Understanding the Role of Religion in Today’s World of Power Politics: Are We the Player or the Played?

Religion, in its various manifestations, is supposed to bring us a measure of comfort and reassurance. It was also intended to explain essentially everything such as the stars, how we got here, why life is so tough, and so forth.  However, it’s institutionalization has simply provided a degree of control and ability of manipulation, promising something which is unmeasurable and illusionary in the “hereafter” for you obedience in the here and now for a handful of individuals.

 Of course, what’s a system of rewards---eternal happiness, meeting up with departed friends and family, singing hymns and playing harps ad nauseum, 72 virgins, and so on without a corresponding systems of punishments---a lake of fire, the smell of sulfur,  eternal torment by demons and pitchforks, endless reruns of “I Love Lucy”, those hymns and harps ad nauseum again, and having to put up with 72 virgins?

It’s always about rewards and punishments. The stick and carrot (or apple I suppose in this case). Countless institutions and individuals have made a pretty good living as this. The Vatican for instance, is one of the richest and most powerful corporations on the planet.  They’ve amassed a level of wealth that would have Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Exxon, and Google look like paupers. Most estimates put its wealth at around $10 to $15 billion dollars, plus they pay no---zero---taxes on that wealth, not to mention priceless artifacts and documents. For centuries it’s also been the great keeper of secrets.

This has ranged for the ordinary peasant confessing his or her lust for the neighbor’s crops, cows, or son/daughter all the way up to the plans of princes and princess. Kings and queens have been made to grovel on the bellies to the papal throne. It’s been the power mover behind the scenes in global politics for over 2000 years.

It’s given legitimacy to kings and governments for thousands of years, raising some up and bringing many down. No other institution has welded such power over its fellow human beings.  Of course, that doesn’t mean it hasn’t gone unchallenged. There has been numerous political ideologies which has tried to supplant religion down through the centuries.

Take the Greek Empire under Alexander the Great for instance. He conquered hundreds of nation-states, empires, and tribes during his brief reign. In each instance, he would often leave much of the old government and religion in place with only minor changes. The Roman Empire did much the same, asking only that the Emperor be acknowledged as the supreme secular power. Genghis Khan, who amassed the largest land empire in history, followed pretty much the same political philosophy.

However, there has been numerous schisms, reformations, separatist movements, protests, and so forth which has rejected the institutional power of organized religion such as the “Great Schism” (aka “The East-West Schism”) of 1054, separating the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church (a fight essentially over power, giving a “holier than thou”  authority of the Bishop of Rome over other Bishops), Martin Luther’s Reformation of 1517, King Henry VIII’s Reformation of 1527 (aka “The English Reformation”), and countless others, There’s the Sunni and Shia split of 632 CE which is still being battled everyday on TV screens and across the internet.

 Hinduism, the third largest religion behind Christianity and Islam, dates back some 4000 years, has experienced four major internal breaks with dozens of subsets. Buddhism, known for its peaceful philosophical doctrine, had its first schism just one hundred years after Buddha died in 483 BC. Christianity at least waited three hundred years before it began purging competing ideologies like the Arians, Gnostics, and so forth.

So, with all the reformations, schisms, and other breaks, how many religions are there today? Although no exact number is possible, there’s an estimated 10,000 distinct religions in the world today. They range from having thousands of deities to alleged having one (or is it three with a subset of hundreds of the lesser divine?) while others have no specific entities, preferring nature or the natural world. Most (though not necessary all) have their sacred texts or spoken traditions, holidays/festivals, morals, values, and mythologies.

Of all of them, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism are the largest, representing 77% of all religious followers. Broken down by the numbers, Christianity, which represents about 32% of the world’s population, has 2.2 billion adherents. Islam, which has 23% of the global population, has roughly 1.6 billion followers, and is the fastest growing organized religion in the world outside of the Middle East.

Hinduism has about 1 billion followers and makes up 15% of the world’s population. Buddhism has about 500 million followers although the number may be higher since adherents may follow Buddhist teaching as either a religion or as a philosophy.  Lastly, Judaism, which is the smallest of the so-called “Great Religions” and certainly one of the most influential, has about 14 million adherents although many consider themselves as “non-religious” or “not practicing”.  Just 0.2% of the world’s population are Jewish.

It bears mentioning that historically, more people have died in the name of religion than any other cause. So, how many people are we talking about? While there’s no way to provide an exact number of deaths, conservative estimates put the number of dead at over 195 billion in deciding who God loves the most. A few examples include the Crusades which killed an estimated 6 million Muslims and Jews. The Thirty Years War killed some 11 million men, women, and children.

