A Republican friend pointed out to me that "the left" used to idolize Elon Musk. First this is more or less totally true. Second I thought it was obviously stupid and I think it is stupid now. Third, what he calls "the left" is objectively more like the moderate center. There is very little "left" in this country. There is some but they are tiny and have almost zero credibility.
Showing posts with label left wing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label left wing. Show all posts
Monday, November 21, 2022
Tuesday, October 4, 2016
Uncle Abner and the Palestinians
Warning: The following post is very political and not for everyone.
This post is a response to certain friends of mine who have taken it upon themselves to have very strong opinions on a topic that is very complicated, very controversial, and probably has no easy answers. And it happens to be a topic that I know a lot about. I may not know as much as some people do, because that would require a lifetime of study. But I know enough to have some opinions on the topic and to defend myself when various friends make their very strong opinions known to me, insist they are right, and insist that I am wrong and know nothing.
If you are not someone of this cult who thinks they know all about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and know exactly what has to happen, then you may not want to read this post. You are welcome to if you want, but I would dodge it if I were you.
I once had an uncle who had converted to a form of evangelical Christianity, I am not sure what the details are, but he lived with his wife in Idaho, and my mother, who loved her brothers, took us kids to visit them one year. As predicted, he and his wife took out their bibles and explained to us that we were sinners and we had better embrace Jesus Christ into our hearts as our personal savior or we were going to Hell.
If you are not someone of this cult who thinks they know all about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and know exactly what has to happen, then you may not want to read this post. You are welcome to if you want, but I would dodge it if I were you.
I once had an uncle who had converted to a form of evangelical Christianity, I am not sure what the details are, but he lived with his wife in Idaho, and my mother, who loved her brothers, took us kids to visit them one year. As predicted, he and his wife took out their bibles and explained to us that we were sinners and we had better embrace Jesus Christ into our hearts as our personal savior or we were going to Hell.
My
parents were very offended but I was just puzzled. What did they
hope to achieve? Did they expect my mom and us kids to say
“Hallelujah! I have come home to Jesus!” Why were they being so rude? Didn't they know how they sounded to people outside of their little cult?
I now realize that from their point of view they were not being rude, from their point of view they were acting with the best of intentions and out of the highest motives. They were trying to save our immortal souls. You see from the beginning of the world to now, no one else has ever had the true knowledge about life and death and heaven and hell. Nobody but them, of course.
Some people would see my relatives as members of an extreme and intolerant religious cult. Others might see them as believers in one of the many great traditions of the history of religion, and more specifically, in the history of religion in this country. But the biggest problem that I had with them is their intolerance of different points of view, their arrogant certainty that they knew the truth and no one else did, and their dismissive rudeness when dealing with people who had other beliefs.
Praise the Lord!
Today, I have a few friends who I love dearly but who have become evangelical members of a different cult, and this cult believes that they know the truth about a very complicated set of issues which ironically also has its origins in what we might in the West call "the Holy Land". Although I have spent years studying the issues that exist in that area, I am told by these friends that in fact I know nothing, but they do. They know everything, and I had better open my eyes and see the truth.
And yet, when I talk to my friends it is clear that they know very little about the history of the issues they so confidently and inaccurately represent. but they are blissfully ignorant of this. Or maybe they just don't care.
And these self-appointed keepers of the Truth of the Universe know that Israelis are bad and "Palestinians" are good. It doesnt matter how we got here, or who did what, or why. Israelis bad, Palestinians good. And if you do not agree with this, then you must be wrong.
Praise Jesus!
The arrogance of this left-wing cult has to be experienced to be believed. And they are perfectly OK with telling someone like me, someone who has spent years studying this topic, the various conflicts, and the history behind it, that I know nothing.
Really? Thats interesting. Actually no, because when you discuss it with them, it is clear that they know very little of the history and issues they discuss, and are even less capable or willing to discuss those issues. In other words, unless you are a member of their cult, it is not very interesting to discuss any of these topics with them.
Well, that is their right, and their choice. But I find their beliefs both ignorant and offensive, and I don't like being treated with contempt.
But since my friends are so intent on telling me their view of the situation, but are completely dismissive of what I believe, I thought I would return the favor and let them know what I think on some of the issues that they so cavalierly expound upon.
They are not going to like what I think, but then that never stopped them from telling me with total certainty what they believe, now did it?
