If you were a Jew in Europe in the late 1930s, the biggest danger to your health was other Europeans—your neighbors, your customers, your friends. Now over 1000 men, women, and children have been executed for religious or racial reasons once again in Israel. You know the previous story. The Germans killed six million Jews. Two million were executed by firing squads all over Europe.
It is a well-written article but only tells one side of the story. Palestinian citizens have been subjected to extreme brutality for decades by the Israeli state. News information on this subject is available on the internet and other sources. Ignoring the other side of the story establishes the notion of "us versus them". Life and dignity of life is precious for all citizens of the world.
All the West got together and condemned the attack on the Ukrainian people, but they kept their eyes closed about the Kashmiri and Palestinian people.
Similarly, the people of Iraq, Libya, Syria, and many other countries lost lives, shelters, and businesses because they were considered dangerous by the developed nations. In contrast, it is the responsibility of the superpower to maintain JUSTICE in the world through dialogue and other peaceful techniques.
I do not support attacks on Jews and never will. But why should Palestinian people suffer for generations for their homeland occupation?
"Us versus them" begins when inequality among people rises. It is the state which is responsible for the injustice among its people and not the people.
I did not intend to tell one side of the story. The sad story of the Palestinians is also a result of us vs them. Both sides hate each other because of religion. It is Muslims vs Jews. By law, there is freedom of religion in the US. We are a secular state. Now some want to make us a Christian state. The book burning has begun. It seems to me that religious political power almost always leads to death and destruction. Freedom of expression and religion without religious political power seems to be the answer
Now you have it. Western democracies allow you to practice your own religion and faith helps many of us deal with the challenges of life. I support that entirely for everyone. It is religious political power that means death and distruction. I am all for freedom of religion but I am opposed to religious political power because that always seems to ultimately lead to conversion by coercion. It leads to imposing the standards of one religion on other by force. That statement will lead to other protest but we Americans until recently forced Native American children to attend boarding school where we forced them to abandon their language, culture, and religion. Freedom of religion with respect for our shared humanity seems to be the way out.
Two years before they discovered the Inuit student graves in Canada I stumbled over an album by the artist "Willie Thrasher". When I heard him "whine" about wanting to go back home I asked myself why he wouldn't just return, so I decided to google him and learned all about the crimes of the Catholic Church and the Canadian government. Just sickening. It stuck with me and I couldn't stop obsessing over it for almost a year.
It came as quite the surprise when those graves were discovered and it turned out many Canadians were apparently unaware that this ever happened. It was all out in the open the whole time.
Like everything there is Big Religion, where they drive around in luxury cars and have mega mansions. Even some religion has gotten twisted up with politics. Today and for the past few years there is a high level of chaos we live with daily and the real problems are not getting addressed because we are so divided. Slick Politicians aren't there to serve any of us but who funds them. The create issues that really aren't there and they never fix the issue because it gets them elected and more money. They really have become too corrupt and are rewarded for doing so and getting away with it. Our politicians have been bought by Big Business, Big Pharma, Big Religion and so on so they never actually represent the people anymore. They lie about numbers and directly harm people without any consequence. Its so Big and bloated. Politicians weaponize everything to make their contributors happy. What a crazy messed up world they have created that we have to live in. I don't know how any human can kill another. My father served in WWII and I have met so many who served and I am humbled what they did for all of us. So many died during the holocaust and my parents sat me down as a child and we discussed it and warned me (they had me late in life) but now we have new groups here that are neo-nazis. One guy who was a marine is creating a national neo-nazi group. No one is stopping them. The politicians allow it and don't say a word. There is no accountability anymore and the politicians blame everyone else but themselves. It seems to have spiraled out of control. We are not even discussing how all of this non stop craziness affects every humans mental health including children. What can unite mankind? I do not know but I know I have hope, but the times we are in certainly challenging. I cannot hate. I do have faith but this is not sustainable. All of this chaos and poor leadership affects our workplace, our mental health, our children, our health, it causes chaos, division, uncertainty, and I think its the politics that is causing all of this. As far as Israel, I hear BiBi was warned but failed to listen. I hear he is an autocrat and seems today we have a global rise of Big Autocrats. How this will play out? Its uncertain. As we know Hitler was an autocrat and so was Mussolini, look at history how that played out. The warning signs are there. You never know which politician will pick a certain population to weaponize. I do agree why we can't all work for the common good, but we are stuck with Big Autocrats who make big mistakes and more big mistakes costing so much lives. I also question do politicians even care about humans anymore? Sorry to ramble on but we are in interesting times. I debate should I even post this.