The Congolese Genocide (led by King Leopold II of Belgium) resulted in the deaths of 13 million. The ongoing Islamic War has murdered (since 2000) approximately 150,000 and thousands condemned to slavery (mostly Shia’s, Kurds, Yazidis, and Coptic Christians). About 20 million Native Americans died as a result of continental expansion in the name of “Manifest Destiny” (and disease). The Muslim conquest of India took somewhere around 80 million lives. In Africa, due to Church prohibition of birth control (including condoms), some 30 million Africans died of AIDs.

Of course, about 6 million Jews died in the Holocaust.   The French War of Religion killed some 4 million French Protestants and led to exodus of tens of thousands so-called “Huguenots”. By comparison, 5000 Jews were killed during the Spanish Inquisition (although almost every Catholic country carried out its own inquisition), and these are but a few example.

It bears mentioning that there’s been other, more lethal, causes of human death down through history such as malaria (which is the single cause most responsible for human death), the Black Plague, starvation due to crop failure, drought, and other forms of natural disasters (earthquakes, volcanos, tornados, hurricanes, storms, etc.).  The Spanish Flu of 1918/19 killed over 500 million people worldwide. That’s roughly 1/3 of the global population at the time, making it the deadliest pandemic in recorded human history.

These, however, were largely outside of our control. At best, we could only take precautions. Economic wars, fought for the control of land or resources, are the ones we’re most familiar with (ie: Kuwait or Iraq were fought mainly over the control of oil production) and they often go hand in hand with religious war, which both go to control---political, economic, and social compliance.

According to a 2024 Pew report, religious freedom is in decline. 92% of the 190 countries looked at---183---restricted religious freedom in one way or another. In the 20 countries comprising the Middle East and Northern Africa, there was at least one instance each of religious harassment. The same was true for 43 of 45 European countries as well as 33 of the 35 nations in the Americas, 44 of 48 sub-Saharan African nations, and 43 of 50 Asian/Pacific countries.

The decline of religious freedom was, in fact, the lowest recorded since 2007, when Pew began tracking religious freedom. 55% (or 29% of the total) had “high” or “very high” levels of government imposed restrictions on religious freedom (most of these were in the Middle East and China).  

The countries with the highest rates of religious freedom included Australia, Canada, Japan, Finland, South Africa, and along the western coast of South America such as Peru, Chile, Columbia, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Ecuador and Honduras in Central America.  The United States was listed as being a “moderate” when it came restricting religious freedom.

43% (or 22% of the countries studied) had “high” or “very high” levels of social hostilities against minority religions. These “hostilities” included violence against private individuals and groups, religiously affiliated organizations including schools, as well as religious places of worship. The worst offenders were Egypt, Pakistan, Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan due to the very high level of religious persecution socially and governmentally imposed.  So, what religious groups were most affected?

According to the 2024 Pew survey, Christians were the most heavily persecuted religious group, despite being the world’s largest faith. Persecution was the worse in predominantly Muslim nations, and in areas where Muslims were in the majority , including in the UK and Europe, which have been historically Christian.

Muslims, the second largest religion in the world, were also the second most religiously harassed population. However, most of that harassment came from other Muslims (such as Sunni vs Shia) or more accurately, Muslims vs. Islamists.

Muslims tend to follow the Koran or teachings of Muhammad while Islamists tend to promote a radicalized political philosophy using the corrupted version of the Koran’s teachings. Islamists tend to not only oppose other Muslims, they oppose Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, and especially Jews. In fact, Islamists pretty much oppose anyone who isn’t them.

The third most harassed group, and the smallest of the “Great Religions”, was Judaism. Jews have long been one of the most hated religious groups in history, regardless of where they live or how much they’ve tried to integrate. Fourth were largely the much smaller religions such as Zoroastrianism (which is the common “grandparent” of most religions including the three Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam), the Sikhs, Baha’i, etc.  

They are closely followed the fifth most harassed group, the traditional Chinese and Japanese folk religions such as Confucianism, Shintoism, Taoism, Tengrism, Native American spiritualism,  Australian Aboriginal spiritualism, Wicca and paganism.

The last two most harassed religions were the Hindus and the Buddhists, which, despite their size (third and fourth largest religions respectively), tend to be relatively unbothered, but when they are, it’s mostly in countries with large Muslim populations. Finally, the least harassed group are the non-affiliated. While as a group they tend to be largely left alone, But when they are harassed, it has tended to be by those who are most strongly affiliated with a religion in general rather than any one specific religious group.

