Nelson Mandela’s recent death at the age of 95 generated praise from political luminaries ranging from President Obama to Newt Gingrich. I am a fan too – but I will not attempt to write about Mandela since many more knowledgeable and eloquent that I have done so. I was moved by the tributes to such a visionary leader and humanitarian.
The hypocrisy of some American politicians who opposed the South Africa boycott during the days of apartheid – who now say that they supported the call to boycott – was not surprising.
This led me to think about the power of boycotts.
I remember in my youth picketing supermarkets to support the United Farmworkers. I remember the controversy surrounding the boycott of South Africa. These two boycotts worked to improve the plight of people who were oppressed.
Some years ago America led the United Nations Security Council to impose international sanctions (which can be seen as a type of hi-level boycott) on Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. This was touted as a way of keeping an evil dictator in check and applying pressure on the people of Iraq to encourage regime change. I agreed Saddam Hussein’s was bad news – so I didn’t give it much thought. That was until I heard Rana Masri speak at the Ethical Humanist Society in 1999. She spoke about how Saddam Hussein and his dynasty lived in unimagined wealth and depravity while the sanctions caused tremendous hardship to the Iraqi people, including a dramatic increase in infant mortality. It appeared that these sanctions were not having the desired affect.
Iran has faced decades of international sanctions (at the behest of the United States). Recently inflation reached 400%. The Iranian Government and Secretary of State John Kerry are attempting to resolve issues related to sanctions. Now Congress is talking about ratcheting up Iran’s Sanctions as negotiations on nuclear inspections are nearing the possibility of agreement – just to show how tough we are.
Sanctions and their flip side, support, ebb and flow in Syria depending on which group is able to further our “interests”.
In Iran and Syria, like Iraq before them, concern for the suffering of ordinary people has not been the primary motive behind our actions. We are not making a positive contribution to solving these conflicts. We certainly are not making any friends.
I am frustrated because I feel that I have no control about what my country does in my name.
This brings me back to looking at what I can do – how my actions may take a turn to the positive.
Recently, there was the suggestion to boycott the movie Ender’s Game due to the outspoken homophobic views of Orson Scott Card, the author of the novel that the movie was based on. Pros and Cons were discussed on-line in various magazines and forums. I wasn’t swayed by the pro-boycott voices – perhaps because I wanted to see the movie, which I did.
I rationalized that I can’t avoid all jerks, even if I try.
I acted in my interests, ignoring higher concerns. Perhaps I fit into America better than I like to believe.
