Wednesday, July 09, 2014

In which I give myself a reminder.

Found on the social networks:
Political advice and punditry, to the right or to the left, won't *really* practically help Israel. But there is an emotional weight to such opining. Standing on the sidelines on foreign soil, while the murderous enemy attacks? If you are lending credence to Israel's enemies and undermining Israel's positions (e.g. "they also have a narrative"), then this can be read as callousness and a lack of concern for your brethren. If you are supporting the Israeli position, even if you are being "jingoistic", you are expressing caring and support for your fellow Jew. So you are entitled to your opinions, but don't be a callous jerk.
OK, sure, some people see it this way. But thinkers, as opposed to feelers, understand that what we say on blogs and Facebook has no cosmic value or meaning, and that a good point is a good point irrespective of who it facially seems to support. However, I count some "feelers" among my friends so I shall endeavor to bear in mind what he says here.

(Yes, of course  this is the same old thing: Jingoism and chauvinism means you love Israel, while those advocating for peaceful and mutually beneficial solutions are self-hating scum. However, Josh does remind me that some who are in the grips of this delusion might otherwise be decent people, friends even, and if they're going through a rough time they are owed the simple courtesy of not being agitated, no matter how unreasonable their agitation may be.)
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