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Questions and Answers on My Views and Candidacy
Mark A. Goldman                                                     

 

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Questions and Answers you'll find on this page...
1. On Iran

2. On being Jewish and thoughts on Israel/Palestine

3.  On not being well known.  



Question: 
On Iran 6/9/08 - In the last few weeks, a number of prominent politicians in both the United States and Iran have begun talking about the possibility of a war.  Yet many observers in the United States argue that such a war would be disastrous, and that the surest way to prevent it is through direct, unconditional negotiations between our two countries. Do you agree with the recent call from five former secretaries of state - Colin Powell, Henry Kissinger, James Baker III, Warren Christopher, and Madeline Albright - for an expanded U.S. dialogue with Iran?  If elected, would you commit to work for direct, unconditional, and  comprehensive talks between the United States and Iran?  If elected, would you commit to work for direct, unconditional, and comprehensive talks  between the United States and Iran?

Ans:  I understand your desire for peace, but I question the underlying premise of your question.  Let me explain:  I'm not sure what there is to talk about.  I don't know what it is that Iran is doing that would suggest that we have a right to start a war with her.  Despite protestations on the part of the Bush administration to the contrary, I realize that Iran is under certain UN sanctions, but my impression is that Iran has a legal right to pursue a nuclear program.  I don't see any evidence that Iran has an atomic weapons program in place and I don't see how the United States can deny any country access to atomic energy for peaceful purposes.  My understanding is that the United States is not in compliance with the non- proliferation treaties we have signed and I don't see how we can complain about what other countries are doing when we are so cavalier about our own obligations. 

It seems to me that we need to talk amongst ourselves first before we talk to Iran and come to some understanding about our own obligations with respect to treaties we have signed.  Also, I'm not sure who would actually be negotiating in the talks you suggest.  If it would be the Bush administration or a McCain administration, I don't see much point in it.  These people cannot be trusted with the security of our country or the security of any country for that matter and I think the jury is still out on any other administration that might come to power.

The United States, at this time in history, is operating as a rogue nation in my view and is a threat to world peace. 

If elected, my goal will be to pursue strategies that are likely to result in peaceful coexistence with other nations.  Our foreign policy on so many fronts is simply wrongheaded.  We need more enlightened leadership in Washington.

The United States is too often too ready to go to war.  Too much of our wealth is being spent on making weapons and too little on making peace.  We do need to open a dialog with other nations, but only after we have rediscovered our own purpose in the world and renewed our commitment to universal human rights and peace, not as rhetoric but as a true commitment.

Ques:  On Being Jewish and Palestine 6/11/08 - Can you briefly state your position on Israel-Palestine? Is it safe to say you are not Jewish? I'm getting inquiries.

Ans:  I guess this is where I lose a lot of votes.  Surely I am Jewish from a cultural perspective, which is to say my mother was Jewish and wanted me to be.  I like lox and bagels.  I value greatly many of the values that I heard expressed when I was in Hebrew school. I was bar Mitzvahed.   But my spiritual understandings go beyond religion now.  I know some things.  One thing I know is that God is real and not a myth... and not a religion.  But God Is.  

Religions are institutions that humans adhere to in their quest for trying to understand this mystery called God.  The problem is that what we know about any religion is what we were taught by others who are probably as much in the dark as we are but don't realize it or won't admit it.  Most religious leaders will tell you that God's wisdom is infinite and beyond man's comprehension and then immediately, with all sincerity and conviction tell you exactly how God thinks and what he wants.  

Religion, I think, has value and can potentially be useful to someone who is on the path to discovering profound realities.  It also can separate man from God by filling his head with myths, lies, and illusions.  Sometimes I think of myself as Jewish and when I do, given my own definition of what that means to me, I think that there are very few of us... that people who call themselves Jewish don't know what it means.  

I'm sure I could say the same  thing about Christians, Muslims, and other religious adherents.  Celebrating holidays and rituals is not what makes a person Jewish the way I think of it.  Those are just cultural tools that can help teach people certain spiritual truths.  They are there to help us formulate our own values and identities.  Unfortunately, I observe that the founding principles of various religions are sometimes lost in the very process of how they are passed on from generation to generation.  So people are left with attitudes about God that I would call, for lack of a better word, spiritually immature.  

People often see God as a small minded, arrogant, vengeful, dim witted, hypocritical fool if you carry the implications of their philosophy and behavior, (which they live and/or act out in the name of their religion), to its logical conclusion.  Some people believe that God would torture you for all eternity for something you did.  What would be the point?  God is not an idiot.  God understands people who do awful things.  He knows how they got that way and how they became so confused as to do the things they do.  Who has lived for all eternity and come back to report that that's how long God's punishment will last, or even if there is a punishment?  

To believe something just because it is written in a book is risky business.  Jews think that God promised them Israel.  Maybe He did.  But I can assure you if that's what He said even if it is written in a book, what he didn't say, but what I'm pretty sure he meant was, that if you hope to keep it, you are going to have to live up to the responsibility that comes with nationhood.  God is not a fool that he would give Jews free reign to treat other human beings poorly, without compassion or justice... especially after the Holocaust... after all the statements about "Never Again"... after learning the lessons of what it means to be a slave and/or to have your rights, your dignity stripped from you.  I don't think so.  God is not small or petty or approving of irresponsible behavior.  