Religion, especially organized or “dogmatic” religion, is a fickle thing.  Historically, it has usually sought to justify its existence by claiming or doing one thing while seeking another. I cannot imagine a benevolent deity sanctioning intolerance, hatred, or the horrific acts mentioned above to be committed in their name, nor can I imagine such an entity even creating a species with those attributes. 

Mankind has changed little over time, and like little children, we tend to blame someone else (“I don’t know” did it) rather than except responsibility for our actions. In this case, we blame some invisible entity who we know won’t contradict us, especially if we’ve imbued it with inordinate power. All we have to do is shift the blame when things go bad or take the credit when things work out.

Then again, what if all these wars and atrocities were indeed the wish of some deity? What if Humanity was convinced to play “Risk”  while this entity or entities play a cosmic game of chess and Humanity is their pawn?  What, when the game is over and we exist no more, the deity (or deities) simply moves on to the naïve species somewhere in the galaxy to start a new game? Either way, I don’t care much for either scenario. For some reason, I think it’s time we should light a candle for Mankind.

 

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Religious Hostilities Hit Six-Year High

Religion

The East-West Schism

Schism

How Many People Have Been Killed in the Name of Religion

Spanish Flu

Muslims vs Islamists

Pew Global Survey Shows Rising Religious Restrictions

Religious Restrictions Around the World

The Global Religious Landscape

Israel's Troubles: Hamas and the Blowback from October 7th and Hamas

There was a time that whenever Israel was attacked, most of the free (ish) world would rally around the beleaguered little country. But now, it seems nearly everybody, especially the youth, are out protesting and chanting "Free Palestine" or "Stop the Genocide" when it was Israel that was the victim. They (illegally) block highways, streets, and prevent free movement of individuals. They disrupt anywhere they can. They engage in vandalism. They also strike out against anyone who disagrees with them

They charge into shops, disrupt business, knock over merchandise, etc.  They make an ass of themselves at graduation services. They've interfered with wedding and church services. They prevent fellow students from attending class. While these individuals like to wave Palestinian flags, wear a Arab Keffiyeh, I have to wonder just how familiar they are with the history of Israel or Palestine?

Do they know, for instance,  that the region had been under control of the British? As a colonial power, Britain acquired control of what was called the "Palestinian Territories" after  the collapse and breakup of the Ottoman Empire following the end of World War I ( the breakup was engineered by the British and  French which also acquired a large swath of land along with Germany's colonies).

 It was called the "British Mandate for Palestine", and included the Emirate of Transjordan, They also acquired Arabian Peninsula, including what is now Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and the Mandate of Mesopotamia (Iraq).  Egypt had been under British control since 1882.  

In 1917, the British published a statement in support of establishing a Jewish homeland called the "Balfour Declaration".  The declaration favored a dual state, one Jewish and one Palestine. It specifically said that there would be no interference with anyone's religious or civil rights.  In 1939, the British published a "White Paper" or policy statement in response to massive Arab revolts (1936 -- 1939).

The paper was published by Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain (of the infamous Munich Accords). Its aim was to appease the Arab nations by limiting Jewish immigration into the Holy Land, restricted the sale of land to Jews, and the establishment of a Jewish homeland within ten years---1949 in violation of the Balfour Declaration. Of course during that ten year period there was an event which changed everything. It was called the Holocaust.

The Holocaust officially began in 1941, although anti-Semitism wasn't strictly a "German disease" as it was called. It  had been rampant in most European countries for centuries. The Holocaust didn't end until  Nazi Germany's surrender in 1945. It resulted in the deaths of over six million people plus  thousands more forced to live in starvation conditions in dumps known as "ghettos" (as an aside, percentage wise, more Roma gypsies were murdered by the Nazis than Jews).   

While there had been rumblings of reneging on the promise of a Jewish state, but global sympathy for Jews everywhere practically insured the establishment of a new Jewish homeland.  For politicians,  to do otherwise would have been political suicide. Meanwhile, Jews who had earlier settled in Palestine formed their own terrorist units such as Haganah, Irgun and the Lehi or "Stern Gang" in response to attacks on Jewish farms  by Arabs as well as on British authorities in order to keep the Jewish cause in the news and to push British officials back in London.

On November 29th, 1947, the United Nations adopted a plan, originally submitted by American, British, and French, known as "Resolution 181 (II)". It called for a two state solution, one Jewish and one Palestinian. Palestine would compose 42% of the land  or about 6,900 square miles (the proposal was amended to put the town of Beersheba and a strip of land along the Negev Desert into Palestine). 

