Another? The two different pronunciations of Target - with a hard G or with a soft G, as if it were the name of a classier French mercantile establishment. Is there really any difference or are the pronunciations more telling of the inner thoughts of people. Joke and yet not so jokey! Today's title refers to a Pepper and Salt pithy cartoon re the times of today to found daily in the Wall Street Journal. This particular one presented two snails in conversation with one saying he preferred "escargot' to snails, as it sounded more elegant, classier than snail, the only difference is the price on the menu!
Other two-word pairings appear to be similar, yet are not, and carry within a grave difference. One's choice is often quite revealing of the motivation and bias of the speaker and the audience as well. It behooves all to pay careful attention to the choices made. This dichotomy applies as well to two definition words or terms, hiding the more harmful, quite often used incorrectly, within the other definition.
An example: the second pair of the title. Are the rude, crazed mobs of supposed mere "pro Palestinians" responding and to what exactly or are they attacking and undermining a basic right of free speech? Is advocating for genocide of the Jewish people, a response or an attack? Are their blockades, illegal, greatly harmful to the nation responses or attacks? Or are these claimed "responses" merely hiding the attacks they are? The consequences, the results, must be in measure appropriate to the truth of the transgression.
Similarly, we have the Iranian "response" or "attack"? The attempt to somehow minimize the truth. A 300+ missile attack upon Israel, aimed indiscriminably, is to be defined truthfully as an attack rather than as they claim, a mere 'response' as they claim, Follow the thread of the import of the words and find the truth.
This is then to be followed by a related two definition term - appropriate. Was Iran appropriate in its 'response'? Or was it way over the top? Certainly. if tables were turned, and Israel had sent over that huge wave of rockets as a 'response' the world would have shrieked to the heavens at the inappropriateness of the 'attack' by Israel perpetrated on the 'innocent' people there. Once there is a beginning of misuse of terms, it does not end, certainly not easily. It is a useful political tool, so why disuse? It certainly works for the enemies of Israel, for the haters of Jews does it not?! And as an aside, it works for Putin as well, as he fills the airwaves of his tortured nation with his lies re the invasion of Ukraine.
Hostages. People in agony, deserted and abandoned by the world. Or are they mere bargaining tools to be swapped, traded as baseball cards among schoolboys. 30:1. 50:1. 30 terrorist bloodstained murderers for the body of a 9-month-old? Is that where the world is now? Apparently so, as blame is placed on the shoulders of Israel, refusing to make that 'deal', that business transaction, when actually it is Hamas, Sinwar, using his 'hondler' skills quite well. He is encouraged in his bargaining by the attitudes of the world and the ever-increasing defamation of Israel, increasingly abandoned by the world. Indeed, the mark of Cain should rightfully be placed upon the foreheads of those nations.
Until the hostages, dead or alive, are all accounted for, returned, the nation cannot heal itself. cannot move on. The wounds are deep, over 50 Nova massacre survivors committing suicide, along with many others, the depth, the pain, the loss too great. The ugliness, as despite testimony of victims and eyewitnesses, of videos of the animals of Oct7, of the use of sexual depravity as a weapon of war, the world denied it all and remained silent, unless accusing the witnesses, the victims, of telling huge lies.
Once again. there's denial of tragedies perpetrated upon the Jews. The Holocaust remains still denied by too many. October 7 is denied or blamed placed at the feet of Israel, claiming they themselves did it! Where the hell does this end? And do not think that others are immune to this hatred. Simply look around the world. From the gulags of Russia to the prisons of China. On to the streets of Haiti to the fields of Sudan. From the refugee camps of the Rohingya to the imprisonment of women, their murder, in Afghanistan and Iran. To current America, where antisemitism is a growth industry, and has morphed into toxic JewHatred, with highly successful campaigns to isolate Jews and Israel, and forbid them any and all arenas of life. Where chants of death - to Israel, to Jews, to America are heard in ever growing volume. With alarming success and frightening acquiescence and complicity of people who know better but are now enjoying wallowing in the muck and mud, the stinking fens of hate and violence.
We must stand up to hate, to violence. We must understand that war is useless in the long run. Other than to provide the basis for yet another war. And that war will provide a basis for the next war. And on and on and on. Wars. Hate. Ugliness of soul and mind. Bloody indifference. Silence. Violence.
We are refusing to see and accept the truth. We are refusing to acknowledge our faults and our myriad lacks. Can we learn to overcome our deficits and accentuate the positives? Can we turn aside the hate that generates evil? Can we avoid the temptations to return to old, rotten pathways?
Or are these pipe dreams? These pipe dreams had better begin to evolve or we are indeed lost. Through our own faults we will lose ourselves. We will lose our planet. We will lose it all. Can we in fact turn the tide? Do we actually have within us that strength and determination? I would love to think so, and at times I believe we can, but great, huge, ugly, towering clouds of doubt appear. Somehow, we must change -drastically and soon. Very soon.
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Yitzy, sweet boy, there were never any doubts as to where you stood on morality, on proper behavior, and especially your faith in the ultimate goodness and possibilities of humanity to see the truth and veer towards it. Faith that we could all work together.
We need huge dollops of that optimism. Send some our way, please.
In the meanwhile, you are sorely missed and greatly loved.
Always and forever. Always and forever.
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