It's Not About Religion: A Conversation With Author and Middle East Expert Gregory Harms
Tuesday, 09 October 2012 09:56By David Masciotra, Truthout | Interview
(Image: Perceval Pr)This conversation about Harms' new book places responsibility for US foreign policy on the US population - even as it undresses the propaganda that distorts Americans' perception of the people in the Middle East and turns them against Muslims at home.
I met Gregory Harms when he turned to me in a bar in Joliet, Illinois, after hearing me give a positive appraisal of Neil Young's career. Harms agreed with me, and made a remark I cannot remember. My booze-soaked memory of that evening, as unreliable as it is, has no doubt that Harms' comment was smart, interesting and original.
Harms is a man of formidable intellect and admirable honesty, but he is also a man of inspiring courage. After the attacks of September 11, 2001, he realized, with embarrassment, that he was painfully uninformed on matters concerning the Middle East, Islam, and American foreign policy. Rather than turning to the mindless clichés and meaningless platitudes of the mainline media, he initiated an exploratory journey that would take him all the way to the West Bank, Gaza, and most of Israel. The results of his research, his self-discovery as a tough social critic, and his gathering of moral fortitude are gifts to citizens hoping to gain a clearer view of the world - most especially America's role in it.
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