Go tell this on your stupid mountain

The endless reruns only demonstrate the lack of a measurable IQ

About the new war in Israel and the Gaza strip, Sarah Silverman speaks for me and most of the people I know.

”My sister and nieces and nephews are there. They’ve been protesting BIBI for months. Fight for a two state solution. Israelis are Jews and Arabs and all colors. There is so much complexity to this. But make NO MISTAKE Hamas is a terror organization who’s mission statement is kill all Jews. This fucking world breaks my heart”

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The Gaza Strip has been in the hands of so many conquerors throughout history. That tiny piece of land, 31 miles long, is just twice the size of Washington DC. With about 3 times the people.

One of the most densely populated places on earth.

So the demand for water is high. And only 10% of its aquifer is drinkable. That part can’t be blamed on the British, who defined and doled out the land all over the Middle East 75 years ago. It’s not Israel’s fault nor the fault of Palestinians.

Though in times of peace the folks in the Gaza Strip and the Israelis and Palestinians and Egyptians might be able to find a way to provide the people there more potable water. That’s certain.

The median age of the Gaza Strip residents is 18 years old. Less than 3% reach 65 years old. Historically, that fact alone is a pretty good indicator that conflict and war are inevitable. There’s not a lot of elder wisdom and plenty of young men full of passionate energy and impatience in youthful societies dealing with impoverishment and injustices.

In the first world, we call the result ‘terrorism’. But sociologically, it’s both understandable and predictable. I can condemn the violence again and again but that has no actual impact on the conditions there at all.

If there’s to be any litmus test at all to make judgments about, these details matter most:

1) Do all the parties share equal rights?
2) Are there reasonable opportunities to make a living there?
3) Can the residents get a decent education there, to advance their knowledge base and to gain greater career opportunities?
4) Are the government policies of all the parties effective?

Unemployment’s around 25% in the labor force, the 9th highest rate in the world. It’s even higher for males between 15 and 24, nearly 34%. For women in that youthful age range, it’s 69%. That makes it perfectly clear that women don’t have the same rights as men there and higher numbers of younger people aren’t provided nearly enough opportunities to make a living there. 30% of the entire population lives in poverty.

Approximately 98% of the population by age 15 can read and write. Most get 13 years of education, roughly equivalent to a high school graduation level. (Almost all this numerical data uses the CIA Factbook as the main source)

Assigning responsibility for the shortcomings isn’t for the politically convenient act of dispensing blame. It’s essential to know where the weak links are occurring so they can be modified and strengthened.

Patriarchal current religious leaders in Gaza and neighboring areas is a good place to start. That doesn’t mean Moses or Jesus or Mohammed is to blame. It’s not religion or religious faith at fault. But when current faith leaders refuse to amend and modify religious instruction to fit human evolution and educational advances as they change through the centuries are a failed lot.

Moses died about 3300 years ago. Christ died nearly 2000 years ago. Muhammed died about 1400 years ago. Prophets or saviors, their teachings provide moral guidance still. But their explanations about the best ways to live or nourish one’s self offer no logical value at all when many centuries have passed. None of them ever described how bacteria and viruses and diseases spread. They never spoke of trichinosis in improperly cured and stored pork. They just knew eating pork could make some sick and some die. So their dietary rules fit the lack of scientific knowledge in the era they lived in.

It’s typically a cop out when a minister or priest today considers a bad outcome and defines it as God’s will. By that same definition, God also willed us to be capable of study, learning, and the application of reason. So when scientists learned that heating meat to certain temperatures killed off any lingering pathogens or that shellfish allergies could cause death but a tiny percentage of the population had that allergy, we learned that a lot more stuff could be safely ingested. Religious leaders who fail to adapt to acquired knowledge do their parishioners a disservice. It’s true that certain traditions & rituals offer reassurance and stability to societies. But do you hear any religious leaders today saying surgeons and midwives shouldn’t wash their hands? That knowledge was gained about 150 years ago. But it would be foolish and dangerous to tell folks that washing hands is unholy or counters some Lord’s commands.

If there is no danger in using old dietary laws, it’s not necessary to concede to gained knowledge. But it still remains unnecessary and it makes it sound like your deity of choice is overly picky and downright dumb.

Conservatives or orthodox segments of most major denominations are free to worship according to unnecessary rules but when it comes to human rights, denying them to women or POC or anyone is counterproductive, unfair, socially destructive and that’s where modern leaders of religions in places like Palestine and Israel are regularly dispensing divisive, inhumane and deadly advice while maintaining it’s a law sent from God. They’re contributing to the ongoing cycles of violence. So are political and business leaders pushing the same propaganda.

It’s evident to all that advice, laws and policies that require acts of violence and dehumanization are absolutely ineffective. The horrors of the Holocaust or any genocide have also proven ineffective in achieving their ultimate goals. It is sheer human stupidity to adhere to bad, ineffective advisors and leaders.

Of course Hamas leaders are wrong. Of course Netanyahu is also wrong. Both display criminal behavior. Effective solutions would dispense equal rights to all and some effort to provide a semblance to economic opportunity. Netanyahu’s decisions to isolate Gaza Palestinians, preventing travel and employment, limiting food and trade are ineffective..

Has it stopped the intermittent periods of violence? Not at all.

Failed leadership in multiple professions cause destructive and deadly outcomes. Punishing the struggling entirety of the Palestinian population for the crimes of their leaders is immoral and wrong, just as it was when our White House leaders did the same to all Iraqi citizens.

In Democratic societies our right to our faiths and beliefs are essential. But when it’s causing death and destruction, infringing on the lives and liberties of others, that’s where individual rights are suspended.

Not because I believe that but because history has repeatedly demonstrated that reason is the most effective and moral course.

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