Thursday, February 17, 2011

Dear Mr. President,

I’ll never know what you go through as president, of course, but I’m curious, does it ever bother you, the hypocrisy and double standards you’re forced into? Not exactly forced into, but pressured by tradition and received wisdom that requires someone of immense integrity and sense of right and wrong to reject. Someone of conviction, of commitment to democracy, freedom and justice, someone who will stand up for what’s right and not just what’s expedient or in our best business interests. An example is the double standard you show when talking about revolutions in Iran and Bahrain. You urged Iranian protesters to muster “the courage to be able to express their yearning for greater freedoms and more representative government,” and decried the beatings and brutality of the “security” forces and the killing of demonstrators, while you say nothing of the killing and brutality by “security” forces in Bahrain, don’t even mention the protests directly, and gently urge our ally, King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, to “…get out ahead of change. You can’t be behind the curve.” I know, Bahrain has been a strong ally against Iran (part of the “axis of evil”) and it also happens to be where the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet has its headquarters, but really, Mr. President, do you ever have any qualms about any of this? Your spokespeople keep saying you’re consistent in your stance but it sure doesn’t look like it from here. Even the New York Times, a pretty strong supporter, has some problems with the double standard. Yesterday’s paper carried an article about it, not calling it a double standard but rather “Two Paths on Unrest in Iran and Bahrain,” laying out the different stances toward allies and enemies. The article mentioned that you accused Iran’s leaders of hypocrisy for encouraging protests in Egypt and then cracking down on young Iranians who tried to protest against their own repressive regime. Boy, talk about the pot calling the kettle black! I call this “The Audacity of Hypocrisy!” There are deep differences between Iran and Bahrain, say your White House flacks, but it seems to me the only differences are in perception. You sees what you want to see. People wonder why “they” hate us so much. Well, Mr. President, right here’s the answer to a lot of it. Hypocrisy. Double standards. Support of tyranny. Disregard for the people, for justice, for democracy. Business interests over people interests. It’s a sad sad tale and I’m seeing nothing to change it.