In the early 90s, hope was in abundance. The Berlin Wall fell and Nelson Mandela was freed. And while these things are now just a part of our social backdrop, they are events that stunned the world, giving rise to unprecedented jubilation—and hope that the world could indeed become a better place.
But here we are just over a decade later; and it would seem that anyone who thinks that the world will become a better place has to be delusional. In fact, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that the world is poised for World War III. Many will rush to blame the foreign policy of the United States. However, I am sure that the root of the problem does not lie there. The point here is not that U.S. foreign policy is flawless. Hardly. But that its flawed foreign policy, does not serve up World War III.
The lightening rod, of course, is the Middle East. Iran wants Israel blown off the map, and challenges the very reality of the Holocaust. Neither of these can be considered a reaction to the foreign policy of the United States.
Then there is the simple reality that Iran is determined to become a nuclear power. There is no reason whatsoever to think that Iran is going to back down, owing to pressure from both the European Union and the United States. And when Iran does become a nuclear power, there is little reason to think that it will not target Israel. As an aside, the hatred of Israel has little, if anything, to do with the Palestinian people.
Now one scenario is that Israel will sit by and wait for a nuclear attack from Iran. Another is that Israel will launch a pre-emptive first strike. True, this latter approach may still mean the demise of Israel. All the same, this beats passively waiting to be blown to smithereens. And if Israel launches a pre-emptive first strike, her Arabic neighbors will surely attack. After all, the newly elected Hamas also has as one of its aims the destruction Israel. And if these things do not give us World War III, then nothing will.
Quite simply, nuclear weapons in the hands of a leader driven by pure hate is utterly problematic. This observation points to one profound difference between then and now. There has always been hatred in the world, as even the most cursory glance at world history makes abundantly clear. The difference, though, is that there has not always been the means to act upon that hate with utterly devastating consequences. Surface-to-air missiles, land mines, and explosive devices of every sort have all made it possible for anyone to participate ever so easily and readily in the act of destroying others.
Before continuing, I should note that I have taken a rather informal survey regarding whether or not we are on the verge of World War III. For you see, I honestly thought that I was just being silly. The surprise is that everyone to whom I have mentioned this possibility has concurred. Ordinary folk who are just trying to get on with their lives sense that something horrendous is in the offing. Worse than that: People have the sense that it will happen much sooner than later.
Of course, this is all rather informal. Yet, I am struck by the fact that not since the late 60s has the possibility of World War III seemed so utterly real either to me or to folks with whom I have an occasional chat.
Returning to the issue of hate, I should like to draw attention to one of the most important lessons to be learnt from Nazi Germany. The lesson is that excusing hatred invariably produces a social catastrophe of major proportions. Excusing hatred is a case of being too clever for our own good.
On my view, we sit at the brink of world disaster because the nations of the world have found a multitude of excuses for excusing hatred. And we shall surely reap what we are sowing.
A few years back, I made the following remarks to someone:
- Neither Muslim Arabs nor Jews are perfect
- The loss of innocent Arabic life is wrong; the loss of innocent Jewish life is wrong
- We have problem if either Muslim Arabs or Jews lose sight of the truth of (1) and (2).
I thought that I had presented a set of incontrovertibly true. Alas, the person became angry. You tell me: How could any morally decent person disagree any of the above claims?
World War III shall occur because the nations of the world have found one excuse after another not to present a united front with respect to the truth of claims (1) – (3).
So if I am right, then the hatred of Israel is but part of the problem. The other part is our cultivated moral impotence. Literally, we are excusing ourselves into oblivion.
