Monday, November 26, 2007

Annapolis sacrificed to the ME peace process

Having spent a plurality of my life in Maryland, I have a certain fondness for Annapolis, its capital city.

Annapolis's population is very small by state capital standards -- barely 35,000 -- and I suspect most non-Marylanders think Baltimore is Maryland's capital, if they think about such things at all.

But because the United States Naval Academy is not only located inside of Annapolis, but is often referred to as "Annapolis," I also suspect the quaint little town is still widely-known and generally well thought of. Especially these days, when admiration for our men and women in uniform is something we can all loudly agree on.

Unfortunately, Annapolis's good name has just been placed in serious peril. There is a big Israeli/Palestinian peace conference taking place there this week, and instead of labeling it "that big waste of time which has no chance of being successful, and is just going to end up inflaming all parties involved" the press has taken to saving space by simply calling the summit "Annapolis."

This is really going to suck in about five or ten years when all discussion of the wasteland that was once the Middle East is going to be prefaced by the phrase "after the failure of Annapolis."

Will Annapolis's delicious crab cakes and Midshipmen in immaculately pressed uniforms be able to overcome its impending association with geopolitical disaster? I doubt it. Oslo used to be known as the largest city in Norway and the site of the 1952 Winter Olympic Games. Versailles had twice served as the unofficial capital of France, and to this day is filled with spectacular medieval castles and churches. How did that end up working out for them? And neither of those cities were made out to be responsible for what many will surely be calling the "end times."

So don't cry for Annapolis, she's already dead.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Annapolis is the new Camp David?

Anonymous said...

Kyoto and Doha are good examples, too.

JT said...

Yalta has also had a tough run.

Anonymous said...

And what do you think of Obadiah Shoher's arguments against the peace process ( samsonblinded.org/blog/we-need-a-respite-from-peace.htm )?