Tannishblog

There's some kind of social commentary inherent in finding one's darkest Apocalyptic beliefs reinforced through a link from an email newsletter intended for frivolity. Yet such are the times we live in. The link, intended for "brainiacs," got me out of my post-workday-slouch. Bill Bonner writes about The Five Major Trends Reshaping the World Economy. They are:

• The Rising Cost of Energy
• The Experimental Monetary System
• Where Are We in the Economic Cycle?
• The Exodus of Money From West to East
• The Decline of the American Empire

This is just one of the many angles pointing toward imminent upheaval in our society. Call it Armageddon, Apocalypse, whatever, the inevitability of catastrophic change is finally dawning on a wider sampling of thinkers. Not one single thing will get us, but all of them in concert.

The images provoke echoes Lewis Carroll. This rabbit hole is large enough for the whole world to fall into.

I’ve been silent about Israel’s new war. Considering my quick condemnation of the Iraqi conflict, this silence is perhaps conspicuous. I’ve failed to speak up because I’m conflicted.

I hate war. Systemized aggression is the providence of the weak. The Path of Peace is one of resolve and courage, thus so few tread there. It’s too hard. But destruction is ridiculously easy; that’s why conflict is so commonplace.

On the other hand, how can one deal with the pathological collective neurosis that characterizes the Arab-Jew divide? As the saying goes: One cannot reason with a sick mind. If any militant group decides to lob missiles into any sovereign nation, how should the afflicted government react? Such actions represent mental illness either of individuals or of a group. The situation worsens when the aggressors compound their villainy by using the backyards of innocents to fire their munitions. Reason cannot prevail. Diplomacy likewise is insufficient.

Obviously, I side with the Israelis. Too, I’m being inconsistent with my core beliefs. All war is wrong, even this one, but I cannot help agreeing with Israel’s right to defend against such reckless cowardice. What they know that the Western media often forgets is that Hezbollah or Hamas cannot be dealt with any other way.

There’s something unsettling about a culture that values sand over blood. This applies to all Middle-eastern groups. Land has more value there than life. In that regard, both sides in the conflict are wrong. Yet I feel for the Israelis partly because of what I’ve seen them do to help the desert bloom, mostly because they don’t want to fight. Israel hates fighting. They begrudge being forever on guard, so when they do fight, they fight to win. In the hearts of the average Israeli, they pray this war will be the last. They’ve been praying for this a long time.

Knowing this, having seen and heard how such intolerance without can damage a nation and its people within, I nod my head sadly and watch the unforgivable take place. Both sides are wrong, but only one side has a choice in the matter. That’s why I side with Israel despite my hatred of war - because they don’t want to fight. And that makes them more right than the other guys.