As hopeless as it looks now in the Middle East wars, keep the faith. President Obama recently stated “that we cannot build a wall around a global economy?”
He has been promoting the controversial free trade Trans-Pacific Partnership multinational economic agreement. Free trade is only one of the components that plays an important economic role in transitioning from the traditional authoritarian dictatorships we have witnessed for decades in the Middle East, to ideal egalitarian forms of governing that truly believe in the equality of all people, especially in political, economic, and social life.
Free trade can be a stepping stone towards helping millions of people to find gainful employment that can strip away centuries of long time poverty all over the world. Don’t believe in the myth that it is a job killer. It creates jobs here and abroad. They wrongfully said that about Obamacare too.
The trick is negotiating in good faith to get an equal economic equality playing field for everyone. Then the people in the Middle East need to be trained to do their jobs by educating as well as humanizing them. Aren’t our non-combat troops performing that mission now?
Unfortunately, the 1 percent still get most of the pieces of the pie which in itself is dehumanizing. However, highly educated men and woman of political good will in political office have been working to level the economic equality playing field. Keep the faith!
Underdeveloped countries have poor distributions of goods and services. And the poor cannot afford what few goods and services are available. The results of these inequities were predictable.
The Arab Spring revolution in many countries in the Middle East grew out of decades of deprivation of the masses by their ruling elites who were repressive authoritarian dictators. The citizens finally had enough and they were not going to be puppets for these repressive regimes anymore.
Wars must be ended by adhering to utilitarian principles promoting the greatest good for the greatest number. Fair and equitable free trade can be a means to achieving this ideal. Every citizen must learn socialization skills enabling them to replace hatred with empathy for one another. This is the process of human development.
We have elements of this human development in the good old USA. If distraught citizens can all can obtain access to affording the necessities of life through gainful employment and suitable living conditions, it may be a lot easier learning how to get along with one another. Hope lives eternal. We have to level the economic playing field to create this peace.
After a negotiated settlement peace process, emerging leaders in these countries must begin the process of creating peaceful social organizations, relative peaceful transitions to newly formed governments, training skilled workers, putting checks on corruption, passing sensible taxes and developing a wise governing body.
Passing TPP is a stepping stone in the right direction. Our president is trying to put everyone on the right track to making this world a safer place to inhabit together.
Bill Clemens
Smyrna