A World Divided!

In recent times it hasn't been difficult to find examples of issues or situations that divide the world.  Russia's invasion of Ukraine did it.  The U.S. and the developed world on one side.  China, Africa, India and the less developed countries either on the other side or sitting it out.  And now we have it in spades in the Israel/Gaza conflict.

The savage attack on October 7 by Hamas on Israel and the Israeli response since then has polarized people everywhere.  For a brief time in the immediate aftermath of the attack Israel held the moral high ground.  Their people had been slaughtered.  But it didn't take long for the preconceived assumptions about right versus wrong insofar as the Israel/Palestine history is concerned to be front and center.

The ferocity of Israel's response to Oct. 7 provides an easy target for those who are not inclined to side with Israel.  But even if Israel's wrath was less dramatic, I have no doubt that the divisions ready to express themselves on both sides would have raised their ugly heads.

And so we have a world divided - one more time.  And innocent people will pay the price.

Ben Sheehan!

Ben Sheehan said this after the events of Oct. 7.  Sad and profound:

Of you have less empathy towards victims because of how you feel about their government, propaganda is working on you.

The goal of propaganda is to dehumanize.  It works to dehumanize Israelis and it works to dehumanize Gazans.

Propaganda is everywhere.  It seeks into us over time.  It seeks to block our empathy receptors.  So when we see violence, we rationalize away our human response.

I like to think most of us are above propaganda.  But this weekend reminded me how widespread it is.  Because a lot of people reacted to this violence with justification, not empathy.  I guess it's not surprising, but it's still heartbreaking.

Killing innocent Palestinians is horrific.  Killing innocent Israelis is horrific.  If you don't feel the same, I think you should ask yourself why that is.

 

Bad Trip!

Biden going to Israel is a bad move in several respects.  First of all, it is unnecessary - a symbolic expression that is not needed to make it clear to the world that the U.S. stands with Israel.  Second, significant resources will be expended by Israel and the U.S. to assure that Biden and his entourage travel safely.  These resources could be used for more useful purposes.

Third, since Biden is in the middle of an election fight there are clearly political calculations associated with trip, such as:  Biden is old but he can undertake an arduous journey successfully.  This shows how a real leader responds to a challenge.  He has the courage of his convictions.  Etc., etc.

So in my view it is a dumb move.  Seems like bragging a little bit to counter his critics.  More like something Trump would do.  Buon viaggio, Joe.

Gaza!

Like many of you, I've been following the tragedy unfolding in Gaza and Israel.  The horrific slaughter of innocent people started a process that is unfinished and will go on for some time.  Hamas wanted to stick a poker in the eye of the Israelis, and they did, brutally.  Forget, for a moment, the long history of hatred between the two sides.  That's a discussion for another time.  Look, instead, at just the past few days.

If you step back and look at actions on the ground and listen to what's being said, you see a pattern that is predictable and guarantees that the process will continue, and the tragedy will repeat itself.  Hamas, and the rest of the world, knew that Israel would strike back, forcefully and without mercy.  And they have.  In the part of the world I live in there is overwhelming justification for striking back.  And overwhelming support for doing so.

In other parts of the world the righteousness of the Palestinian cause is front and center.  They are the ones who have been wronged.  So taking action, even brutal action, to retaliate is justified.

Will there be a winner in this war?  The Israelis will win on the battlefield, but that will not be a victory that solves the problem or relieves the suffering.  Hamas will suffer some.  Israeli families who lose or have loved ones injured will suffer some.  But the ones who will suffer the most are innocent people in Gaza who could care less about Hamas or Israel, but only want to live in peace.  

So my heart goes out to the innocent ones, young and old, on all sides, who pay the price for the stubborn and foolish actions of those in power.