Friday, October 14, 2005

Jews and Arabs (1997)

1997 Dry Bones cartoon - Jews and Arabs
Europe doesn't like us. Back in 1997 I was having dinner with an Arab diplomat. During our friendly argument he noted that Israel's position had alienated the Europeans. I reacted by (without thinking) blurting out the line that would become this cartoon, the Smothers Brotherswhen I later put my exact words into Mr. Shuldig's mouth.

In the late sixties, in America, there was an intelligent and popular comedy team called the Smothers Brothers. Tommy Smothers' signature line was "Mom always liked you best."
The family feud between Middle East Arabs and Jews seems, on some level, to be doing the same routine, with "Mom" being the "West," and the line transformed into "Mom always disliked me more."

Mr. Shuldig is my alter ego and I use him to express my personal opinions. He's seen here watching TV (his favorite pastime) and talking to his wife. More often he's seen talking with Doobie, his dog.

As for Jews and Arabs, I think that a positive Middle Eastern future awaits us if intelligent minds prevail. For me, at least, the existence of such a far-fetched possibility is proven by the fact that the Dry Bones blog was just quoted and cited on a wonderful Egyptian blogsite, Big Pharaoh. Thanks guys, you've made me feel optimistic.

Labels: , ,