How is a politician elected to office? He needs to be a man of conviction, someone who is able to show his constituents that his beliefs and goals are better than his opponent's. Politicians are persuasive people; the nature of their business requires them to inspire their fellow leaders along a particular course of action.
A great politician is one who has firm beliefs in an ideal and works hard to enact legislation that supports such convictions. Yet Prince Zeid bin Ra'ad, Jordan's ambassador to the United States and the United Nations and the Foreign Affairs Symposium's guest speaker last Wednesday night, showed through his speech a different approach to instigating change in the world.
Prince Zeid, in his capacity as the Jordanian ambassador, holds a position critical to the balance of power in today's world due to Jordan's geographical and political positions. As ambassador to the U.S., Prince Zeid serves as the link between Israel's strongest ally and one of the Middle East's most influential governments.
Without a doubt, the problem of Middle East stability takes up a great amount of room in the ambassador's palette, further proven as he explored the subject in great detail throughout the night.
How should someone in the ambassador's position act? Jordan is expected to support Israel as a political ally; but being a predominantly Arab nation, one could also expect empathy towards the Palestinian plight. It is a very delicate path to tread, yet the ambassador's stride never falters.
Prince Zeid supports a middle-ground approach to political problems. Though he discussed a myriad of topics throughout the night, ranging from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to his previous experiences in the United Nations, he always promoted a median solution as the answer.
Politicians for the most part have the same ultimate goal: to provide a safer, more prosperous lifestyle for their constituents. Where each differs is the path he or she chooses to follow in order to obtain that goal. In regard to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, everyone wants to find a way to stop the fighting and finally create stability in the region. However, one side wants a Palestinian state created, the other wants to maintain the status quo. Most world leaders will essentially support one or the other.
Prince Zeid's solution focused not on the fighting, but rather, on the other components of war. He did not support Israel, his political ally, in their struggle; quite on the contrary, he said that he was "convinced that Israel is a permanent feature on the map of the Middle East, but [doesn't] think any Israeli was convinced of it."
Nor did he support a pro-Palestinian solution. Instead, he focused on communication between the two groups. He said that many politicians "just don't understand" the realities of the Middle East. Zeid compared the war to a game of chess, saying that each player may know the other player's pieces, but cannot fully comprehend his strategy.
Prince Zeid grew up in the region and mentioned how he had seen the war-torn communities and people desperately wanting peace; still, politicians continued simply playing their game of chess and trying to check the king.
Some would perhaps say that Zeid's stance just skims the surface rather than actually tackling the problem. But the ambassador's attitude towards politics may be just what the world needs in order to cure its social and political problems: a plan of action which favors neither party but rather focuses on the humanitarian ideals of peace and prosperity for all sides; an emphasis on communication between parties and finally, the notion that a state is only prosperous when its people are living in a safe, peaceful environment.
Leaders need to stop trying to overpower their opponents and prove that their cause is just and righteous regardless of any collateral damage that may occur. It's already checkmate for both sides, yet they continue playing. It's time to put the chess board aside and actually find a solution.
