In the early 20th century the city, along with all of historic Palestine, became the focus of the competing national aspirations of Zionists and Palestinian Arabs.
But no sooner did they blow the lids off their societies, seeking governments grounded in real citizenship, than they found themselves competing with other aspirations set loose — aspirations to be more Islamist, more sectarian or to restore the status quo ante.
American strategy in the Middle East is perceived as a battle between two competing demands: the aspirations of the Arab people and the perceived instability that may come from realizing those aspirations on the one hand, and America's strategic position and core interest on the other.
Regardless of how events unfold in the coming weeks, the authorities will have to construct a longer-term response to these competing lifestyles and aspirations.
The Rangers manager was a key part of the team that claimed nine titles in a row and had aspirations of competing meaningfully in European competition.
The papacy also attempted to implement the policies of the Council of Trent but encountered political and diplomatic obstacles, as well as the reality that Christendom remained divided into competing states, whose religious aspirations were often subordinate to dynastic and national ambitions.
For the black Rabbit, as for any car with aspirations of competing in the populist motorsports phenomenon known as the 24 Hours of LeMons, the massive steel tubes could very well spell the difference between life and death.
The book, as well as reports in The New York Times, The Washington Post and other publications, suggested that Mr. Shriver's hopes to run for governor of Illinois in 1960 and vice president in 1964 and 1968 were abandoned to help promote, or at least not compete with, Kennedy aspirations.
Typically, such a violent reaction would not have raised many eyebrows in a country where the government has come to be seen as an obstacle to citizens' aspirations and communities competing for resources settle their differences not in the courts but with machetes or, in the oil-rich Niger Delta, through sabotage, kidnappings and bombings.
