The Marketplace Knows Best (March 28, 2008)

In Israel the modest town of Sderot is suing the government of Israel.

It's always fascinating how the esteemed experts,
the genius corpus of economists cannot,
in spite of their continual best efforts
at predicting the course of our economy
and our stock markets, get it right.
University students, the Average Joe
in the street and the marketplace
seem on the other hand
to be better predictors
of the future health or illness
of our mercantile future.

Perhaps this is where real democracy works,
as it were,
in the pecuniary belly of the beast
and not in the media,
not in the openly opaque
ivory towers of Wall Street.

Likewise the citizens of Sderot,
the town in Israel one mile from the Gaza border,
are taking their future into their own hands.
Sderot has suffered over 1000 Qassams since January 1st,
those crude but devastatingly debilitating and sometimes lethal
rocket barrages sent over daily by the separate
and self-governing entity known as Gaza.

Gaza got its fervent wishes fulfilled.
First Israel unilaterally withdrew and effectively handed Gaza
its independence in September of 2005;
the citizens of which then promptly elected Hamas
as their chosen government in January of 2006.
It seems finally, that having their own destiny,
to realize or destroy for themselves,
day by day, is just not enough for the independent citizens of Gaza –
they insist on wreaking havoc with Sderot across the border –
there have never been as many rockets as now,
since the separation.
I suppose the old adage applies
"Be careful what you wish for."

The citizens of Gaza have voted for and chosen terrorism,
have thereby inherited devastation and anarchy,
against all international predictions and expert prognostications.

Those citizens of Sderot, a missile’s throw across the border,
have likewise confounded the politicians in Jerusalem.

They are suing for protection, for an end to terrorism,
from a seemingly indifferent government
more concerned with Condoleezza’s demands and
with not compromising the already bankrupt peace process.

For good or bad, citizens across both borders
are taking their future in their own hands –
they are the ones that know best,
that are making their choices,
they are indeed the marketplace –
the media and pundits would be well advised to take note.