I think that my friends in this left-wing cult are being cynically used by one side in a conflict and that they are what Lenin called "useful idiots". I believe that Israel has a right to exist. I believe that Israel has a right to defend itself and its people from attack. I believe that the so called occupied territories were occupied as a result of wars that Israel did not start, and that Israel needs to look at its own security first. I believe that my friends in this cult have a double standard and accuse Israel of crimes that they themselves, or rather their countries, are guilty of. And that my friends in this cult support people and organizations that are guilty of far more offensive and "non-progressive" behavior and policies than Israel ever has. I believe that my friends are trying to hold Israel to standards that no other country in the world would be capable of fulfilling, or even try to fulfill. I think my friends are about as hypocritical as it is possible for a person to be.
But oddly enough, these beliefs are not the point of this post. The point goes something like this. I could write for a year describing and defending the points of view that I espouse above. At the end of that time, you might not agree with me, or argue a different approach, or any of a number of things. But only someone who is not of good faith or is part of an all-knowing cult could possibly believe that they have all the answers to this situation, and that is my point.
And that is what I think about my friends in this left-wing "Israelis bad, Palestinians good" cult. They are outside the bounds of reasonable and rational discussion. Just like my relatives who believed that the blood of Jesus was going to save me from Eternal Hellfire. They may or may not be right, but since I do not subscribe to their religion there is not a lot of point in discussing it.
That said I am going to bore you with three more issues on this nasty topic, and I submit them to my friends in their cult even though I doubt they can hear me.
1. Many people believe that negotiating peace with the Palestinians is pointless until the Palestinians convince people that they sincerely want peace. They would have to convince the Israelis that this time peace is not just a tactic in preparation for the next war of annihilation.
2. If you would like a country to return the "occupied territories", start with your own country first before you lecture others. Let he who is without sin throw the first stone, so to speak.
I now realize that from their point of view they were not being rude, from their point of view they were acting with the best of intentions and out of the highest motives. They were trying to save our immortal souls. You see from the beginning of the world to now, no one else has ever had the true knowledge about life and death and heaven and hell. Nobody but them, of course.
Some people would see my relatives as members of an extreme and intolerant religious cult. Others might see them as believers in one of the many great traditions of the history of religion, and more specifically, in the history of religion in this country. But the biggest problem that I had with them is their intolerance of different points of view, their arrogant certainty that they knew the truth and no one else did, and their dismissive rudeness when dealing with people who had other beliefs.
Praise the Lord!
Today, I have a few friends who I love dearly but who have become evangelical members of a different cult, and this cult believes that they know the truth about a very complicated set of issues which ironically also has its origins in what we might in the West call "the Holy Land". Although I have spent years studying the issues that exist in that area, I am told by these friends that in fact I know nothing, but they do. They know everything, and I had better open my eyes and see the truth.
And yet, when I talk to my friends it is clear that they know very little about the history of the issues they so confidently and inaccurately represent. but they are blissfully ignorant of this. Or maybe they just don't care.
And these self-appointed keepers of the Truth of the Universe know that Israelis are bad and "Palestinians" are good. It doesnt matter how we got here, or who did what, or why. Israelis bad, Palestinians good. And if you do not agree with this, then you must be wrong.
Praise Jesus!
The arrogance of this left-wing cult has to be experienced to be believed. And they are perfectly OK with telling someone like me, someone who has spent years studying this topic, the various conflicts, and the history behind it, that I know nothing.
Really? Thats interesting. Actually no, because when you discuss it with them, it is clear that they know very little of the history and issues they discuss, and are even less capable or willing to discuss those issues. In other words, unless you are a member of their cult, it is not very interesting to discuss any of these topics with them.
Well, that is their right, and their choice. But I find their beliefs both ignorant and offensive, and I don't like being treated with contempt.
But since my friends are so intent on telling me their view of the situation, but are completely dismissive of what I believe, I thought I would return the favor and let them know what I think on some of the issues that they so cavalierly expound upon.
They are not going to like what I think, but then that never stopped them from telling me with total certainty what they believe, now did it?
I think that my friends in this left-wing cult are being cynically used by one side in a conflict and that they are what Lenin called "useful idiots". I believe that Israel has a right to exist. I believe that Israel has a right to defend itself and its people from attack. I believe that the so called occupied territories were occupied as a result of wars that Israel did not start, and that Israel needs to look at its own security first. I believe that my friends in this cult have a double standard and accuse Israel of crimes that they themselves, or rather their countries, are guilty of. And that my friends in this cult support people and organizations that are guilty of far more offensive and "non-progressive" behavior and policies than Israel ever has. I believe that my friends are trying to hold Israel to standards that no other country in the world would be capable of fulfilling, or even try to fulfill. I think my friends are about as hypocritical as it is possible for a person to be.