God is the most beautiful, the most honorable, the most intelligent, the most compassionate, the most patient, the most loving "PERSON" you could ever imagine.  He is the epitome of integrity and honor.  That is the God I know.  That walks with me.  Is my light.  Picks me up.  Teaches me.  Holds me.  I am what I am.  Not someone who belongs to a religion, even though I am a Jew.  God is fair and just.  I try to be fair and just before I am a Jew, before I am anything.  I fail.  I learn.  I get up again and try again.  I do not go around saying I am a Jew.  I simply hold myself out as being who I am.

Now regarding Israel and Palestine, you can get a feel for my proclivities by reviewing three of my articles:  www.gpln.com/godandudhr.htm, www.gpln.com/israel.htm, and www.gpln.com/bushjewsisrael.htm

As you might guess, if I were to speak before AIPAC, my attitude would be a bit different from what you heard recently from Obama, Clinton, and McCain. I think the Jewish lobby is now doing more to harm Israel than to preserve it. Israel's relationship with the US is a developing unholy alliance. I think there could be a backlash one day that will not be good for Jews anywhere. What Israel is doing to the people of the occupied territories is intolerable and my impression is that most Israeli citizens do not agree with their right wing government any more than most Americans agree with ours. 

Some Jewish leaders here and abroad, I think, are making a grave mistake, putting all their trust and faith in the perpetual flow of money and weapons from the US, thinking this is a reliable means of protecting Israel. It isn't. The Israelis and Palestinians have to find a way to live together and the US is in the way of that happening. I don't see any evidence that US government officials really care about Israel.  I don't even see how you can say that the current administration cares about America. They care about the strategic placement of weapons and oil and one day, if we have people in power who have the same mind set that the people in power now have, they won't hesitate to sell Israel down the river once those needs are no longer a priority.  And by that time Israel won't have any other friends to turn to for help.  Our current policy is a disaster.

Jewish leaders via AIPAC in the US have deceived themselves and appear to be drunk with power. That power, apparently, has corrupted their judgment. Israel must make peace with it's neighbors but there can be no peace between a bully and a victim. Without US support, Israel could not continue their disastrous occupation forever. An enlightened administration would help the people of Israel understand a more enlightened attitude that could lead to real peace. The problem is it would take real leadership and statesmanship to promote peace and we don't have mechanisms in place yet that allow us to populate our own government with such people. We need to solve that problem before we will be able to solve any problem in the Middle East.  

I think peace is possible. But it won't happen with the mindset held by current leaders... in either the US or Israel. That mindset needs to change and it can only change when ordinary citizens come awake and decide they want real change.  I don't think a one state solution is possible right now; I don't think you can put a name on any solution that is possible right now.

One thing we should keep in mind at this point in time is that the US economy is teetering on the edge of collapse. So these questions might be moot anyway.  One of these days it just might turn out that the US won't be able to help Israel anymore even if it wants to. All of our national problems are inter related and inter connected.  There's no such thing as a Middle East solution without considering the solutions to other problems... like an intelligent energy policy for example. The clock is ticking.

Ques:  You're not well known.  6/12/08  I read as much a I could of your writings. I agree with what you have to offer. My only problem is with organization and time. Even the most organized campaign would struggle to get enough popular support to win a primary election with so little time left.  How can you win?  I will certainly talk to people about your candidacy, but that will be the extent of my involvement.

Ans:  Thanks for your offer of support.  The other night, Dennis Kucinich intered his articles of impeachment.  As far as I know, it wasn't covered by any major newspaper or TV station.  I didn't even see a mention of it on KCTS.  So there's really no hope for our country unless and until ordinary citizens really express a true desire for change.  That's why my idea was to give people the opportunity to put someone in Congress who would represent them rather than the power brokers and corporate elite.  As I said in my introduction statement, all I request of people who think my candidacy is worthy of support is to send along an email to people they know with a link to that introduction.  I imagine this will sound crazy to you, but if I can't get elected by simply putting people on notice that they have the opportunity to vote for someone who would truly represent them then obviously my candidacy is not an idea whose time has come.  Of course, it could be an idea whose time has come if citizens would actually communicate with the people they know about how they feel and also vote for what they want when they get the chance. 

For those who say that voting for me might take enough votes away from McDermott to have him lose, without giving me a win, well that's certainly possible.  But the truth is as long as people are afraid to vote for what they believe in, they will continue to be caught in the trap that the two major parties have set for them.  The trap is called "Be afraid to try." That mindset of fear gives McDermott or any major party candidate a guarantee that no true opposition-to-the-status-quo candidate can ever win.  And that means that ordinary citizens will not have true representation in Congress for as long as any incumbent Democrat or Republican wants to keep his seat.  What we need is a revolution in thinking and action.  But let's be honest... revolutions by their very nature are fraught with risk.  Revolutions are only ever won with courage and determination.  That's just how it is.  If you will just do what you said you would do, I think that would be great and I think it will make a tremendous difference.

 

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