Standing Up For Lady Gaga in the Pursuit of Middle East Peace

Love|Peace  We’ve read two Op Eds in the Wall Street Journal written by Bret Stephens, and digested comments. As usual, many readers have their own comment agendas, ignoring the actual discussion.

Part of yesterday’s Op Ed About ‘That Playboy in My Drawer’ was a clarification of the earlier piece ‘Lady Gaga Versus Mideast Peace’ in which Stephens argues that Western liberalism (in its old-fashioned sense) has done far more than Israel’s settlements to provoke violent Muslim anti-Americanisn.

We acknowledge being very testy on this subject, as conservatives ‘blame’ Western women’s sexuality — translated from the word ‘liberalism’ — as a primary reason for the world being on the verge of self-destruction.

Nevertheless, we stayed calm and cogent, reading carefully. As Hillary Clinton says between warring parties, we’re not that far apart.

Except for one major criticism: in linking the revulsion of conservativism and fundamentalism to secularism and exposure of flesh in Western culture, Stephens gives ultra Orthodox Jews and therefore settlers a ‘pass’ on their own issues with women.

Believing that Israeli women soldiers cannot sing the national anthem because they corrupt men, contributes to violence historically and today in the region, as much as the Taliban’s demand that women get under their burqas. 

Ultra Orthodox Jews are not ‘good guys’ on the subject of women, forbidding us anywhere near the Western Wall. 

In our playbook, any movement linking repressed sexuality to historical violence in the Middle East is a heading in the right direction. These thoughtful conversations about repressed sexuality and historical violence promote honest dialogue, and it’s emerging from every country around the digital globe. 

Written 4-1-10:

Fashion Media Nudity | Conservative Values

I wrote yesterday that many people are activated to stand up for the ‘issues’ represented by Lady Gaga. The religious moralists will kill us all before they’re finished —  whether they’re Christians, Jews or Muslims. Anne

Lady Gaga is in Perth, Australia. Read on: Perth goes gaga over Lady Gaga’s Monster Ball.