War is an act of violence intended to compel our opponent to fulfill our will.
-Carl Von Clausewitz
Morality is a luxury good.
War is fundamentally amoral. There is nothing a threatened society won’t do, especially when cornered. The violence of war has no natural limit, no logical upward bound.
And in case you thought we Americans are better than all that, just know that our biggest weapons, our nuclear arms are pointed at cities, not military bases. We deter our enemies by threatening them with genocidal war. We are no better than Israel or Hamas; we are only stronger, safer and more secure.
This state of relative safety that we enjoy today is the reward for a century’s worth of genocide, ethnic cleansing and theft against the native Americans. The natives we didn’t kill we put in concentration camps, where they remain today in slightly modified form.
Our security is the lucre of the crimes of our forefathers, the byproduct of a decisive victory against those whose homes we stole. Neither Israel nor Palestine enjoy such safety. Remember this when you condemn and pass judgement on either of the warring parties.
Take sides. But don’t lie to yourself.
