On July 4th, it is a good time to think about the amazing beginning of the United States. While revolution was required to effect separation of the colonies from England, the US was born out of radical ideas about the relationship between man and government.
Today is Independence Day. Here in Israel, one does not feel it unless he looks to go to a barbecue or other event hosted by the US ambassador or an Israeli official wishing to show his appreciation for the US. The US, even with all of its numerous and serious problems, is still quite an amazing country. While I think that Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez is a clueless clown, I believe that her story of going from barkeep to sitting member of Congress is in keeping with the ethos of a country where people can go from nothing to success and are cheered along for doing so. A while back, I met with a tech scout for a Fortune 100 company. He said that he looks for relevant technology only in the US and Israel. Europe and Japan do not have the risk-taking, reach-for-the-stars attitude that is needed for a startup to go from a garage to the NASDAQ.
A question that comes up as the world’s great democracies age is what happens when they lose their self-confidence? I remember when the Bears won their only Super Bowl in the past 50 years in 1986. Walter Payton bought each member of the offensive line a Rolex watch. When the Bears crashed out of the playoffs the next year, a local sportscaster said, “Who knew that he was giving them their retirement gold watches?” The Bears never had the confidence, the swagger, the in-your-face defense that they had in that one magical year. Our grandson now plays with the Carson Pirie Scott stuffed Chicago Bear that I made sure to bring with me on my Fulbright fellowship.
I think about countries losing their raison d’etre when I look at Israel. This scrappy country took on five Arab armies and won. It did not apologize for the land that it conquered or the borders it erected. The sapling country took its place among the nations of the world, however many of them did not recognize the new Jewish state or boycotted it. When Sinai, Gaza and the West Bank were taken in the lightning Six Day War, Israel still had the confidence to put the Start of David flag over the newly conquered lands. Jews could once again go to the Western Wall to pray, while Israelis began to enjoy the wonders of Sinai, including scuba diving at Sharm El-Sheikh.
But then things began to change. The swagger was gone. Israel agreed to give away the strategically-important Sinai Desert for “peace” with Sadat, who was murdered not too long after his visit to Jerusalem. This supposed peace is the source of the millions of bullets, tens of thousands of RPG’s and other weapons trained on Jews and Israeli soldiers from the Gaza Strip. There is no other source for weapons or raw materials other than through the presently defunct Rafah crossing, where trucks and tunnels formerly brought Hamas everything it needed to murder over a thousand Jews and take another 250 prisoners. Egypt is adamant not to share this border with Israel. One wonders why. Israel has not said categorically that when it has won the war it will stay on this extremely problematic and dangerous border. Every day, it seems that the government waffles between bravado and cowardice.
Israel has been returning Gazans to Gaza. Some are terrorists. The explanation is either that there is not enough room at the inn for the major influx of bad guys or that they are returning people for reasons unknown. One who was released was the head of Shifa Hospital. The hospital for years has been a Hamas headquarters. This fellow was actively involved in the reception of hostages brought into Gaza. After he was let go, we had the Keystone Kops command performance of the prime minister and his men being shocked, shocked by the release effected by the authorities under his command. If Israel truly believed in its right to exist, in its eternal connection to the Land of Israel, and to its righteous might, it would be conducting daily executions of terrorists who were involved in the 10/7 pogrom. It would be planning to be in Gaza until further notice so that a farmer in southern Israel can walk up to the Gaza fence to pick his tomatoes without fear of attending his own funeral later in the day. But Israel, like the rest of the West, has lost the plot. It no longer believes in itself, in its right to exist in peace or that it is right and the Palestinian extremists are wrong. Why should they entertain any “peace” suggestions from Hamas? Destroy them and then talk to whoever is left, even if it is a three-legged donkey. Ditto for Lebanon. Why is Beirut still a functional city as Jews are killed in Hezbollah attacks by air? Israel no longer believes in the righteousness of its cause and just wants to get by. So it squanders military successes and worries about feeding and providing electricity to those who wish to wipe the country off the face of the Earth. The dumbest geniuses in the world.
But it is not just Israel. If the US thought that it was an incredible country as many Trump supporters do, it would protect its borders and only let in those who would make the country a better place. The same with Europe. I couldn't care less if a few million Muslims came to Europe as long as they became proud Brits, French or Dutch. But they don’t. They often show contempt for the countries that take them in and give them a life better than anything they could have imagined in their former third-world homes. And if those countries had a wee bit of pride in their history and values, they would give these people the boot, with no apologies offered. But maybe we were bad colonialists, maybe we owe them, maybe they are better than we are, maybe their path is the right one, etc. So, they keep allowing for no-go zones, anti-Western rallies and lifestyles, and a complete disconnect from the local body politic. Confident countries would never let such things occur. But the West doubts itself, its timeless values, its success—and immigrants as well as foreign countries take advantage of the constant Western angst and doubt. Would you rather live in a world with the scientific accomplishments of the West or the third world? But Western leaders are embarrassed by their successes and universal values.
The US dropped two atomic bombs on the Japanese because its leaders knew that the enemy deserved it for Pearl Harbor and everything that followed. Hezbollah or Iran would use a nuclear device in a second because they believe that they have an obligation to conquer the world for Islam. The US and Israel have always sat on not only their nuclear weapons but other powerful munitions because the goal is not to win a war but to act according to some amorphous international norms. Israel probably wants to win in Gaza and in the north, but it no longer knows what victory looks like. Taking and holding land, protecting inhabitants, and deterring external enemies used to be the goal of a confident Israel. Today, Israel worries if Washington will stop weapons shipments, if the UN and other international kangaroo courts will go after its leaders and officers, and if Israel is providing its enemies with enough food and electricity so as not to be considered inhumane.
The West has lost its belief in the greatness of its ways and the righteousness of its path. The results are that Western countries allow themselves to be overrun and defeated. China, Russia and Iran have no doubts about their goals. The official anthem for the West should be, “Please kick me again.”
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