majority identity on groups that are not a part of it. It means becoming a multiracial nation rather than a monolithic one in which identity is forced. It means following a rule of law that is equal for all and applied so as well.
Citizenship must therefore also be given fairly and not revoked for disputes or disagreements. Individuals must be part of a civil society and service, but alternatives must be offered for morally repugnant requirements. This is the basis of a society that truly respects the beliefs and views of its citizenry and allows them to live a decent life.
I also firmly hold that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict must be solved justly or else Israeli society will continue to be eaten away by demographic demagoguery and a constant paranoid fear of loss of identity.
On more practical terms, I went and saw the 5th Harry Potter movie with my nephew today which was very exciting. It made me sad though to realize how little emphasis and value he places on reading. He’s never read any of the books and no interest in other books and series. I notice this regularly both within my family and also within the Bedouin community I am staying with. Reading used to be of such importance to the intellectual community and particular to Israel as it sought to establish itself as a first world nation. I feel that this regression in literacy is utterly dangerous to the intellectual and moral growth of a nation. The internet is a substitute at times and can expand to truly provide the feeling of an intellectual community rather than a one way conduit of information, but it is still vital that the habit and desire to acquire new information and to enter new fantasy worlds through imagination be reinforced.
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