Letters

The events we have witnessed in Israel, the Middle East and here in our own very country have called to question what it means to be human.

The barbaric acts of unspeakable cruelty in Israel by human beings upon other humans was unimaginable only a few weeks ago. We are witnessing a return to a savagery that the civilized world thought was left behind.

The physical violence and butchery the Hamas terrorists visited upon innocent civilians is stunning in its unapologetic ferocity. It is arguably worse than the previous atrocities of the Isis Caliphate. I call it what it is: Jihad. It cannot be thought of as a political act of defiance or revolt. It is a fanaticism that openly sanctions and implores murder of innocents.

Good people cannot understand nor forgive these crimes against humanity. Rational people should not find any moral equivalence that excuses or sanctions this. Gaza had ample opportunity to enjoy a prosperous future. It chose Hamas.

Israel has no choice but to defend itself from the existential threat any more than any sane person would tolerate a murderer dedicated to their personal destruction free to do so at their doorstep.

A disgusting truth beyond the massacre in Israel has been exposed here at home in America. Our children have been exposed to a virulent antisemitism taught to them in our elite universities by faculties infected with a hatred of Jews, Israel and often America itself. These self-ascribed intellectuals spew hate as their universities shelter them from criticism. Schools confused open debate with hate speech, permitted bigotry peddled as an elite education.

Harvard, Cornell, Columbia, Penn — the list is long and, unfortunately, also distinguished. But they are not alone. Black Lives Matter, the Democrat socialists, apologists in prominent media outlets, and let us not forget members of our government are all advocates in their way for the reformation of our country through a Marxist prism. They want to tear down and replace your dream of a civil society with a revolution of their own creation.

Ironically it is the Americans derogatorily referred to as “deplorables” who have rejected the hijacking of their country. Yes, they still have patriotic dreams, even if an elite (Hillary Clinton) has recently suggested (with some sincerity) they needed reprogramming.

In a world that cannot separate fact from fiction, innocence from evil, and freedom from tyranny, we are becoming unable to relate to one another. America had been the place with an answer for the world. Our self doubt must be faced down and swept away. We are better than this.

Ed Surgan

Westhampton