The new Israeli state would cover 56% of the territory or the equivalent of  8,761 square miles. Israel would get the coastal region from Ashdod to Akko and would include what was the small port city of Haifa. The Palestinians received the central and western Galilee as well as Be'er Sheva and the Jordan Valley. As an aside, this would be the first Jewish nation since its destruction in 79 AD.

The Romans, tired of Jewish revolts and attacks on Roman soldiers and officials, decided that the Jewish state had to go. Accordingly, the main temple (allegedly built by King Solomon) was leveled as where a number of other institutions throughout Judea. Jews were rounded up and taken as slaves or executed (especially the priests and officials). The rest were scattered to the winds with a warning never to return. Thus began the Jewish Diaspora.

As for the remaining 2% comprising the areas around Bethlehem and Jerusalem, would become international zones to be administered by the UN. The Resolution also called for the gradual withdrawal of the British presence from the region. Authority over the respective territories would gradually  be transferred to Jewish and Palestinians officials to run. The actual partition was based primarily on Jewish and Arab population distribution.

When the vote came on November 29, 1947, just two years after the end of WWII, 33 nations, including the United States and the Soviet Union, voted in favor of the plan. 13 nations voted no, and 10 nations refrained. When the plan was submitted to the Jewish People represented by the World Zionist Organization and the existing Jewish communities (called the "Yishuv") it passed unanimously.

However, things weren't so upbeat on the Arab side. Nearly all of the Arab nations voted unanimously to reject the plan on behalf of Palestine (at this point it should be pointed out that Palestine was never a nation state. It was a territory without a central government. It existed mainly as a geographic area on a map).

So, here was the UN offering not just the Jews a state of their own, they were offering the Palestinians the chance to have their own nation as well, which was rejected by other Arab nations (later were known as the "Arab League"). Instead of putting the issue to a vote by the Palestinian people, the matter of a actual Palestinian state which arrogantly rejected by a group of unaffected autocrats.

Worse, these same Arab states, which consisted of Egypt, Transjordan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia,  along with two mercenary groups, the "Holy War Army" and Al-Najjada, emphatically said  they would snuff out the newborn Jewish state if it declared independence. So, on May 14, 1948, the State of Israel came into being after some 2000 years. The following day, May 15, the five armies of the Arab League invaded. While the Arab nations had a relatively modern military with tanks, heavy artillery, and fighter planes, the Israelis had virtually nothing.

At the outset, Israel's "tank corp" consisted on two WWII era tanks. Their air force was more like a "air farce".  It was made up of mostly WWII era surplus, including some German and British planes. It's army was mostly members of the various paramilitary forces such as Irgun and Haganah, and volunteers from elsewhere. What small arms they possessed either homemade from parts commonly found in hardware stores. Other were WWI and WWII vintage (and one small cannon which dated from the late 1800's!).

Nevertheless, after ten months of bitter fighting, a truce was finally agreed on...and Israel was larger than before. Egypt and Jordan retained control over the Gaza Strip and the West Bank but Israel's population also more than doubled.  The Arab League, despite its strength on paper, couldn't rid itself of Israel. However, what it did manage to destroy was any hope of there ever being a Palestinian State.

In 1956, the Arabs, under the leadership of Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, decided to try it again. The "Suez Crisis" had mixed results. Prior to the war, Egypt had nationalized the Suez Canal, which had been jointly operated by the French and British. As a result of the nationalization, Egypt effectively controlled all traffic into and out of this vital waterway.  The nationalization was seen by the Arab world as slap in the face of France, Great Britain, and the United States for their support of Israel.

While Israel was attacked by Egypt and elements from other Arab nations, they found themselves defeated in a matter of one week and two days. Israel, along with the British and French and support from the U.S., defeated the Egyptian Army in the Sinai and seized control of Sharm al-Sheikh, thus gaining access strategic control of the Straits of Tiran and forced the Suez Canal to reopen.  It's worth noting that while Egypt had lost on the battlefield, it had won on the all important public relations front, especially among the other Arab nations.

President Nasser was viewed as not just an Egyptian hero, but as a Arab hero, creating what could only be called "Pan-Arabism", uniting all the Arab nations under one banner.  Egypt's loss also resulted in the creation of the "Fedayeen Insurgency Movement", which was a multi-national organization of Arab guerrillas. Their aim was to constantly attack and harass Israelis, particularly civilians, which only added to Nasser's fame and reputation as Israel's deadliest foe.

