Israel and America are becoming a stain on the world
Welcome to the Churn
The proliferation of news regarding the conflict in Israel is almost mind-numbing. It is akin to a non-stop conveyor belt of dopamine injected morsels of content being shoved down our throats. Regardless of who you are or where you are, you can't escape it.
One of my all-time favorite sci-fi shows is The Expanse, based off a series of novels by James S. A. Corey. In it, there's a concept referred to as "the churn". You know you've been caught up in the churn when something causes the rules in life to change, forcing your participation regardless if you want to or not. I believe in light of the current conflict, the entire world —to some degree— is now caught up in the churn. Even my youngest child —aged six— is aware of the conflict. And while you may not have a choice in participating in the conversation at large, you do have a choice in how you participate in the churn, which is vitally important.
Last week I delivered an article on the Israel-Hamas war, giving my perspective which I believe to be balanced and objective. I recognize that I've been caught up in the churn and I think it is necessary for balanced and objective voices to pierce through all of the noise in an effort to bring back civility and critical thinking to the human race. Currently, it seems that many in the West have lost their moral compass and have become bloodthirsty, —egging on the destruction of Gaza and everyone in it.
Social media is rife with narcissistic and psychotic individuals exercising extreme prejudice —which is part of their fundamental right to voice their opinions— out into the ether. Some hiding behind anonymity and a few willing to put their face and name behind their words. Everyone is participating, but not everyone is participating the same way.
In my last article I expressed the importance of understanding both sides of any conflict, regardless if you disagree with the one whom you're at odds with. Understanding the perspectives of others is necessary for civil debate, brokering peace in times of war, avoiding war altogether and in general the ability to promote human flourishing as a society. Yet, I'm amazed on the daily, with the amount of ignorance and hate that is continually perpetuated towards Palestinians.
Palestinians who march and protest are considered terrorists. Palestinians who hate Israel are considered Hamas supporters. Anyone who sympathizes with the innocent families caught up in this war are considered Hamas supporters. Palestinians who want Israel destroyed are labeled as Jew haters. All of these claims are false equivalencies that elucidate the issue that there is a lack of real critical thinking in the West. We've become an emotion led society that can't think through arguments or recognize our own biases. I'll explain.
Many Palestinians hate that Israel exists due to the apartheid system that they've been under since the inception of Israel. But hating the state of Israel doesn't mean they hate all Jews. In fact, Jews, Christians and Muslims lived together peacefully before the establishment of Israel. In fact they all lived together peacefully dating back to the Ottoman Empire.
The idea that we shouldn't sympathize with civilians comes from the misbelief that all Palestinians support Hamas. That's factually false. I covered this in my last article with data reported by a recent Palestinian survey. The majority don't support Hamas and in fact many believe they're a corrupt organization amongst a few others. If you think the Palestinians are "getting what they deserve because they support Hamas", you should sit this one out.
I realize most people have been tossed into the churn, completely unaware that they're floating around aimlessly and rattling off bold unsupported claims into the ether. I realize there are many who think the history of the conflict only goes back to 1948. Not true. I realize there are many who believe no Jews previously existed in what is today called Israel. Not true. I realize many people believe the land called Israel is holy land that belongs to the Jews. Not true. I realize many people have been led to believe the conflict isn't over land but over religion. Not true. I realize many people believe Israel isn't still colonizing a land under international support. This too, is not true. I realize that many people —particularly in the West— don't know the difference between Judaism and Zionism. I realize many people think only Muslims live in Gaza, Jerusalem and the West Bank. This is not true. And I also realize many people are unaware of the numerous international laws that Israel continues to break along with their numerous human rights violations. Again, see my previous article.
This is the churn and I'm not going to lie, I've been pretty disappointed in the response from the West. However, there have been glimpses of hope. Recently, Irish Politician Matt Carthy eviscerated those who support the horror of what Israel continues to dish out on innocent civilians. He raised an incredible point too when he asked why we never hear about the Palestinian's right to defend themselves when the Israeli army is murdering civilians.
Again, see my previous post that covers media bias. In fact I highly respect the Irish because they've been on fire about this issue for a while. Irish PM Richard Boyd had this to say last year:
"You're happy to correctly use the most strong and robust language to describe the crimes against humanity of of Vladimir Putin but you will not use the same strength of language when it comes to describing Israel's treatment of the Palestinians, when it is now being documented and detailed by two of the most respected human rights organizations in the world..."
Jordan's Queen Rania also recently called out the obvious double standard in how the world views Palestinians.
And it's no surprise as to why the world holds this bias. We've all been indoctrinated to either hate or become apathetic towards the "dirty Palestinian Muslims" and view Israelis as a clean, humble, righteous people living in God's ordained land. It's this type of psyop that leads to the genocide of entire groups of people under the watch of the world.
Here's what many people are unfortunately missing while they demand annihilation of Gaza from the comforts of their couches. The history books will include this moment in time and the state of Israel will be remembered as a genocidal bully, backed by the United States and other international supporters. The current posturing by those who support this brutality will bring about enemies from other parts of the world. The stain is already forming. The seed is being planted. America as well as Israel won't be remembered for all of their pontification about freedom, human rights and dreams. Instead they will be known as aggressive, genocidal world powers. Besides, it's not like the genesis of America was a thing of innocence and beauty.
My hope is that more people will have the courage to speak out against the ruthlessness we're all witnessing, and that as a human race we keep our humanity and moral sensibilities from decaying. After all, we're all human and our true enemies aren't one other.