“The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie, deliberate, contrived and dishonest, but the myth, persistent, persuasive and unrealistic.” John F. Kennedy
So many years ago, and I purposely choose not to remember, Alfred E. Newman graced the cover of Mad Magazine begging the question, “What Me Worry?”
An icon of sorts, Alfred’s question became a watchword or guide for my generation. Peace love and rock n’ roll seemed to fit perfectly into the parameters of “What Me Worry?” And we didn’t, at least not much until we entered adulthood and found ourselves face to face with actual life.
Now it seems to me I feel compelled to raise the question once again, but the worry somehow seems implicit in the question itself, “what me hate?” There is so much hate around us these days; it is almost impossible to escape its ravages or virus-like movement through our lives.
Would one invent a vaccine to eradicate hatred, I actually wonder how many earthlings would choose to sign up for a dose.
And that is my conundrum.
For as I have come face to face with the ugliness of hatred, I now must admit to myself it is a conscious choice and one that is dictated by a willingness to believe lies about those very people we seek to dislike and blame.
As a Jewish person, I have faced anti-Semitism numerous times. Whether from gentiles or self-hating Jews, the effects are always nauseating and unsettling, and after a bout with a hater, I am left spent and weary as a sickly feeling courses through my veins until I can finally dispel its effects.
The most difficult task coming face to face with anti-Semitism is what to do. Shall I speak up? Shall I defend Israel? Shall I remain mute, retain relationships and betray my true self? What is my responsibility and how far shall I go? Perhaps to even refuse a job as I once did.
Is there a way to make a hater stop hating or a denier to accept truth? What is gained by my leaping into the fray and becoming emotionally involved? These are questions only one can answer for oneself.
Do I wish I could remain mute, slough it off and change the subject? Yes, I do. Am I able to do so and not hate myself? No, unfortunately not. So either way I wind up feeling like a ton of ugliness was dumped on my head. I suppose that is a problem that has no answer. Hate does not possess a path for winning on any level.
Yesterday I came face to face with a hater. Oh, of course hatred robes itself in intelligence. Academia prides itself on being above the fray. By their sheer acumen they can better discern fact from fiction, the cause from effect and of course who is to blame for the ills of the world. They believe they are right, defenders of the truth, and feel no remorse when pulling out the trite and careworn blame-the-Jews theories from their intellectual toolbox.
And yet laughingly for them it all still comes back to one answer: The Jews are to blame, of course.
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I should not have been shocked when speaking yesterday with an educator who firmly believes Israel is an occupier and killer of innocent Palestinians and that the problems of the Jewish people could be blamed directly on Israel’s behavior in the Middle East.
And yet I still find it hard to believe that in the wake of all the information available about Israel’s desire to live in peace with her neighbors and terrorist groups like Hamas that attack innocent Israelis on a daily basis, one would have accumulated the necessary knowledge to make an informed decision.
But no, it is still the Jews that are at fault. Or as the anti-Semite asked me yesterday, “Don’t Palestinians have rights? It was their land,” and on and on and on with all the crazy rhetoric that fuels the fires of hatred. Sadly, she believes her assumptions are truth, and being so accomplished intellectually she thus has the right to make this choice.
What I find so amusing is that even after the world has seen what the Arab world is capable of – stonings, killings, murdering homosexuals, cutting off heads, burning people alive and barbaric behavior in the most primitive forms – it still chooses to side with them against the Jewish people.
It is not information haters seek, it is merely a reason to hate, to fuel the fires of their racist rants.
I cannot speak for Muslims, although I know only too well they re suffering terribly for those among them who pay homage to a culture of hatred and evil. My heart goes out to them, and I hope they find a way to escape from this dark cloud that has risen above them.
I can however speak as a Jew. I have seen that in a world filled with evil, a Jewish life brings far less on the open market. Although it seems our Christian brethren have now succumbed to the ravages of evil as well, with few to cry out against their tormentors.
There is no excuse for hatred and racism if one can forego one’s prejudices and accept the facts. I am not saying Israel or the Jewish people are perfect and without flaws; perfection does not exist on this earth and never will, and we are all a little right and a little wrong at times. I am only saying that when faced with a scenario that includes hating evildoers or a Jew, haters, sadly, opt to blame the Jew.
It does not matter how many missiles rain down on Israeli children before they are forced to fight back; it does not matter how many leaflets are dropped by the IDF warning Palestinians to leave their homes and find safety because Israeli jets are coming; it does not matter how many Palestinian leaders hide their weapons in kindergartens or hospitals to rack up scores of victims to serve their PR purposes; it will always be the fault of the Jews. Because that is the choice the haters make and they will never change.
Winston Churchill said, “The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is.”
Perhaps it is only in the end the world will finally acknowledge the truth, but I highly doubt the haters will choose to see it even then.
It is clear to me that Friedrich Nietzsche was correct when he wrote, “There are no facts, only interpretations.” I suppose as long as this is the case the haters will hate, the idealistic will defend and the pragmatists will stand aside and let them fight it out.
I often wonder who will win, and that is what truly gives me pause. For it seems more and more each day it is haters 6,000,000+ and defenders of the truth 0.
So I must ask myself once again as I have so many times before, “What Me Worry?”
You bet I do.
In the series “Postcards from Israel – Postcards from Home,” Ari Bussel and Norma Zager invite readers throughout the world to join them as they present reports about Israel, homeland of the Jewish People, as seen by two sets of eyes. This “point - counter-point” presentation has, since 2008, become part of our lives. It can be found in numerous websites around the world as well as in print in the USA.
