Ossman Darwiche/Assistant Opinion Director
Campus demonstrations prove that our country needs both sides to unite!
Wherever socialism has been applied in its totality in any region of the world, it has failed. But capitalism is no saint either.
I believe socialism is much worse, but for all its efficiency capitalism is not without its own greedy dark side, no system is perfect and that is why balance is the key.
By the time you finish reading this article, I will have undoubtedly achieved pissing most of you off.
But that’s exactly what I want you to do, think for yourself, not continue to suck at the breasts of left- or right-wing politics.
On February 18th, President Donald Trump visited FIU to speak on the crisis in Venezuela, and I was asked to assist my PantherNow team in covering both sides of the rallies happening on our campus.
Needless to say, the atmosphere was very politically charged for a Monday.
I began my assignment taking photos and listening to demonstrations of the Graham Center lawns.
I quickly realized the event was focused not only on Venezuela but on issues such as socialism versus capitalism, abortion, the border wall, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and all other issues of battle between the left and the right.
On one side you had an entire display, quite gruesome in nature, of pro-life advocates calling for the banning of abortion nationwide. On the other side you had a much larger demonstration of the liberal left claiming “my body my choice.”
On the primary issue, I witnessed a young Venezuelan student being silenced by the liberal protesters.
When he asked the speakers if they had ever been to Venezuela, they simply told him to “Shut the f up,” and that he could not speak at their rally.
These protesters were actually calling to reject Juan Guido’s coup and for the United States to stay out of Venezuela. I would venture to call these protesters selfish and feeble minded.
How dare they claim they know more about Venezuela than the people of Venezuela.
If the mass exodus from the region into South Florida were not evidence enough for the gravity of the crisis, let alone all the evidence of gross human rights violations, I don’t know what would be.
If the Venezuelan people have fled to the shores of America, and the majority ask us for help, how can we turn them away?
Therefore, it is our moral obligation to intervene somehow and aid the people of that country by any means necessary!
On the issue of abortion, I am pro-life myself. Indeed, it is your body, but what choice does the other body living and growing inside you have?
No doubt some of you will tell me that because I am a male, I have no idea what a woman goes through and therefore have no right to judge anyone.
And I’d say you’re right, I am a man and can’t even begin to imagine the pain and struggle women go through.
I am, however, also a human being, living and breathing, who is thankful to both God and my own mother that I was brought into this world and given the breath of life when I could have easily been killed so that my mother could go on with her own life.
I’ll let those words sink into your minds, because this is a prime example of the moral decay our society faces today.
Now let’s talk about walls, because during the rally I heard people shout, “From Palestine to Mexico…” Let’s get our facts straight here, if you’re referring to the security wall and/or fences build around the Judea – Samaria (aka the West Bank), I remind you that those barriers were built because Palestinian snipers and suicide bombers were infiltrating Israel and killing scores of innocent people, and since those barriers went up, the number of attacks dramatically declined.
In Israel’s case, walls definitely work, and they are necessary to protect the country against any and all aggressors.
That being said, the situation in Central America continues to deteriorate every day.
And there are myriad people seeking refuge in the United States, but we cannot ignore the fact that among them are a few very bad apples, who prey on the desperate situation of the people around them to infiltrate our country and wreak havoc on our citizens, that is why I believe a wall is a necessary evil.
Regarding other issues such as universal health care, climate change, and free education, these are the issues where I tend to lean left, but not without reasonable suspicion.
I believe the education system has been broken in this country for a long time and is in desperate need of complete reform.
I also acknowledge that universal healthcare is desperately needed. And I think conservatives who choose to ignore or deny the very real scientific data on climate change are only inflicting more harm on our planet.
But I am also aware of politicians on the left who take advantage of these weaknesses in our society in order to advance their own socialist agendas and deprive more Americans of their basic freedoms, while the government grows more powerful.
I am not trying to appease or compromise with any side.
I am simply stating that perhaps the time has come to throw out both Republican and Democrat parties before our nation descends into a second and very unnecessary civil war, because that is what I currently see our nation at the brink of.
I am saying it is time to actually unite the United States by creating a new party with new and innovative ideas combining elements of both capitalism and socialism while adhering to and defending the sacred principles of our Constitution.
Throw out anything that sucks and apply whatever actually works.
If we allow ourselves to continue down the road of divisive extremism as I have witnessed on both the Trump and anti-Trump sides, we will divide the pillars of this great nation to the point of inevitable collapse.
DISCLAIMER:
The opinions presented within this page do not represent the views of PantherNOW Editorial Board. These views are separate from editorials and reflect individual perspectives of contributing writers and/or members of the University community.
Featured image by Ossman Darwiche/ PantherNow
The post Campus demonstrations prove our country needs both sides to unite appeared first on PantherNOW.