The following are excerpts from an article titled "US-Israel - Evils of Exceptionalism," by Pakistani journalist Vaqas Asghar, who works at leading newspaper The Express Tribune:[1]
"Many years back, a group of people – shunned by their homelands because of their religious beliefs – migrated thousands of kilometers to a foreign land. Once there, with the help of the superpowers of the day, they used coercion and violence to take over the entire territory.
"To rid their own populace of guilt for the millions of natives killed by the army of the newly-born country, religious-inspired concepts of exceptionalism and predestination were created. Religion was also used as a tool to justify the subjugation and decades-long abuse of their fellow men, as long as there were ethnic differences.
"Meanwhile, the chickenhawks in this country – leaders with no military background or familiarity with the reality of war – continue to believe that the death of one of their own civilians justifies the death of a million 'enemy' civilians.
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"Today, this country is reviled by many around the world for its duplicitous claims of being a model for the developing world, while it simultaneously annihilates parts of it. It rains fire from the sky on children. It violates its own laws on torture by redefining the word. It absolved itself of one of the greatest war crimes of the 20th century by redefining what constitutes a war crime. Yet, people still ask why this country [America] supports the criminal actions of its closest ally.
"I ask, why not?
"The America of today was built with the help of Puritan extremists; the Israel of today with the help of Zionists. While both claim to be secular and believers in human rights, the narrative above applies precisely to both. They are cut from the same cloth and if there is any difference, it is that Israel, by not killing off the entire local population as the U.S. did with 100 million Native Americans, might have higher moral ground. But that might also have to do with the murder of six million Jews during the Holocaust.
"Two states born of genocide. One the culprit, the other a victim. Both believe that the experience makes them exceptional. Hitler thought the Aryan man was exceptional. Look what that led to.
"Exceptionalism is an evil concept. End it, and the world might be a better place. Keep it up, and the Drone Age will witness the greatest genocide in history."
[1] Tribune.com.pk (Pakistan), December 2, 2012.
