First things First

A response to a friend in a discussion about the Israel / palestine conflict. 

You are very a thoughtful person and that was very well written. Your overall conclusion is the same as mine. It’s devastating to see civilians die, especially in masses. We are united in wanting this to end.

~ The following paragraph is in response to my friends sentiment that what they think does not matter

My biggest disagreement is with your sentiment that what you think/say/feel/do doesn’t matter greatly. You have a profound impact on everyone you know. You matter immensely. If there is any brainwashing the ruling class has succeeded in, it is in convincing us we are insignificant. We, the people, individuals, are the only sovereign there ever was, or ever will be.

I agree with a lot of what you said, and I am no fan of the state of Israel for many reasons. But I want to take a step back first.

You are a worthy interlocutor. Out of respect for both your intelligence and wisdom, what I say next, I say out of high regard, what I am about to say, I say because I know it’s who you are.

Healthy debates are fun, and also an important part of any civilized progressing society. When in such a discourse people often fall into the trap of trying to nudge a person here or provide facts and evidence there, cite this or that source to prove this or that point to move the needle here or there. While that’s all fine and dandy, it’s for the plebes.

You are not a head down normy.

When engaged with a subject the first order of business is placing the ideas/topics in an axiomatic (stack-ranked) scale in your mind. At the top should be the first principal issues, and at the bottom the nuanced details. For example, the highest first axiom concerning the topic at hand might be that it is bad for innocent children to die. Once all the key points are stack-ranked in your mind the next step is to grade each point in how much the other person or persons disagree. The goal here is to search for an impasse. An impasse is a particular issue of disagreement so important that if we don’t gain some form of parity with the other person/persons all further discussion is moot and pointless. For example, if you or I believed innocent people being killed was not a bad thing, we would have to focus here first before moving on.

Most of what I see in person and on the internet are people blindly fumbling past first principles and issues of impasse to scratch the itch of T-ing off on their preferred pet topics.

For example: When talking about world issues, if I really respect someone I will talk about the broken system of money. Fiat is at the root of every problem and without an understanding here, little good can even be hoped for, let alone achieved. A disagreement on the preeminence of sound money would be an impasse when discussing world affairs.

In the Israel vs palestine debate, we have an impasse.

Islam is a peace-hating, women-hating, liberal principle-hating, gay-hating, free market-hating set of ideas that brings death and destruction everywhere it is adhered to.

As far as specific examples, it would be hard to find something more documented than the problems that saturate any people who follow Islamic writings. Without Islam, the world would be a far better place and you would get to keep your shoes on in the airport and Phil would get to keep his pre-workout powder. There may not be a more evidence-ridden claim on earth today. Everywhere Islam is practiced the people suffer to the extent that their leaders and laws follow Islam. Everywhere, there is not even 1 exception. Here is the truth we have to agree on to be able to get anywhere significant on the whole Israel vs palestine situation.

Islam is evil.

I know what happens in your mind when you read that. It’s emotional. It’s pre-wired programming. People shouldn’t say that… I feel it too… deeply. I know it to be true (that Isalm is evil) yet even when I say it or type it, I can feel the pressure, I know you feel it too.

No one can escape the propaganda of the EU, UN, WEF, Higher education, Corporate world, Media, etc, etc, etc… We are all affected by the rules and regulations placed upon our minds. It is what allows something to be so obvious yet you still can’t say it, you can’t even think it. Even within your own mind, you are not allowed to discover if that statement is true. You won’t let yourself, because they haven’t said it’s ok. We are all waiting for permission to think.

The most obvious thing you are not allowed to say is always the most important thing. This topic is one of them.

For us to get to where we both want to go: peace, respect between different groups, free and fair trade, and a thriving & progressing Middle East, you and I, and many others must be resolute on this linchpin of a truth:

Islam is evil.