I'm no politician and I know enough about history to know it repeats itself. It is curious that in days around this year's Holocaust Memorial Day we have things happening in the 'Land of the Free' that resonate, however slightly, with 1930's fascism.
My mother taught me 'This Land Is Your Land' when I was young. It is a considered song, probably written over some time. In today's world, time is as precious as gold, so as rough as it is, here's a ballad for today.
I found it both ironic and sad that Holocaust Memorial Day remembers those lost in the Nazi's genocide of the Jewish people in Germany and it's occupied countries, along with all subsequent genocides, whilst there is a mass genocide being carried out by Israel in the name of the Jewish people. The actions of the Israeli government and it's supporters and the hardline right wing Jews, is damaging the reputation of a mostly peaceful and loving people, who have endured so much hardship in their history with persecution going on for centuries. I'm sure a huge number of Jewish people know the only path to lasting peace is to live alongside a free Palestine. But that peaceful is going to be more difficult to achieve with a new hunger for vengeance being instilled in the young of Palestine.
ReplyDeleteAnd meanwhile the rest of the world seems to be being told by the Superpowers to 'Do As Thou Wilt' so long as it doesn't affect our interests. No rules or law makers and peacekeepers. Just fight it out amongst yourselves and we'll only step on if it affects our interests or promises a nice shiny medal for the President.
It's a crazy world.
Dee xxx
The problems of the Middle East, in general, go back at least to the breakup of the Ottoman Empire and the division of the spoils of WW1, with the Balfour Declaration supporting Zionism to have been ill-thought through and compounded in following years by favouring Zionism over the settled Palestinians.
DeleteThe treatment of Jewish people over the centuries has been appalling, particularly with respect to the Christian attitude to money-lending. The story of Anglo-Normans and Clifford's Tower, York, 1190 is telling.
Abrahamaic religions are behind so much of the trouble in the world today. Maybe it's time for the Celts to reclaim their homelands!!! Nikki xxx
I note that descendants of Jews who fled to the USA from Nazi Germany are requesting German citizenship through the ancestry route. I also note that Germany is taking a lot of initiative in rearming - encouraged, if you can believe it, by Poland - and taking a stand in defence of democracy and free trade. Sounds like the old Gemany, before Kaisers and Fuhrers went nuts for nationalism, and I'm for it.
ReplyDeleteI think we'll do all right here in Europe, in fact. A new era of Old World initiative, in a sense. I hope the UK might now start to feel its isolation and become sensible again. In the meantime, let's see if we can encourage right-thinking Americans to stamp out their MAGA nuts.
Sue xx
I think you're right Sue! The western Europeans, in particular, may seem weak and equivocal to some, but we share a history of failed Empires that give us an insight that Americans wedded to 'Manifest Destiny' simply don't understand. The problem with them, however, is being wedded to Christianity as sold through Southern Baptists and that book! Nikki xxx
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