Milky Way Over Rustic Cabin in the Woods on Palomar Mountain
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I have not heard from Uncle Ed very often in the last few years, but apparently recent events have triggered a reaction from him and a need to speak out again. I will allow Uncle Ed to introduce himself.
Oh, come on folks, I can't believe we've lost all of our humanitarian impulses-- the very foundation of our democracy. The essence of our nation lies in the belief that "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." While we've never fully lived up to these ideals, they remain central to what democracy represents. These principles were meant to apply to all of humanity, not just a select few, and that's what democracy offers-- a system of governance that values every individual.
Yet here we are, witnessing Netanyahu's destruction of an entire people in Gaza, what much of the world now sees as genocide. Not only are we aware of what's happening, but we are also underwriting it with our support, logistics, and weapons-- actions that would make even Attila the Hun blush.
And this is all being done with our money and in our name, making each of us complicit-- a heavy moral burden for any caring person. Meanwhile, protests and even vocal support for the Palestinians, are suppressed, often harshly, or worse, are labeled as anti-Semitic, despite the fact that Palestinians are as Semitic as Jews.
This situation reflects a disturbing mindset-- one where we believe our friends can do no wrong and our enemies, by their very nature, are evil and incapable of decency. It's a dangerous deification of our allies and demonization of our adversaries.
We must remember that much of the Jewish population was brought in, to what was then Palestine, after WWII, and with terror tactics often supported by the British, they displaced the indigenous Palestinian population, forcing them into enclaves during the Nakba. Gaza and the West Bank, both under Israeli control and occupation, became their confinement. Eventually, the Palestinians developed some means of self-defense, with Hamas being democratically elected in Gaza-- an election initially pushed by the U.S. and Western Europe. But when the results didn't align with their expectations, those same powers rejected them, essentially telling the Palestinians to try again until they produced the "correct" outcome.
Hamas, no longer recognized as Gaza's official representative, went underground, becoming the home guard of an oppressed and occupied people, much like the Resistance in occupied Europe during WWII. As always, occupiers see resistance as terrorism and seek to crush it, leaving the oppressed populations vulnerable to further abuse and enforced submission.
We must acknowledge the harsh realities of Gaza: completely walled off, with access controlled by Israel. Israel dictates the flow of food, supplies, medical materials, and humanitarian aid, while the people of Gaza are subjected to systematic destruction. The cruel game of shunting them from one area to another, promising safety only to bring death, is barbaric.
So, let's examine the justifications for this genocide. The rules of occupation apparently demand that there be no resistance, no matter the level of abuse. Breaking this rule gives the occupiers the right to exterminate-- reminiscent of German tactics in WWII.
Then there's the argument of Israel's right to protect its national existence. But what about the Palestinians' right to exist in security?
In October, Hamas retaliated against ongoing abuses, killing some Israelis and taking hostages to leverage better treatment for Palestinians. Yet, we are expected to forget decades of Israeli abuses in Gaza and the hundreds of Palestinians languishing in Israeli jails, often held as hostages themselves, tortured, and brutalized.
From a U.S. and humanitarian standpoint, are we really to believe that any loss of a Jewish life justifies this kind of barbarity? Where is the balance, the equivalency? Israel, our "favorite son", now represented by Netanyahu, and the Palestinians, painted as our evil enemies-- are we truly expected to accept this as our government's policy without question?
At this point, we are being forced to act like an occupied people ourselves, stripped of the right to protest, our voices silenced, while we continue to fund this barbarity with our tax dollars. Is this what we worked so hard for? I think not.
The Biden administration prolongs the cruel farce of seeking a negotiated end to the conflict, allowing Netanyahu to stonewall while we encourage his aggression. Israel even went so far as to assassinate the Palestinian negotiator. Meanwhile, the genocide continues apace.
We feign horror at the plight of the Gazan population, continuing the pretense that there is nothing we can do to stop the carnage. But the entire world knows there are only two ways this ends: either Netanyahu exterminates as many Gazans as he deems necessary, or we cut off weapons and aid, demand a permanent ceasefire, and open the borders to let people out and humanitarian aid in. We could be heroes.
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