I blame media for most of our ills because they have precipitated the downfall of our society. They obfuscate or outright lie about EVERYTHING. The few people who are actually in charge of everything in this life will never tell us the truth about what is really happening or what their plan is for us. We are doomed whether revolution reaches us or not.
The people who are really sticking it to you, point the finger at the media so they can substitute their own messaging. I trust them less than I trust the media
The best hope to improve the lot of ordinary people like us, is a democratic government like we have in the United States. Democracy depends on reason, discussion, mutual respect, doing the work to understand the issues and then vote accordingly. Many of our institutions are not serving us well. The one I know best is medicine. The media did not cause medicine not to serve us. They could do a better job of helping us understand, but they are driven by clicks and views that increase their advertising revenue. A great example is drug price negotiation. Every advanced country in the world negotiates drug prices and they pay a fraction of what we pay. You can easily see the votes in congress that continue to block effective negotiation. Vote them out. That is how you can fight being doomed.
Well the media is in bed with Big Industry, Big Gov’t, Big Pharma etc. If People knew the truth and that is the job of media, we would not likely be in this situation because people would know!
Dr. Bestermann, I just finished watching Ordinary Men. Thank you for recommending it. Everyone everywhere should thoughtfully watch it. It is powerful, horrible and chilling. Very disturbing because it flies in the face of what we would "like" to believe about human nature. But as the movie shows briefly at the end, the German holocaust is just one in an ever repeating series of holocausts up to the present - over and over. Us vs Them and the dehumanization begins. Very disturbing that most of the shooters had convinced themselves they were on the moral high ground and were not particularly bothered by it after war's end. In a smaller, slightly less lethal way we have actually been living in a similar atmosphere at the past 3 years during the pandemic, as people were vilified for wanting medical freedom or to be allowed to simply ask questions about things that did not make sense. It was horrifying to me to witness. During the past 3 years, I finally understood how the German holocaust could happen. I realized it could happen anywhere any time. But now in the Middle East and in the Ukraine and countless other less well known places around the world, the killings continue. Thank you for recommending the movie and it should be a "must see" for everyone.
Oct 13, 2023·edited Oct 13, 2023Liked by William H Bestermann Jr MD
Thanks, Bill, for writing this. Unless one has lost one's entire family, as we did in the Shoah, it is difficult to understand Israel's response. I care about the people who live in Gaza. Israel warns them before a strike. There was no warning for the Israeli civilians murdered in their beds. I pray for peace for all people.
Oct 13, 2023·edited Oct 13, 2023Liked by William H Bestermann Jr MD
"for religious or racial reasons"?
Really?
As much love as I have for Israelis, Jews or people of any other heritage or belief, that statement does not do justice to the situation.
Narratives like these just widen the divide.
I was born in Hamburg by the way and I still live here. I agree to what you said about Germans. My family on the paternal side was not honorable in any way during this time. Lots of voluntary SS members, Beutehändler etc.
I also agree to everything else you said about division and polarization in the USA, but I don't think the attacks should be understood (merely) as an attack on race or religion.
Have you watched the video, Ordinary Men? Please watch it and then come back to comment further. There are other reasons people decide to hate and scapegoat each other but the fundamental root cause of violence agains other humans seems to be us vs them. We may want their land or their stuff but we justify it because they are infidels. heretics, savages, or less than human. Our DNA is almost identical. Using cultural constructs like race or religion to justify murder and discrimination is a root cause of a lot of the misery in the world. Race and religion lead to an us vs them mentality in many cases.
Oct 13, 2023·edited Oct 14, 2023Liked by William H Bestermann Jr MD
I shall if it isn't too long. Not big on videos.
But yes, "us vs. them" is a very familiar concept to me. Most people here don't really ask questions about the Third Reich. I asked everyone I met who lived during that time to tell me his or her version for as long as I can think.
Coming to grips with the crimes of my own family (and their lies!) has always been a theme in my life which is part of why I feel so strongly about vaccine passports.
I can't come to grips with human nature, with my family, with any of it. I'm different, I know no "us" and never did. I'm not a "tribe person". Can't say that played out too well for me in the past years.
The agitation against the unvaccinated was by far the most disturbing part of everything that happened. Not because I wouldn't get vaccinated though, but because these patterns are so familiar.