In June of 1967, Israel found itself at war again. This time it was the Arab states of Egypt, Jordan and Syria. Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq all contributed troops and equipment. By the time it was over six days later (and thus became known as the "Six Day War"), the Arab coalition had again been soundly defeated.

The Arab armies lost more than a war. As a result of their defeat, Israel gained substantial amounts of territory which included both the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan, the strategic Golan Heights from Syria along with Gaza and the entire Sinai from the Egyptians.  Nevertheless, despite another loss, the Arab League weren't quiet finished yet. Later that same year began the "War of Attrition", which would continue for three more years.

The "War of Attrition" was a pseudo-war conducted by Egypt (with Soviet backing), Jordan, Syria, and a new player to the conflict, the Palestine Liberation Organization, better known as the "PLO"  and led by a civil engineer by the name of Yasser Arafat. The war was an intended to recover lost Egyptian land, yet  once again Egypt found itself on the losing end.

In 1972, a PLO splinter group, "Black September" seized a number of key facilities in the Olympic Village  during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. Its goal was the capture and murder of the Israeli Olympic team. The credibility of Germany was at stake too. The 1972 Olympics marked the first time Germany had hosted the games since the 1936 Berlin Olympics under Adolf Hitler and the German Olympic Committee was determined to put Germany in a positive light.

The German police and special units of the German military made several botched rescue attempts (with the help of the media which was broadcasting live every movement of the German rescue attempt). 20 hours later, all 11 Israeli Olympians were dead along with the terrorists in what become known as the Munich Massacre"

In 1973 came the infamous "Yom Kippur War" which nearly resulted in not just defeat for Israeli forces, but the destruction of Israel itself. The war, led by Syria and Egypt and the usual compliment of multi-national Arab volunteers, attacked Israel on its most sacred day---the "Day of Atonement", or Yom Kippur.

After a frantic and bloody 20 days of fighting, Israeli forces were able to recover land taken in the earliest days of the fight and went on to decisively defeat their enemy, coming within miles of the capitals of both Syria and Egypt. While a victory for Israel, it was hard fought and Israel came to the razor's edge of defeat. The result was a complete reorganization of the Israeli government, its army and General Staff, and its intelligence services, the Mossad and Shin Bet.

Since then, Israel has continued to fight numerous wars and conflicts including the 1982 Lebanon War, the terroristic Abu Nidal Organization, two Intifadas, a second and third conflict in Lebanon, which included a new terrorist organization, the Iranian backed Hezbollah, and numerous military engagement in and around Gaza. 

There was some success however. In 1979, Egypt and Israel concluded a peace and trade agreement in exchange for Israel returning the Sinai. Jordan signed a similar agreement in 1994. By 2020, four other Arab nations---United Arab Emirates (UAE), Morocco, Sudan, and Bahrain agreed to recognize Israel and normalize relations. The "land for peace" policy seemed to be working.  Even the PLO mellowed.

That all changed on October 7, 2023, when some 3000 members of Hamas's paramilitary suddenly attacked and murdered thousands of innocent men, women, and children who were attending a concert. They beat, mutilated, incinerated, and brutally raped almost as many.  Then there's the bloody 252 hostages they took, intending to hide behind them like cowards and to use them as bargain chips. Hamas had previously been lobbing missiles into Israel on a weekly, if not daily, basis.  Who can truly fault Israel for trying to protect its people and rid the world of this plague?

But this is the Middle East, where peace is fleeting and hatred runs deep. It's where the cult of death is valued  more than the love of life. Somehow, it's coming here to our shores. Naive and  idealistic youth, coached by their professional protest organizers, spew  unimaginative slogans demanding a "free" Palestine and an end to Israeli's "genocide" at the top of their lungs while being totally unaware of the past.

Where were the protesters when Hamas, a recognized terrorist organization that even the Palestinian Authority dislikes, murdered, starved, and bullied the people of Gaza for years or when they used schools and hospitals as cover to launch rockets at Israel in the hopes Israel would retaliate so they can use their bodies as propaganda? Where's the outrage now against rape or threat of rape being as a weapon?  Where the anger for the innocent Israels murdered in cold blood or those taken hostage?

They say knowledge is power. I hope the facts presented to you in this article makes you one powerful individual. At least, I hope it opens your eyes. It will, at the very least, enlighten you about how the Arab League, not Israel,  allowed their hatred of the Jews to deny the Palestinians a homeland. How Arab nations repeatedly attacked Israel directly and indirectly.

 

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Partition of the Ottoman Empire

 

White Paper of 1939

British Mandate for Palestine

List of wars involving Israel

Suez Crisis

 

Casualties of the Israeli - Hamas War

Massacre at the 1972 Olympic Games

Hamas

 

Protesting God's Chosen People: What's Happening on America's College Campuses?

