Mother’s Day gift from Hillary Clinton—Obliterate Iran?
By Saffiya Shillo — As a woman I was thrilled to see, in my lifetime, a woman run for president. A woman that actually had a good chance at winning. On the heals of the primary in Indiana and a Mother’s Day weekend, the race for Democratic Party nominee ends. As it does, Mother’s across America need to seriously reconsider their support for Hillary Clinton. She has crossed the line of motherhood by vowing to “obliterate” Iran this past week. Threatening to kill mothers and children does not reflect well on American mothers. She has revealed that she does not have the compassion and wisdom to be president. The very thing people are looking for in a woman president.
Her recent reference to “obliterate” Iran if it threatened Israel has left me dumbfounded and deeply disappointed. I simply could not believe my eyes and ears as I heard her reiterate her support of those words on the Sunday morning talk shows. I hope she does not win.
She lost my vote and many more with those words.
Threatening to obliterate any country, let alone Iran located right next door to where our enlisted men and women are serving and dying (47 last month) in the Middle East is not a sign of good leadership. In fact, her remarks mirror the often fanatical rants of Iran’s president. Why answer dangerous behavior with dangerous behavior especially when it puts our own in harms way? Her words have much more impact on America than Reverend Wright’s sermons. Where is our ever-sensationalizing mainstream media on this debacle?
The fact that these remarks come not for OUR safety but for Israel’s is unnerving. Last I checked, our government is sworn to serve and protect its citizens, not Israel’s or any other country for that matter.
Perhaps the reason for the reckless comments is strategy to gain votes from undecided voters leaning towards pro-war stances. Perhaps it is an effort to gain support and funding from pro-Israeli groups that deny they have power to influence our government’s foreign policy. If this is the case, it’s pretty obvious that Clinton’s advisors fully believe it to be true. Perhaps it is just a show of blatant disregard for U.S. interests and citizens–a proven character flaw for someone seeking the presidency.
As Mother’s Day approaches, Hillary Clinton’s threatening posturing speaks loud and clear to many mothers and peace loving people of the world. It says that she is not the woman, mother, sister, wife, human being we want in the White House. The people of Iran and the Middle East and the rest of the world are fellow human beings. They are mothers, fathers and children. They need not fear the U.S. will obliterate them or anyone else. Unfortunately, they suffer the consequences of the hate-rhetoric their governments dole out, we, however, can voice our concerns through our votes when our elected officials engage in hate-speak. We have the opportunity to change the course of our country by not voting for anyone that espouses violence to solve any world problem. How incredibly callous and ugly to see a mother speak in such a manner.
As a woman and a mother, I am ashamed of Hillary Clinton!
(Saffiya Shillo is a peace activist, domestic violence/sexual assault consultant and cultural sensitivity trainer on Muslim/Arab issues.)
Categories: Middle East Topics
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