But oddly enough, these beliefs are not the point of this post. The point goes something like this. I could write for a year describing and defending the points of view that I espouse above. At the end of that time, you might not agree with me, or argue a different approach, or any of a number of things. But only someone who is not of good faith or is part of an all-knowing cult could possibly believe that they have all the answers to this situation, and that is my point.
And that is what I think about my friends in this left-wing "Israelis bad, Palestinians good" cult. They are outside the bounds of reasonable and rational discussion. Just like my relatives who believed that the blood of Jesus was going to save me from Eternal Hellfire. They may or may not be right, but since I do not subscribe to their religion there is not a lot of point in discussing it.
That said I am going to bore you with three more issues on this nasty topic, and I submit them to my friends in their cult even though I doubt they can hear me.
1. Many people believe that negotiating peace with the Palestinians is pointless until the Palestinians convince people that they sincerely want peace. They would have to convince the Israelis that this time peace is not just a tactic in preparation for the next war of annihilation.
2. If you would like a country to return the "occupied territories", start with your own country first before you lecture others. Let he who is without sin throw the first stone, so to speak.
3. If you want to make the world a better place, may I suggest that you start here, and work to end racism, poverty, and inequity in this country, before taking sides in a situation about which you know almost nothing.
That said, these are still my friends, and just like my uncle and his family, I sincerely wish my friends all the best in areas outside of these issues.
Saturday, February 27, 2016
Shall We All Return The "Occupied Territories" ?
I have to concede to the far-left and academic politically correct pundits at least one thing. I do not know any other group that combines totally sincere and heartfelt ignorance with absolute and unthinking arrogance. I am not sure if it qualifies as hypocrisy when one is so ignorant as to not even be aware of what they are saying and how it could easily apply to them, only more so, but whether it is true hypocrisy or just seeming hypocrisy, they have it in spades.
They say that Israel should "return the occupied territories" which, depending on who you are talking to can mean one of several things. But it probably refers to territory that was occupied by Israel outside the 1967 borders when in 1973 various neighbors attacked Israel and tried to kill everyone. But they failed and Israel ended up (very controversially) with a variety of contested territories.
I am not going to pass judgement on what Israel should or should not do without much more research and at least one site visit. But I have no trouble observing just how self-serving and hypocritical those who tell Israel what to do here really are.
Let's review a few examples of "occupied territories".
1. Are you from Australia and you criticize Israel on this topic? Please have the decency to first return the occupied territories to the indigenous people of Australia that you stole them from.
They say that Israel should "return the occupied territories" which, depending on who you are talking to can mean one of several things. But it probably refers to territory that was occupied by Israel outside the 1967 borders when in 1973 various neighbors attacked Israel and tried to kill everyone. But they failed and Israel ended up (very controversially) with a variety of contested territories.
I am not going to pass judgement on what Israel should or should not do without much more research and at least one site visit. But I have no trouble observing just how self-serving and hypocritical those who tell Israel what to do here really are.
Let's review a few examples of "occupied territories".
1. Are you from Australia and you criticize Israel on this topic? Please have the decency to first return the occupied territories to the indigenous people of Australia that you stole them from.
A review of the occupied territories of Australia and who they were stolen from
2. Are you from Great Britain? How dare you criticize another nation given your amazing history and the current occupation of Northern Ireland?
3. Are you from or living in the United States? We have occupied territories here on so many different levels, it might make one laugh if it were at all funny. The USA was involved in a war with Mexico and claimed as a result Texas, Arizona and New Mexico. Then of course there is the whole story of California. Puerto Rico? Guantanamo? Hawaii? Guam?
4. Are you from Colorado? The Apache, Arapaho, Cheyenme, Ute, Shoshone and Pueblo people would like it back, if that is all right with you.
5. Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, Virginia? Return the occupied territories.
6. Perhaps the Japanese will want to return Hokkaido to the Ainu?
7. Perhaps the People's Republic of China would like to free Tibet or Uigher?
8. Perhaps the Turks would like to stop their war against the Kurds and allow a free Kurdistan to come into existence?
9. Perhaps Russia would like to return great chunks of Siberia to their indigenous people?
And on and on.
Whether Israel should or should not return the West Bank is debatable. But before you go around telling other countries what to do, I think it would reasonable to expect you to clean up your own act first.
Ainu People on Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ainu_people
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