Bend toward justice
By Mohsin Hamid
I cannot recall any event in recent political history that gave me as much joy as the election of Barack Obama as president of the United States. I have lived almost half my life in America, and even though I live there no longer, I continue to have a familial sense of attachment to the United States. With this election, I felt I recognized my American family again, after eight years of shocked disconnection.
Here are my three recommendations for the new president:
Ah, Jerusalem. The longstanding conflict between Israelis and Palestinians not only is a tragedy and a source of great injustice, but it also stokes anti-American sentiment across much of the world. Your administration must realize that being pro-peace is not anti-Israel, and that Israel’s long-term interests can best be served by applying pressure to both sides in this dispute, rather than merely acceding to the demands of the more powerful party. Your remarks that Jerusalem should remain the undivided capital of Israel created an impression of bias that you need to dispel. Make a negotiated peace between Israelis and Palestinians central to your foreign-policy agenda. Forget the emotion-steeped names of the groups involved, and apply the lessons of the American civil-rights movement with evenhandedness.
A funny thing about allies. They are best treated as allies — in particular, Pakistan, where your remarks that you might send American troops in pursuit of terrorists have been deeply unpopular. A few facts are worth bearing in mind. Pakistan has a vast population: It is home to 170 million people, more than Iraq, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, and Iran combined. That population is overwhelmingly moderate: They went to the polls last year, and only 3 percent voted for the parties of the religious right. In addition to having nuclear weapons, Pakistan has a remarkably free media and a powerful pro-law protest movement, and twice has elected a female head of government. More Pakistanis have died in terrorist attacks in the last two years than Americans died on Sept. 11. Pakistan’s army has endured heavy losses of life in intense, ongoing fighting against extremists. This is a nation that needs to be treated as a partner.
Move beyond greatness. It is not possible to champion national greatness and human equality at the same time. People have no choice in where they are born, and nations are artificial constructs that use passports to deny equality. You are unlikely, of course, to want to throw open America’s borders to all immigrants or accept the creation of a global democracy in which the election of an American president no longer feels like the election of a world president. But allow yourself to gaze far along Martin Luther King Jr.’s long arc of history and ensure that you bend it ever so slightly, not toward supremacy, but toward justice.
(From: The Princeton Alumni Weekly)
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