AND SO

And so it continues. And so it has always been. And so it seemingly will always be. Is there never to be an end to this? A positive end? Or are we in some living nightmare condemned to relive over and over again the moments of horror and bloodshed that has been a major repetitive part of the history of Mankind, and especially of my people, the Jewish nation.     

There are those who persist in saying it can't happen here; it won't happen here. Take a look and decide if that is the correct call. Unfortunately, they are wrong. Very wrong. The ability, even the desire, to go along with extremes of behavior have found homes within the souls of too many. It is frightening to a degree unimaginable, yet very clearly possible, even probable. History has proven this truth and there is no reason why one should or would think otherwise these days.

In frightening replication of 80 years ago in Amsterdam, the Netherlands in its entirety, the nations of Europe, North Africa, the Arab Middle East, the streets of Amsterdam exploded in multiple days of "Jew Hunts", of Hamas imitative tactics of motorcycles employed as vehicles of war and terror. The Dutch of yesteryears acquiesced with the extermination program of their Germanic Cousins, dutifully obeying rules and orders. Quite comfortable, even enthusiastic, were they. 

Today, they have enabled, openly allowed what they knew was to be a bloody pogrom. Equal to any of the Middle Ages. Chasing down people, threatening them, forcing them to prove who they are or who they are not. Well detailed plans of those wallowing in the cesspool of JewHatred climaxed in seas of blood and shocking enmity. And so it has always been and so it will always be. Also   unsurprising is the corollary of blame. The blame for this bloodshed obviously, undeniably, historically, is the fault of the Jews even as they fall beneath the clubs and knives and guns of their haters. We are so assured by the perpetrators of the pogroms. 

Their mere existence, their persistence in outliving all enemies, large and small, their survival and stubbornness in insisting upon their continuity is enough to incite 'justifiable' anger and hate and murder. But of course! Why would anyone think otherwise? If only the People of the Book would accept their designations as anathema to the rest of the world, as outliers and pariahs, the eternal scapegoats of others, the convenient go to targets, the root of all evil in the world, how much simpler life would be for the rest of humankind. 

The truth would then be so clear, so undeniable. The 1200 butchered in the communities of southern Israel were the cause of their own death. Apparently so powerful are the Jews that there was much to fear from 9-month-old Kfir, three-year-old Abigail and 4-year-old Ariel, or the weak elderly, the beaten and shot, stabbed 250 captives hauled into Gaza. To await a grisly demise.  

In accordance with that thinking the Maccabi fans should have gotten out of the way of the motorcycles. They should have acquiesced to the blows upon the head and the kicks to the bodies.      Accepted the shedding of their own blood. Why? Why not? It would make things so simple. No debates about roots and causes and results.

Worse to contemplate is the sure knowledge that what comes will be of far greater consequence than what has come before. Pro-Israel protests or anti Hamas, anti-murder protesters are being threatened, stifled, up to and including death and some of the voices are stilled. Mealy mouthed officials do nothing other than encourage the violence directed at Jews and their supporters, as their words carry no weight and their actions are negligible. In fact, the very people who are there to protect, to serve, opt out of that responsibility and/or in fact take part in the demonstrations, quite enthusiastically.   

America is not immune to this hate. It is contagious, as evil and indiscriminate as cholera. More people that you would expect see no harm in mass deportations, in the building of detention camps surrounded by barbed wire and electric fences and the ugliness that would inevitably follow. They see no moral block to becoming adherents, proponents, and of service, even working in these camps following every single rule handed down.

It can't happen here? It won't happen here? Or there? The world has surely learned better, internalized the lessons of the dark moments of history. Think again. It is already happening here. The ground has already been softened and hate has taken strong root. When the head of a country and the followers are amoral and immoral, when people cry out without understanding what they are crying out for - a 'strong' leader, well, when they get what they wished for they will regret it. Too late. 

The poisonous fangs of hate bite deep and wide. The reach of the diseased limbs will be long and inescapable, but oh yes, we will have that strong leader who tolerates no dissent. Who has no brakes, internal or external, to halt the rapid slide the nation will take into savagery and despair.   The danger to this nation, the damage done to it, will be astounding in duration and consequence.  Be careful what you have wished for; be very careful. Antenna should be up and quivering, hackles raised, and shoulders approaching ear territory.   Are yours?  

Can we not do better? Certainly, we must do better for the alternatives are unthinkable, though unfortunately neither unreasonable nor impossible.

Think deep, longer, and with more comprehension. Choose your path carefully. It could be a permanent choice and outcome.