Complaining about her adolescent son, the mother said that his sole interest in life is driving cars, and that he is ingenious in making up lies to get his father's car or that of a relative or friend.  She also said that all the efforts in trying to straighten up the boy have gone astray; and that everyone is fed up with him.  The boy has become a "Devil" after hooking up with a group of gun totting friends who show off their cars and intimidate people.  The mother expressed her fears for her son's life; especially that he was injured in a recent party by a stray bullet.

The mother asked my as to how we can "cure" her son.  I tried to convince her that her son is not sick, and asked that he come to see me.  Hesitantly, the son came to see me, and we sat and talked for a long time.  I came to realize that the young man is confused.  His father was too busy in business and trade, an all too frequent story of a man ignoring his family and children in order to provide for them!  His mother became his only refuge and a victim of his wishes.

The sixteen-year old boy was full of life, and found in cars a means to be noticed by his friends and by girls.  To him, controlling a car proved to him that he could control the people surrounding him.  He felt ecstatic when driving a speeding car in a crowded street, becoming tense with nerves as he swerves left and right between people and cars.  One day he was involved in a massive road accident.

Boys grow up thinking that proving their manhood lies in the ability to impose one's will upon others, even if by physical force.  The ones, who cannot throw punches and show off their muscles, revert to other means.  Consequently, cars, like money and guns, become a means of control to show off in front of women as tokens of masculinity, and in front of men as signs of force and recklessness.

The danger lies in that some of these young men cause injuries and death as a result of reckless driving.  What complicates things further, is that some of them are released in the same day they commit their crime because they are sons of Ministers, Under Secretaries, or other important people.

This implants anger in the people when they see that the law is a whip in the hands of the ones in power; and that justice is non-existent.  The average citizen feels alienated in his country, and people start to wonder at the relevance of "threatening to declare a state".  What is happening today is that the issue of declaring the state is limited to certain circles, and has not caught the interest of the people, who feel alienated from the Authority.

The declaration of a Palestinian state is a declaration of war on Israel.  Are we ready for that?  How do the architects of Oslo, the realist politicians, look to this romantic revolutionist issue? Or, is this just a threat to force Netanyahu into accepting the American peace initiative? Or, are we trying to pride ourselves with our ability and ingenuity?

If the issue at hand is that of the strategy of building a state, how is a state declared in light of the local and regional balances of power and the political development, while ensuring that it is for all, not just Ministers and Under Secretaries?  This issue starts with the interest of the people, citizens' rights, justice, and the respect of the Law.  When reckless crimes are prevented from happening on our roads, and their excellency and their sons are treated equally, we can proudly declare to the world our Palestinian State.


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