The Need for Moral Clarity

Where's the Goddess of Cutting Through the Bullshit when we need her?

What’s wrong with this picture?

The G7 meet in Italy to reaffirm their loyalty to Israel, as Israel commits genocide against Gaza.

Western leaders gather for a Ukraine peace summit in Switzerland, failing to invite Russia, one of the warring parties. Beforehand, Russia offered a generous peace offer that is quickly rejected.

After the numerous warcrimes committed by Israel, the CBC reports that the UN human rights office says Israel may have violated laws of war in Gaza. This, after over 35,000 people, including women and children, have been killed, all hospitals and universities have been bombed, water and electrical systems have been destroyed, mass graves have been discovered in Gaza, extermination, amidst other well documented destruction.

And what about that pier that Americans, who are funding and arming Israel as it commits genocide in Gaza, built in Gaza to enable aid, who then used it to pretend to be an aid truck, massacring over 210 Gazans while rescuing four hostages?

Western leaders claim that they follow international law despite enabling these crimes, and weakening international law in the process.

There’s a controversial law being implemented in many countries developed by The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). So far, 43 countries have adopted its definition, which expands the notion of anti-Semitism to encompass all criticism of Jewish institutions. This can result in legitimate criticism of Israeli policies being called anti-Semitism, and making it illegal to protest against genocide.

Here’s a recording of a Zoom call where Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) explores the implications of this kind of law in Canada.

Under this law, protesting Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza can be considered anti-semitism. This despite the fact that many Jewish people are demonstrating against this.

A friend of mine was reading about various goddesses for awhile. Her favourite was the Goddess of Cutting Through the Bullshit. I thought she sounded pretty impressive too, although I don’t remember her name.

Where is the Goddess of Cutting Through the Bullshit (GCTBS) when you need her?

For your edification, I will do my best to channel her.

Okay…a bit of static, but I think she’s coming through…

ME: Hello.

GCTBS: Hello. How are you?

ME: Fine.

GCTBS: I call BS. How are you really?

ME: Okay, I’m pissed off, but that’s not why I invited you here. By the way, what’s your name?

GCTBS: None of your business. Look what happened to Julian Assange. I keep my name to myself, thank you very much.

ME: Fair enough. Let’s talk about geopolitical issues: Israel, Gaza, Ukraine, Russia, USA, G7.

GCTBS: Where to start! I don’t know if my swords are sharp enough for all this, but I’ll give it a try.

Let’s start with ‘Never Again’.

The organization, Jewish Voice for Peace, had this to say about this expression:

…Jewish Voice for Peace reminds the President that the enduring lesson from the Nazi Holocaust — Never Again — means Never Again for Anyone.

No one ever interpreted that to mean now it’s Israel’s turn to commit genocide, as far as I know. How does that make sense?

Genocide is genocide. It’s illegal under international law, and it’s immoral. And no country should commit this crime of crimes.

The right thing — the sensible thing — to do is to negotiate peace, and if Israel is unwilling to do that, other nations need to stop funding and arming Israel, and instead impose sanctions on Israel. Otherwise those nations are complicit in genocide.

We need to get this straight.

As far as the west goes, there’s so much empty posturing, virtue signalling and gaslighting, it’s hard to know where to begin. But what you said above tells it all. The Americans built a pier, said it was to enable getting aid to Gaza, loaded soldiers into an aid truck, and then massacred a bunch of people waiting for food in Gaza. This violates international law.

In the west, people don’t hear about the history of Israel, and how it routinely mows the lawn and otherwise oppresses Palestinians.

ME: The term ‘mowing the lawn’ implies something ongoing and trivializes regularly killing people.

When leaders of the G7 nations say they support Israel, they’re actually saying that they support a country that is committing genocide.

Not only that, but they have a Ukraine peace summit without inviting Russia. What am I missing here?

GCTBS: Look, let’s go back to the Occupy Movement. We, the 99%, view the world differently from the 1% — actually, it’s less than 1%, but you get the picture. The people with the power to control our politicians, corporations, media, and entertainment industries bombard us with messaging.

Caitlin Johnstone put it really well in this post.

What’s going on in Gaza shows us the gap between the values of the 1% and the rest of us. Most ordinary people are repulsed by genocide, especially when watching the daily horrors on our social media.

The 1% generally believe that they can control the narrative to the point where they can convince us that Israel is defending itself. Sadly some folks are falling for this.

But many are questioning things that the leaders of the western world say. This perceptual gulf is prodding people to look more deeply into things. If genocide is acceptable to our leaders, what else do they find acceptable? What else should we question?

Why are western leaders pushing for war? Funding and arming Israel andUkraine while sabotaging peace talks, even sabre rattling about Taiwan.

Why? Many people in these countries are experiencing grinding poverty after decades of austerity, and we’re increasing military spending? Now there’s even talk about reinstating the draft in some countries. What are our countries actually defending?

And what is the actual plan the west has after all these wars it’s pushing for? Is it a world we want to live in?

From their shenanigans that you’ve listed — you know: the pier, the peace summit without Russia, the G7 commitment to support Israel, the legislation that could make protesting Israel’s genocide illegal, it seems that the west is just reacting, and doesn’t have a clearly stated goal in mind. People all over the world are rightfully losing trust in the leaders of western nations.

And they’re worrying about how to get the world onto a healthier, more peaceful and sustainable path.

ME: Yes, I certainly am. I keep hearing rumblings about BRICS. Is this giving people hope?

GCTBS: Definitely it’s giving hope to a lot of people in the global majority, formerly known as the global south. They’re all too familiar with the dirty tricks of the west. But it’s catching on with people in the western world too. As much as anything, it’s because it presents a positive and coherent vision for a better world.

ME: What can ordinary people do about all this?

GCTBS: Stay aware of what’s going on, and take action where we can.

It’s hard, I know, but we have to stay in it for the long haul, so people need to take care of themselves and each other, and build solidarity. Keep your eye on the positive future that is possible, and don’t let yourselves be divided.

Here’s an action that people are having fun with, and it’s making a big impact.

ME: Thanks very much for sharing your wisdom. In times like these you must be very busy.

GCTBS: Yes, but I’m in it for the long haul, so I take good care of myself.

ME: I’ll think of you whenever I notice the gaslit haze surrounding me.

GCTBS: That’s a good idea. Farewell. I have lots to do these days.

ME: Thanks so much for your time. I appreciate the visit.