Let me tell you a story that may not qualify as a full-blown
parable but is something close to that.
A blind man who was born with his condition undergoes an
experimental eye surgery. A few days later, the surgeon removes the bandage off
the patient's face, and the man sees light for the first time. Amazed and
jubilant, he looks around and cries out: “God, how beautiful life is!” He looks
at the surgeon and promises: “You gave me vision, and the least I can do is be
your eyes. Count on me taking you everywhere you want to go, and I'll describe
what I see … you'll find it stunning”.
Obviously, the man had not yet realized that to perform the
operation the surgeon had to have vision. Well my friend, whereas something
like this may not happen in real life, something like it happens all the time.
And you have an example of it in the column which came under the title: “The
Egyptian riddle,” written by Clifford D. May and published on March 20, 2018 in
The Washington Times.
May went to Egypt
and saw what he didn't know was there. Dazzled by the high quality of
governance in that country, he compared what he saw to what he thought he would
be seeing, living as he did in the blind fantasy of those who dwell in the dark
alleys of their mutually induced ignorance. But now that he saw the light for
the first time, guess what Clifford May did. He spoke about the Egyptians who
gave him the proverbial clear vision, and said what he'll do to help them see
their way to good governance. Imagine that! But if you can't imagine, here is a
condensed version of May's passages that make those points:
“Sisi is trying to protect his country. If you're like me,
you're now puzzled. It does seem possible that President Sisi represents Egypt 's best
chance to save itself from conflict and carnage. How might we translate such
ambivalence into policy? At least consider this: Separate freedom from
democracy. Press Mr. Sisi to take steps to increase the former but leave the
latter for later. As we should have learned over recent years: Elections alone
do not a democracy make. Start with human rights; the most basic being freedom
of religion. Next come minority rights. The journey toward a freer society
won't be quick or easy. But if there's a better way, I'm not seeing it”.
Despite what he saw and heard in Egypt , Clifford May asked: “How
might we translate such ambivalence into policy?” By that he meant the
Judeo-American policy he thinks should supplant the Egyptian policy that
accomplished what he didn't know was there already. He goes on to answer his
own question: “Press Mr. Sisi to increase freedom and leave democracy for
later.” What a misfit! Can you believe this? The man just admitted he saw what
he never dreamed he would see; but now that he has seen it, he still wants to
give advice to the Egyptians that live the thing. Can he ever stop being a Jew,
if only for a moment?
Having spoken the unspeakable, May now makes a confession:
“As we should have learned; elections do not a democracy make.” Too bad he and
those like him learned nothing during the decades that some of us were trying
to teach them about the reality of what's happening outside their cocoon. The
truth is that they had good teachers; it's just that they were bad students.
Having written in his previous column about how much the
Christian minority in Egypt
appreciates what President Sisi has done and continues to do for its members;
Clifford May still has the gall to say he wants to tell the Egyptian President
he needs to pay attention to the issues relating to freedom of religion and
minority rights. What a dork! Can you believe this? It is customary to call
someone “tone deaf” when he doesn't hear what others are saying. But what do
you call someone that doesn't hear himself?
Clifford May ends his discussion with this: “The journey
toward a freer society won't be quick or easy. But if there's a better way, I'm
not seeing it.” Actually he never saw what was happening in Egypt because
he was looking at the wrong thing. Instead of looking at Egypt , he
mind's eye was fixated on a picture of that country; one that was painted by
charlatans who exist for the sole purpose of committing mischief.
Clifford May calls such groupings, think tanks. He singles
out the one identifying itself as “The bipartisan Working Group on Egypt ,”
describing it as being composed of “a dozen distinguished think tank scholars.”
Well, the first thing that comes to mind is that the word “bipartisan”
signifies it is a subsidiary of the Jewish propaganda machine. The second thing
that comes to mind is that the charlatans populating it are of the most
destructive neoconish kind. The third thing that comes to mind is that Clifford
May will not solve any riddle – Egypt
or otherwise – until he breaks away from this kind of groupings.