THE FACT OF THE MATTER

 A fact is that which is "known or proven to be true". The fact of the matter is that facts are few and far between of late on many, if not most of the sites and modalities of social media. Lies, distorted facts, misinterpretations, are passed off as fact handed down from Sinai, to be believed and acted upon, used as basis for actions then taken, and simply is just wrong, so very, very wrong. It is also a sign of laziness, of lack of research skills so necessary if one is to contribute helpfully to a challenged society. 

Well, we are in trouble, just in case this 'fact' might have eluded you. Our students, our very near future leaders and lower rank aides of legislators, judges, executives of business have received a sloppy education and barely any work ethic. No need to slog through stacks for information, to gather facts necessary for understanding and intelligent discourse. Check out Wikipedia, or one of the proliferating Chat boxes and voila! All done, no sweat, no new knowledge and off to the protests we go. 

The 'real' lowdown on the matter will be oh so helpfully conveyed to you by your new very cool friend of the keffiyeh or the matches to burn flags or the spray paint for graffiti and threats. Those red or black swastikas are pretty good for defacing buildings. Close call between synagogues or health clinics. Soooo liberating! And those platitudes we shout, the words and memes of hate, vicious, violent, toxic - it doesn't get better than that. So smug. All as your undertaxed brain takes yet another siesta.

The fact of the matter is that the world is rife with wrongdoings and the outrage against them is cherry picked. Never mind the Haziris. Never mind the Rohingya. Never mind those locked in gulags and notorious prisons of Russia, and certainly, never mind their invasion of Ukraine, the land grab, the planned destruction of the Ukrainian ethos.  (genocide), the slain protesters in Iran. Turkey and the Kurds and the religious war fervor ramping up. The disappearing Mexicans? Meh! The Uighurs. Always Sudan, Ethiopia, Darfur, South Africa, (yes, not quite the angels they want to be). Fact. Facts.  

Those issues are passe. Neither chic nor trendy. Hungry children here? Nah, boring. No cool accessories. Much better are the liberating protests against Israel. Facts? How genocide when there is no plan to kill civilians, as opposed to Oct 7and the plan long in place to commit havoc, massacre, on sleeping Israeli citizens. to bloody machetes with the blood of infants and elderly, to rape and mutilate young girls and boys, to destroy the homes of those who had committed the cardinal sin of overlooking the truth, of the facts available.  Instead, they extended hands and arms of friendship.  Had ignored those historical facts and     helped Gazans with transportation, medical help, food, friendship, jobs, but hey, what's that compared with the release of the soul by butchery. Accompanied by employees of the UN and UNWRA, long coconspirators with Hamas and other terrorists, denied by them, these liars became enthusiastic participants in the bestiality of Oct 7. Fact. Fact.   Not to forget the cherry on top, burning, exploding the homes of their foolish friends, locked and tied up inside, to burn with their homes and family.  Joy in Mudville Gaza that day. Fact. Fact. Facts.

Those are the facts. Those are the facts which are overlooked or swept to the trash when they inconveniently and stubbornly surface and resurface. No, the fact is that the Gazans, along with the official and unofficial members of Hamas and their allies are responsible for the war, for the slaughter, for the unavoidable deaths, for the inhumane and criminal act of taking hostages, brutalizing them, holding them incommunicado, killing them in captivity, playing cruel games.    FACT!!     

 Israel was then entrapped in a war not of their asking or doing. They had to defend and protect their citizens, to rescue them from captivity. In      inciting this war, Hamas is responsible for all consequences, all deaths. They set the time and place. They hid within civilian homes and infrastructure. One must fight the enemy where it is, not where we wish it to be. Fact.  

Now we fight a war of words as well, growing invective and incitement to violence. We fight a war against liars, of blue-ribbon ability and ugly motives. Hate is the coin of their realm. 

So, the fact of the matter is that we are in trouble. All of us, not only the Israelis who fight now in   our stead, for us, as they battle against vicious homicidal disguised beasts. Truly the basis of a   frightening horror movie - only this is for real. We do not escape the fear in two hours.

               Fact. Fact. Fact.

-------------------------------------------------------------- Yitzy, perhaps now you have gained the knowledge we are lacking as to why and how this ugliness, these vicious emotions and lies are seemingly a permanent fixture of this world. We wonder if there is any hope of change for the better. Everyday more and more hope is discarded, rotting in  ditches alongside the bumpy road. Speak to the Boss for us. 

Love you, my sweet boy.

Miss you terribly.

Always and forever. Always and forever.