Thursday, July 11, 2019
Worthy Causes
There are thousands of worthy causes. Why do we choose the ones we do? I usually bring that forward in discussion of Palestinian rights - of the many unhappy peoples in the world, they seem among the least mistreated. But the question applies to other causes as well. When we get worked up about something, who has convinced us to do so?
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When it comes to the Palestinians, I go with the following anecdote. Before the Six Day War I knew a Palestinian Christian family. One family member was born in Bethlehem on December 24. The family, boasting a number of STEM professionals, was very accomplished. The patriarch of the family had told his children to get out of the West Bank- this was before the Six Day War. The patriarch, who worked in the Jordanian civil service, informed his children that Muslims would never let Christians advance. Which must have been his experience in the Jordanian civil service.
Go forward several generations. A grandson of the patriarch got a STEM doctorate in the US. While he worked in the US in his profession, he spent much of his time in the US fulminating against Israel, which had taken over the West Bank when he was a child. He eventually returned to the West Bank. There was a bit of irony about his fulminating against Israel, as a cousin of his on the other side of the family was on the record about Hamas's persecution of Christians. But not a comment about THAT from the grandson of the patriarch. (No, the patriarch did not like the Israelis ruling the West Bank.Further irony. The patriarch lived for some years in Kuwait with family members. We know how that turned out.)
Friends' suggestions. Projects pushed by whoever gets your attention first and can punch your buttons. Things related to things you already know something about (tends to specialization, I suppose--some people may react against that and actively look for something completely different).
... all until you are tapped out financially or emotionally. I have only so much "emotional energy" left from the rest of my life to invest in projects unrelated to my life.
Palestinian rights: Welllll, they attacked Israel in '48, and lost. They've tried more times, and lost again and again. I say, Pali "leaders" are misleading "their people", and the people are suckers for it.
Yes, allying yourself with people who lose wars has traditionally not worked out well for folks.
The only human causes I've ever been really caught up in, if you don't count my current political escapades, involved fighting homeowners' associations. The cause that I can least resist is not humans at all, it's animal rescue. No one has to convince me of these. I resist giving my attention at all times until I encounter a specific situation I can't bear.
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