When War is Necessary - Don't Wait
Yes, wait long enough to be fully prepared. But, when hope of a peaceful resolution is gone, bite the bullet and do the hard thing sooner than later.
Sunday, November 5th, 2023
Dear Freedom Friends,
Note: I am intentionally not sharing visual images related to the horrible war in and around Israel. You can find all the video and still images you want on Twitter and elsewhere. As a person who is a visual learner, I rarely forget what I’ve seen, and I want my Substack to be place where people can read and think about intense topics with as much logic and objectivity as possible. Images naturally stimulate our amygdala and generate biological and emotional responses. That’s fine, but few can think clearly under those conditions.
I come from a quasi-military family. My grandfather volunteered to fight in WWII, was shot down in Germany, and survived a POW Camp. My dad, my uncle, my cousin’s husband, and my husband all served. I understand the imperfections of the United States Military, and I understand the real consequences of war. I also have been around long enough to know that when war is inevitable — it’s best not to delay.
When I say, “I hope Israel holds strong to their commitment to thoroughly and completely destroy the Hamas stronghold that has embedded itself within Gaza, above and below ground,” here's why:
Today (November 4th) the IDF's Arabic spokesperson declared a humanitarian corridor on the Salah Al-Din road in Gaza from 13:00-16:00 for evacuating northern residents. During this time, Hamas militants attacked the road with mortars and anti-tank missiles.
This is not unusual, nor is it the first time. I shared a video two days ago, of a journalist riding his bike along another road previously used by the good people of Gaza, as they tried to evacuate, and the road was covered in dead bodies. Hamas snipers shot them as they tried to flee.
The good people of Gaza are oppressed and terrorized by Hamas. When Israel eliminates Hamas, the good people of Gaza will be liberated. [What comes next? That’s another substack waiting to be written.]
The Gaza/Israeli War is very ugly and complicated, as is all war, but it reminds me of the civil war in Bosnia, where horrendous war crimes were committed and innocent civilians were tortured in numerous ways. In Bosnia, the world waited too long to get involved. Maybe, if the war crimes had been shared via social media back then (rather than being withheld from the public by mainstream media), the public would have demanded international involvement sooner? If they had...lives would have been saved.
All war is barbaric to a degree, but the world agrees that torturing the innocent and the helpless is not necessary to win a war - it is therefore a crime, because it is excessively cruel for the sake of being cruel or out of a severe lack of respect for the sanctity of life, in general. The massacre of innocents on October 7th is a war crime. The torture of hostages is a war crime. The terrorizing of Gazans by shooting them as they attempt to flee is a war crime. The placement of Hamas headquarters underneath the largest hospital in Gaza is a war crime. The call for a Day of Rage around the world, where Muslims are called to attack, harm and kill Jews, Christians, Atheists, Polytheists, and so on...is a war crime. Or terrorism.
Yes, people will die during the Israeli ground and air assault. And, this is what happens when your elected (and then oppressive) government starts a war with a slew of war crimes that stagger the imagination and horrify all healthy, non-radicalized, loving people from all faiths and belief systems (including non-believers).
Most of the people in the West who are protesting Israel's decision to defend itself by accepting Hamas' declaration of war and responding in kind, would be slaughtered by Hamas, if they were found walking the streets of Gaza. The sliver of humanity that Hamas considers acceptable, is so thin, that few to none can exist within their world view. It's like Jewish and Black Americans marching in the street to defend the right of the KKK and Neo-Nazis to violently advocate for the murder of the world's Jewish Population and enslavement all Black people of African descent.
SOMETHING TO UNDERSTAND: Why did the United States get involved in WWII? Because we were directly attacked in the Pacific. Whatever else was going on, behind the scenes, this is what galvanized the citizenry and created adequate public support for the leaders of the country to send our young men and women to fight in Europe.
AND, WE WERE LATE. If we had fought sooner, how many people would have NOT died in Nazi Concentration Camps?
When it comes to war, when it comes to deciding that something is too horrific to turn a blind eye, when the cost of doing nothing outweighs the cost of getting involved, THAT is when people should step up. When you determine it is inevitable. That is the time to do it. To get started. To commit. To take a deep breath and do what must be done.
Waiting only results in more suffering - not less.