Originally I had intended to write about the protests taking place on several college and university campuses in America, however, I realized that there was much more going on here. The protests appear to be about  a number of issues such as college investments in the defense industry, at least partly, by disinvesting  of anything which supports Israel. 

They want  their school to disinvest of anything which supports Israel. They are also protesting Israel ending its so-called "genocide" of Gaza and occupation of Palestine. What's more is that the protesters have started shouting down Jewish students on campus and blocking them from class. In short, these are anti-Israeli protests, which is a rarity here in America. They have become anti-Semitic protests. 

In addition, the protestors would like to see a change in U.S. foreign policy towards Israel. Specifically cutting back or eliminating all military support and ending what some call America's "blanket approval" of supporting nearly everything Israel does, especially towards the Palestine.  

There's big money in war and no doubt the various institutions are making good money on their investments in the defense industry. Keeping the U.S. a war footing  is a great way to stimulate an otherwise lackluster economy. Also many of these colleges have 6+ figure contracts with the DoD and defense contractors to conduct research for them and don't forget, college campuses are stocked with potential recruits like fish in a pay lake!

While the students would like to see a change in U.S. foreign policy toward Israel, the exchange of goods aren't the primary concern of the students. Their focus is on what the U.S. provides Israel in terms of military aid. That figure is around $15 billion dollars. 

Of that, the majority of the money---$5 billion---goes towards Israel's "Iron Dome" which is used to protect Israel from missile attacks, primarily launched by Hezbollah and Hamas (and more recently, ISIS and Al Qaeda operating in Syria). In addition, the U.S. military, with President Biden's authorization, has agreed to replenish all of Israel's ammunition used in their war with Hamas.

The protestors are also calling for Israel to end its reprisal against Hamas because of all the deaths and injuries of civilians in Gaza. In listening to some of these protestors (many of whom are wearing a Palestinian "keffiyeh" or headscarf made famous by the terrorist group "Black September" when they murdered the Israel Olympic team in 1976), they seem to think that the war is Israel's fault.

The truth is that Hamas, a terrorist organization which hijacked the government in Gaza, attacked Israelis at a open concert on October 7th, murdering 1,139 individuals (695 civilians, 373 members of the security force, and 71 foreign nationals), not including the dozens who were beaten and raped, nor does it include the hostages taken by Hamas.

Israel, which had been enduring dozens of missile attacks by Hamas on a regular basis, made the decision to put an end to Hamas, and who could blame them? How many times do you have to keep getting hit by rocks before you decide to fight back? No other nation (the U.S., China, and Russia included) would have tolerated this, and Israel won't either.

As an aside, Russia has repeatedly responded to terrorist attacks by Georgian separatists and groups like ISIS-K with at least equal ferocity. Meanwhile, while not facing large scale terror attack, China has had a number of smaller scale terror, but nevertheless responded with equal zeal and intensity.

It should also be pointed out that while Hamas is "officially" the government of Gaza following the overthrow of the previous government, it is a terrorist organization first and foremost. It has regularly used civilians as shields. It routinely fires missile batteries hidden in schools or next to hospitals and mosques. Homeowners are forced at gunpoint to allow Hamas to store weapons and ammo in their homes. It intercepts humanitarian aid and sells it on the global black market to buy more weapons.

The people of Gaza see only a fraction of the aid sent to them. Recently, there was a report of dozens of UN and other trucks packed with food, fresh water, medical supplies, and clothes, however, they were hung up on the Israeli side of the border. Do you think that's out of spite by Israel?

No. It's because Israel was await for a safe opportunity to release the vehicles out of concern that Hamas will hijack the shipment and either sell it or store it for its own use. The other problem was that if Israel escorted the convoy in, there would be a strong chance the convoy could be ambushed, killing Israeli soldiers, aid workers, and Gaza residents. 

Other issues being promoted by the protestors is their claims that Israel is engaged in genocide and/or is an apartheid nation along the lines of South Africa (if you want to accuse anyone of genocide, look no further than here and our treatment of Native Americans). Israel is home to Christians, Jews, and Arabs. In fact, ethnic Jews comprise about 73.6% of the population while 21% are Arabs. While the majority of these a Muslim, there is a sizable population of Druze and Arab Christians. 

