In much of the world, the Europeans are known as wimps and the Israelis are   
   known as fascists. The reason is not any kind of corruption in either   
   population. The reason is lessons from the Second World War being learned too   
   well.   
      
   The Europeans learned that war and nationalism is evil. So they became   
   pacifistic, to the point of accommodating all sorts of regimes that should not   
   be accommodated. And the Jews learned that they were not safe in the world; so   
   they created a super-   
   militaristic state that uses the military for all sorts of things that should   
   be better handled through trade or diplomacy.   
      
   In both cases, we see a lesson being learned too well.   
      
   In many respects the Europeans and the Jews traded places since the Second   
   World War. The first went from being militaristic to being pacifistic, and the   
   second went from being pacifistic to being militaristic. At first the   
   Europeans were seen as brutes    
   and the Jews as cowards; now it is the other way around.   
      
   There can be things said in defense of the choice made by both populations. If   
   you have had your people work hard in other countries only to wind up in gas   
   chambers, you would want your own country as well, and you would want to make   
   sure that nobody can    
   destroy it. And if you've had your continent run over by a bunch of homicidal   
   maniacs, you would want peace as well. The sentiment in both cases is valid.   
   The solutions leave much to be desired.   
      
   Other places also either learned the wrong lesson from the Second World War or   
   learned their lesson too well. America learned that it was the greatest, so it   
   made Americans arrogant to the point that they were imposing their will upon   
   the rest of the    
   world while destroying all sorts of lifestyles, both inside America and   
   outside America. And Russia's lesson – that because they were able to defeat   
   a major Western power they would be able to defeat the West proper – was   
   wrong.   
      
   Neither the Jews nor the Europeans are evil. But both would benefit from   
   re-examining the lessons that they have learned and their effects on their   
   policies. Israel needs to pursue a less militaristic policy, and Europe needs   
   to take a tougher stand    
   against terrorists and despots. Peace is a rightful thing to strive for, and   
   so is the safety of one's people. But neither accommodation of brutal regimes   
   or militaristic fascism are right.   
      
   https://sites.google.com/site/ilyashambatthought   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)