The Assassination of Benazir Bhutto Re-Iterates Everything I Dislike About the Middle East

I read and watched with stunned silence at the news yesterday that former Pakistani Prime Minister and up until yesterday, opposition leader, Benazir Bhutto was assassinated. While I am hardly a fan of anything from that side of the world and Islam in general, I do admire Mrs. Bhutto's staunch defence of democracy, and up till the last minute, her courageous willingness to fight for her people, even in the face of death threats (I understand that she survived an assassination attempt only a month or two ago). And while I am hardly the feminist type, it is refreshing to see a strong-willed, intelligent woman try to put some sense into a part of the world that seems to be stuck in an endless cycle of senseless violence.

Maybe it's just me, but when you look at the news and read a newspaper these days, do you quickly flip by any news from the Middle East? I know I do. I may occasionally glance at an article if it mentions the death of children, but even that, I confess, I seem to have developed a numbness or insensitivity. It shouldn't be this way, but years and years of reading about the Middle East have dulled my senses. Is it that I don't care what goes on there? Perhaps. But I think it goes deeper than that, and it is not necessarily a geo-political irritant that I have with that area. I think it comes down to the fact that it would appear as if the prevailing cultural mindset puts such a small premium on the value of life. I imagine that those who reject this way of thinking have moved elsewhere, but for those who remain, it seems like a never-ending spiral of suicide bombings, slaughtering of innocents, fighting over something as trivial (and utterly stupid) as land.

Sure, some may say that this opinion is not uncommon these days, what, with the tragedy that was September 11 and all. I would not go so far as to say that. Some people with already inbuilt hatred of Muslims simply used September 11 as a catalyst to justify their own bigotry and hatred. Yet, if you look at everything in that region nowadays, is there really anything to like about it (we're not talking about historical appreciation here, as I am aware and agree that that region is rich with history)? Nowhere is really safe to live or work - some car bomb can go off in a crowded market, or some crazy lunatic can strap explosives to himself (usually it's a he). The sad thing is, these people have been indoctrinated into violence from an early age. Perhaps this can ultimately be blamed at the feet of Islamic fundamentalism, but the fact that Muslims in North America are generally not a violent community would indicate to me that it is not necessarily a Muslim thing, but a regional thing.

Sure, there have been assassinations and / or executions here in North America for high ranking officials (J.F.K. and several other U.S. Presidents), or for people who fight for a moral framework and equity (Martin Luther King) , or those who fight for the rights of their people (Louis Riel). But the death of a prominent politician are far and few between in North America, perhaps due to better security, but I believe (though I can't corroborate this in any way) that there is probably less assassination attempts in the Western world simply due to the higher value placed on life. Yeah, you may not agree with me, and may call me names and as such, but it is unlikely that you will try to take my life (you can try, but I am armed pretty well). And such is how politics and their subsequent disagreements get resolved. I don't like the person who represents me - I don't vote for them. I don't like someone's opinion? I don't hang around them or read their rather lengthy blogs. I don't like how a store does business (*cough* Future Shop *cough*)? I engage in a lifetime boycott of those bastards. But my disagreement with someone or some group will never get me to the point where I will incite or inflict violence on them. This is why I believe that, no matter what bleeding heart liberals will tell you, Western society is generally more civilized than Middle Eastern societies. It would be hard for anyone to convince me otherwise. Sure, I may be the victim of a mugging or a street attack, but that is not the norm. We also don't hand assault rifles to our children and teach them to kill those with whom we disagree. We don't denigrate women to subservient status (although I am a staunch opponent of the femi-Nazi feminists - usually butt-ugly - in the West who perpetually call for the destruction of all things male).

I remember playing a video game in the late 80s/early 90s. It was a really cheap two-coloured video game that more or less played like the game Risk. It was a hoot. The game was called Conflict and to no surprise, much of the action happened in the Middle East. Tensions were always high and the political alliances or opponents were as volatile as nitroglycerin. I remember playing the game in my teens and wondering, "why on earth is there so much conflict there?" Even as a child, I'd turn on the TV or read the Edmonton Journal and not a week went by that something nasty wasn't going on in the Middle East. Over time, it seems to have gotten worse, and we hear of gruesome and sad stories of dictators who obliterate their own people in the most heinous of ways. Even the more subtle of dictators like the current self-imposed leader of Pakistan, Musharaaf, has their own ways of dealing with those who seek democratic reform - it would not pass me by if Bhutto's assassination was somehow connected to the current government in Pakistan.

I suspect that there's not much of a solution here. You can talk all you want about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, but I suspect that even with a fully independent Palestininan state, those two groups will continue to be at it, since that is simply their history (not unlike the Protestant/Catholic tensions in Ireland that will be there till the end of time). Condoleeza Rice, as much as I like her, is wasting her time in that region, trying to broker a peace plan, as is her boss George W. Obviously, nobody wants to see the the people in the region kill one another constantly, but until there is a collective lightbulb moment that recognizes that life is precious and that you don't solve all your problems with violence, there will continue to be assassinations of champions of democracy like Mrs. Bhutto or anyone else who refuses to live with the status quo in that region. I don't believe that there will ever be peace in that region in our lifetime, if ever at all.