Roughly 45% of Jews living in Israel are "Mizrahi" or Oriental Jews, meaning they come from North Africa or Asia. 31.8% are Ashkenazi or European Jews. Many descend from survivors of the Holocaust (originally, most of the founders and settlers of Israel were Ashkenazi). 12.4% came from Soviet Russia or one of the Soviet Bloc nations. 3% are "Beta" Jews from Ethiopia (meaning they're also racially black Africans). Finally, about 7.9% are a mix.

About 21% of Israel's population is Arab. Most are Sunni Muslim, although there are some affiliated with the Shiite "Alawites". 18% are either Druze or Christian Arabs. Palestinians account for about 20% of Israel's population. It should be pointed out that the Palestinians in the West Bank also operate their own government (the same government had been ousted by Hamas in Gaza).

As an aside, while the overall population of Jews are shrinking in Israel, the population of Muslims are growing and will likely outnumber Jews within the next few generations. In addition, Israel is home to Christian Copts, Assyrian Christians, nomadic Bedouins, Samaritans, Armenians, and Circassians.

So, in looking at the demographics as noted above, it would appear these college protesters would have a hard time trying to justify their claim that Israel is actually a apartheid state in the sense that there are many diverse populations living in this small nation. 

I would be amiss in pointing out that Israel has repeatedly given up land in exchange for peace, ranging from the Sinai to the West Bank to parts of southern Lebanon and Western Syria.  In practically every occasion, the peace has been broken (and not by Israel), leaving the region in much the same position as it had been.

However, I don't want to make it appear that Israel has entirely clean hands and everything is the fault of the Palestinians, which is hardly the case. Israel's greatest flaw in dealing with the Palestinians has to do with the small but extremely influential Jewish hardliners. One such group is the "Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful Movement". 

Their notoriety stems from their occupation of the Temple Mount in East Jerusalem and demands to allow Jews to pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque (the third holiest mosque in Islam). Of course, behind their "demands" is a deep seated belief that the Temple Mount is historically theirs and the mosque needs to be removed so that a Third Temple can be built there. 

It's worth noting that there are many fundamentalist Christians who believe the same thing, albeit for slightly different reasons. They believe that the Third Temple was be built on the Temple Mount in order to facilitate the Second Coming of Jesus. 

Obviously, that doesn't set well with either Palestinians, moderate Jews., or with Muslims everywhere. Nevertheless, while it seems that all sides are aware of what would likely happen should anything happened to the mosque, the hard core extremists don't seem to care since, from their perspective, God will intervene on their behalf.

Groups like the "Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful" believe in the old boundaries of the Jewish Kingdom which allegedly stretched from Egypt's border to the Euphrates River in Iran and encompassing parts of Syria and Lebanon. They also believe that only Jews should live in Israel. That means forcing out anyone who doesn't belong there, especially the Palestinians.

As a result, these ultra conservative groups regularly establish illegal settlements (some seem to rise literally overnight). Often they force Palestinians out of their homes overnight, barely giving them time to pack. They routinely defy police and even the military sent in to stop them. While these Palestinians can and do file complaints with the Israeli government or try to resist, the government is typically reluctant to do anything. and the settlers usually prevail.

Currently there are over 279 illegal settlements, comprised of  around 3500 housing units in the West Bank which include approximately 700,000 settlers living there. There are around 200,000 illegal settlers living in East Jerusalem.  

But while these extreme Orthodox settlers are responsible for much of the land grab of Palestinian land, they aren't the only ones. The Israeli government is known to show up occasionally (complete with bulldozers) and just announce they are taking possession of the land.

In March of 2024, the government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, announced they were seizing some 2000 acres in the Palestinian West Bank, which is suppose to belong solely to the Palestinian people and the Palestinian government. 

The ultra conservative finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, who lives in an illegal settlement, said there was "no room for half measures" and added that Israel has a historical right to Judea and Samaria (modern West Bank). U.N Human Rights Chief, Volker Turk called the move a "international war crime".  

So, what does all this tell us about the college protesters and their demands? Colleges aren't going to disinvest their interests in defense industry stocks any more than they're going to turn down multimillion dollar research contracts from the DoD or military contractors. It just ain't going to happen. Israel was the one who was brutally attacked on October 7th, but then too, they had been under regular missile attacks by Hamas. The October 7th attack (massacre would be a more accurate term) begged for a quick and severe response, which Israel delivered.

It's true that the situation in Gaza is beyond critical. It is quickly approaching a human catastrophe on an epic scale, yet Israel is prepared to render immediate aid. Nevertheless, Hamas continues to see the people of Gaza only as pawns and human shields. What happens to them matters less than making Israel look bad in the world's eyes, which it has done.

