Dr. Mohamed el-Zard is a well-educated, well-traveled professional who lives in
Qatar.
His wife is a dentist, and they have five children. Whenever you inquire about
them, he says, “I am under their control!”
He works up to 15 hours a day to provide for his family. His
round, bearded face routinely cracks a grin as he tells people that he has “no
complaints—everything is all right.” Another dichotomy: he is a heavy-smoking
physician. He loathes cigarettes, but jokes that his doctor permits them.
Dr. Zard is a Palestinian. Besides
his medical profession, his documents severely limit his ability to travel,
even to his own country. He has never voted in an election, as his people lack any
kind of absentee ballot
system that is so popular in Western countries.
Many Palestinians blame
their plight
on the United States’ support of Israel.
But on November 6, 2012, Dr. Zard noted something other than Barack Obama’s
victory over Mitt Romney, although President Obama’s reelection carries
important implications for Dr. Zard’s family.
As we watched the television updates together, Dr. Zard
applauded the stability and tranquility of the U.S. system of government. He put politics and even the president himself on the
back burner in those first minutes after the 2012 campaign finally finished.
America—more than any man or party—wins each free and
peaceful election. That the president is weak and expendable is never clearer
than at the height of his power. A day after he is elected, rumors abound about the next election four years down the road.
Isaiah 40 accurately juxtaposes God and man, “He brings the princes to nothing; He
makes the judges of the earth useless. Scarcely shall they be planted, scarcely
shall they be sown, scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth, when He
will also blow on them, and they will wither.”
The media commentary Dr. Zard and I missed during our
discussion—we did not really miss.
~~~~~~~~
(Originally published by Yahoo! Voices.)
No comments:
Post a Comment