Paul Wilczynski's Observations

Sinkford thinks talking to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is a good idea?

An article on the Unitarian Universalist Association website is entitled Sinkford Joins Fellowship of Reconciliation for Meeting with Iranian President. Among other things, Rev. Bill Sinkford, president of the UUA, said

Our governments and our cultures are very different. Given those basic differences, I would like to hear from you how the U.S. and Iran can best work together to find non-violent resolutions to our differences.

Oh please. This is simply embarrassing to UUs. The article treats Ahmadinejad as just another good old boy whose major difference with the U.S. is that he likes marshmellow on his peanut butter sandwich when Americans prefer jelly.

Peacebang speaks more eloquently on this than I do. She ends her discussion by saying

This, however, was not a good moment, and exemplifies the kind of frustrated-with-the-big-boys showmanship to which I alluded earlier: Rev. Sinkford remarked,

I could not imagine the current U.S. president taking the time to honor questions about his actions the way Ahmadinejad did today.

Sure he would, on a foreign photo-op goodwill tour where he could evade questions and get away with it with an audience of people whose invitation to him was merely symbolic, and who don’t have to suffer under his regime. I don’t think that Ahmadinejad takes a whole lot of time to honor questions about his actions when he’s in Iran, if you know what I mean.

posted by Paul Wilczynski @ 10:59 AM