It is a well-written article but only tells one side of the story. Palestinian citizens have been subjected to extreme brutality for decades by the Israeli state. News information on this subject is available on the internet and other sources. Ignoring the other side of the story establishes the notion of "us versus them". Life and dignity of life is precious for all citizens of the world.
All the West got together and condemned the attack on the Ukrainian people, but they kept their eyes closed about the Kashmiri and Palestinian people.
Similarly, the people of Iraq, Libya, Syria, and many other countries lost lives, shelters, and businesses because they were considered dangerous by the developed nations. In contrast, it is the responsibility of the superpower to maintain JUSTICE in the world through dialogue and other peaceful techniques.
I do not support attacks on Jews and never will. But why should Palestinian people suffer for generations for their homeland occupation?
"Us versus them" begins when inequality among people rises. It is the state which is responsible for the injustice among its people and not the people.
I did not intend to tell one side of the story. The sad story of the Palestinians is also a result of us vs them. Both sides hate each other because of religion. It is Muslims vs Jews. By law, there is freedom of religion in the US. We are a secular state. Now some want to make us a Christian state. The book burning has begun. It seems to me that religious political power almost always leads to death and destruction. Freedom of expression and religion without religious political power seems to be the answer
Because of religion? Isn't that the way out of hate?
Now "religious political power" is a different matter.
Now you have it. Western democracies allow you to practice your own religion and faith helps many of us deal with the challenges of life. I support that entirely for everyone. It is religious political power that means death and distruction. I am all for freedom of religion but I am opposed to religious political power because that always seems to ultimately lead to conversion by coercion. It leads to imposing the standards of one religion on other by force. That statement will lead to other protest but we Americans until recently forced Native American children to attend boarding school where we forced them to abandon their language, culture, and religion. Freedom of religion with respect for our shared humanity seems to be the way out.
Couldn't agree more. No protest from my end. ;)
Two years before they discovered the Inuit student graves in Canada I stumbled over an album by the artist "Willie Thrasher". When I heard him "whine" about wanting to go back home I asked myself why he wouldn't just return, so I decided to google him and learned all about the crimes of the Catholic Church and the Canadian government. Just sickening. It stuck with me and I couldn't stop obsessing over it for almost a year.
It came as quite the surprise when those graves were discovered and it turned out many Canadians were apparently unaware that this ever happened. It was all out in the open the whole time.
Great album btw.
Delighted we could find common ground.
Of course. Sorry if my initial reaction was a bit harsh.
Like everything there is Big Religion, where they drive around in luxury cars and have mega mansions. Even some religion has gotten twisted up with politics. Today and for the past few years there is a high level of chaos we live with daily and the real problems are not getting addressed because we are so divided. Slick Politicians aren't there to serve any of us but who funds them. The create issues that really aren't there and they never fix the issue because it gets them elected and more money. They really have become too corrupt and are rewarded for doing so and getting away with it. Our politicians have been bought by Big Business, Big Pharma, Big Religion and so on so they never actually represent the people anymore. They lie about numbers and directly harm people without any consequence. Its so Big and bloated. Politicians weaponize everything to make their contributors happy. What a crazy messed up world they have created that we have to live in. I don't know how any human can kill another. My father served in WWII and I have met so many who served and I am humbled what they did for all of us. So many died during the holocaust and my parents sat me down as a child and we discussed it and warned me (they had me late in life) but now we have new groups here that are neo-nazis. One guy who was a marine is creating a national neo-nazi group. No one is stopping them. The politicians allow it and don't say a word. There is no accountability anymore and the politicians blame everyone else but themselves. It seems to have spiraled out of control. We are not even discussing how all of this non stop craziness affects every humans mental health including children. What can unite mankind? I do not know but I know I have hope, but the times we are in certainly challenging. I cannot hate. I do have faith but this is not sustainable. All of this chaos and poor leadership affects our workplace, our mental health, our children, our health, it causes chaos, division, uncertainty, and I think its the politics that is causing all of this. As far as Israel, I hear BiBi was warned but failed to listen. I hear he is an autocrat and seems today we have a global rise of Big Autocrats. How this will play out? Its uncertain. As we know Hitler was an autocrat and so was Mussolini, look at history how that played out. The warning signs are there. You never know which politician will pick a certain population to weaponize. I do agree why we can't all work for the common good, but we are stuck with Big Autocrats who make big mistakes and more big mistakes costing so much lives. I also question do politicians even care about humans anymore? Sorry to ramble on but we are in interesting times. I debate should I even post this.
