Theos-Talk Archives (May 2002 Message tt00126)

--- Bart Lidofsky <bartl@sprynet.com> wrote:
> What is the moral responsibility
> of someone who does
> not know any better, never had any opportunity to
> learn any better, and
> truly believes that they are doing the moral and
> correct thing

That might have applied to ancient rustics, but that
excuse hardly makes sense applied to Nero. Rome was
one of the most advanced cities in the ancient world.

> I have an interesting question about the situation
> in Israel today.
> When Jordan was occupying the West Bank, Syria the
> Golan Heights, and
> Egypt was occupying the Gaza Strip, the Palestinians
> were far more
> oppressed under those regimes than they were or are
> under Israel
> occupation. Yet, their terrorist activities were
> directed not against
> their oppressors, but Israel.

That phenoenon is known to psychologists as displaced
aggression. You get mad at your boss, so you kick the
dog.

> One problem in the Middle East is the differing
> goals of the parties
> involved. Israel wants to continue to exist, and the
> powers that be
> among the Palestinians will settle for nothing less
> than the destruction
> of Israel.

One problem in the US is that people do not understand
there are a multitde of different factions on both
sides with different agendas. Some Israelis want to
exist, others want to opportunistically sieze land
while they have the upper hand, others have religious
based delusions about how they have the right to
expropriate the property of others because God gave
them the land, still others want to sieze territory
which will give them a more militarily defensible
position, still others are racists and bigots, still
others own businesses and want to create a Palestinian
underclass which they can use to depress wages among
their employees, etc. The one thing they all have in
common is, they believe it serves their self interest
to oppress the Palestinians. The way in which they
have gone about pursuing their self interest is what
has led them into the mess they are in now.

It would be very easy to just give up
> Israel, except for the
> minor problem that Israel has a nuclear "spoilsport"
> system, and if
> they're backs are against the wall, they will feel
> forced to use it.

Their backs are already against the wall. Who are
they going ti nuke?


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