Great to hear from you
I blame media for most of our ills because they have precipitated the downfall of our society. They obfuscate or outright lie about EVERYTHING. The few people who are actually in charge of everything in this life will never tell us the truth about what is really happening or what their plan is for us. We are doomed whether revolution reaches us or not.
The people who are really sticking it to you, point the finger at the media so they can substitute their own messaging. I trust them less than I trust the media
The best hope to improve the lot of ordinary people like us, is a democratic government like we have in the United States. Democracy depends on reason, discussion, mutual respect, doing the work to understand the issues and then vote accordingly. Many of our institutions are not serving us well. The one I know best is medicine. The media did not cause medicine not to serve us. They could do a better job of helping us understand, but they are driven by clicks and views that increase their advertising revenue. A great example is drug price negotiation. Every advanced country in the world negotiates drug prices and they pay a fraction of what we pay. You can easily see the votes in congress that continue to block effective negotiation. Vote them out. That is how you can fight being doomed.
Well the media is in bed with Big Industry, Big Gov’t, Big Pharma etc. If People knew the truth and that is the job of media, we would not likely be in this situation because people would know!
I agree with your thinking.
Thanks Farrah. That is important to me
As a Transcultural Nurse, I applaud this poignant post. We must raise and support awareness of a just culture.
Thanks once more, Bill.
Kathleen
Thanks for your generous comment
Dr. Bestermann, I just finished watching Ordinary Men. Thank you for recommending it. Everyone everywhere should thoughtfully watch it. It is powerful, horrible and chilling. Very disturbing because it flies in the face of what we would "like" to believe about human nature. But as the movie shows briefly at the end, the German holocaust is just one in an ever repeating series of holocausts up to the present - over and over. Us vs Them and the dehumanization begins. Very disturbing that most of the shooters had convinced themselves they were on the moral high ground and were not particularly bothered by it after war's end. In a smaller, slightly less lethal way we have actually been living in a similar atmosphere at the past 3 years during the pandemic, as people were vilified for wanting medical freedom or to be allowed to simply ask questions about things that did not make sense. It was horrifying to me to witness. During the past 3 years, I finally understood how the German holocaust could happen. I realized it could happen anywhere any time. But now in the Middle East and in the Ukraine and countless other less well known places around the world, the killings continue. Thank you for recommending the movie and it should be a "must see" for everyone.
I am delighted that you found the information to be useful
Thanks, Bill, for writing this. Unless one has lost one's entire family, as we did in the Shoah, it is difficult to understand Israel's response. I care about the people who live in Gaza. Israel warns them before a strike. There was no warning for the Israeli civilians murdered in their beds. I pray for peace for all people.
Thanks Barbara. It is great to hear from you
"for religious or racial reasons"?
Really?
As much love as I have for Israelis, Jews or people of any other heritage or belief, that statement does not do justice to the situation.
Narratives like these just widen the divide.
I was born in Hamburg by the way and I still live here. I agree to what you said about Germans. My family on the paternal side was not honorable in any way during this time. Lots of voluntary SS members, Beutehändler etc.
I also agree to everything else you said about division and polarization in the USA, but I don't think the attacks should be understood (merely) as an attack on race or religion.
Have you watched the video, Ordinary Men? Please watch it and then come back to comment further. There are other reasons people decide to hate and scapegoat each other but the fundamental root cause of violence agains other humans seems to be us vs them. We may want their land or their stuff but we justify it because they are infidels. heretics, savages, or less than human. Our DNA is almost identical. Using cultural constructs like race or religion to justify murder and discrimination is a root cause of a lot of the misery in the world. Race and religion lead to an us vs them mentality in many cases.
I shall if it isn't too long. Not big on videos.
But yes, "us vs. them" is a very familiar concept to me. Most people here don't really ask questions about the Third Reich. I asked everyone I met who lived during that time to tell me his or her version for as long as I can think.
Coming to grips with the crimes of my own family (and their lies!) has always been a theme in my life which is part of why I feel so strongly about vaccine passports.
I can't come to grips with human nature, with my family, with any of it. I'm different, I know no "us" and never did. I'm not a "tribe person". Can't say that played out too well for me in the past years.
You have achieved the next stage of human evolution. Congratulations.
The agitation against the unvaccinated was by far the most disturbing part of everything that happened. Not because I wouldn't get vaccinated though, but because these patterns are so familiar.