Hamas has the added advantage of winning the propaganda war with American college students who have swallowed Hama's "BS" hook, line, and sinker. As an aside, it also shows how little American college students know about the Middle East and how lazy they've become in doing their due diligence when it comes to proper research before staging protests.  

Lastly, Israel is not technically an apartheid state. It has a wide and diverse population with the largest minority---the Arabs---likely to dominate the nation within the next 100 years if not sooner. However, where the students are correct is the treatment of Palestinians.

Despite the Israeli government's rhetoric about equality, it's clear that the Palestinians are treated no better than second class citizens...at best. They remind me of Native Americans during the "Great Westward Migration". Any lie and by any means will do as long as they're gone. Somehow, the people of Israel must do what the government is to afraid to do, and that's to say "no" to the extremist.

One more thing about the protestors. Something has been happening on these college and university campuses which I didn't think was possible in America. It's not the brazen defying of administration (that's pretty cool actually) although there will be consequences. No, what we've started seeing is the rise of anti-Semitism among some of the students and its tolerance by others. Anti-Semitism is an evil as vile as any. It should be snuffed out wherever it's found.

The Israeli people must link arms with the Palestinians. They must see and accept them as neighbors. Israelis need to remember Rabbi Hillel's famous quote "what is hateful to you do not do to your neighbor". Until this happens, the situation will continue to worsen until something unforgivable happens. When that occurs there will be no more Palestinians and no more Israel. Only tears.

 

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Israel Policy Forum: West Bank Settlements

Who are the Israeli settlers and why do they live onPalestinian lands?

The hardline Israelis stoking violence in East Jerusalem

Demographics of Israel

Uyghur Genocide: Why Most Muslim Countries Remain Silent

 

2.2 Million Starving Gazans: What Price Victory Israel?

According to a recent United Nations report, 2.2 million people are facing starvation conditions in Northern Gaza along with a lack of drinking water. Approximately half or 1.1 million are facing "catastrophic" famine sometime between mid-March and May of this year.  

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (ICP), a multi-partner initiative involving governments, NGOs, the United Nations, and others, stated that "acute hunger and malnutrition has far exceed  the threshold for famine". In addition, the ICP said this represents the "highest number of people facing catastrophic hunger ever recorded". 

The ICP goes on to warn that people have already resorted to eating grass, animal feed, and drinking dirty water to survive. Pregnant women (or "birthing people" as they are known in "woken parts of the " United States), unable to produce enough milk, are begging government officials for baby formula and any other assistance.

Nevertheless, there are hundreds of tons of food, water, medicine, and other aid lined up on the Israeli-Gaza border waiting to cross over. Ships and cargo planes arriving almost daily bringing relief but little to none are reaching those who need it the most---the people of Gaza.

Some UN officials are blaming the Israeli Government of deliberately holding back the aid in an attempting to starve out the Gazans, and that opinion is spreading among other relief agencies such as the World Relief Programme's Executive Director, Cindy McCain, who said "the people of Gaza are starving to death right now. The speed at which this man-made hunger and malnutrition crisis has ripped through Gaza is terrifying".   

The European Union's top diplomat, Josef Borrell of Spain, has accused Israel of using starvation as a "weapon of war" by preventing humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, which Israeli officials have strongly denied.

Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu said in a press conference that Israel does not intend to promote an artificial famine,  but to allow as much humanitarian aid into Gaza "as necessary". He added that it was Israel's intentions to be the sole entry point of all aide going into Gaza. Israel, according to Netanyahu, would see to it that Gaza got a much aide as it required.

Netanyahu's statements have been vigorously disputed by aide workers from various global agencies and even some government officials from neighboring countries. They report that Israel's "Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories" (COGAT) has been the principal barrier preventing humanitarian aid from reaching the starving 2.2 million people in Gaza. The role of COGAT is monitor access to Gaza .

COGAT has been accused of issuing confusing and contradictory  instructions in which to intentionally delay or prevent food, medicine, fresh water, and other essentials from crossing into Gaza.  So, with an apparent standstill, where does that leave the people of Gaza?

Netanyahu has repeatedly vowed to annihilate the leadership of Hamas following its attack on Israeli civilians on October 7, 2023. 1139 mostly civilians were raped, beaten, tortured, and  finally murdered, including small children. Another 240 were taken prisoner.  

The early morning attack, which caught the vaulted Israeli intelligence forces and military totally off guard reminiscent of the 1973 Yom Kipper War. Hamas, along with soldiers from 9 other Palestinian paramilitary groups, the coordinated use of paragliders, scuba divers, small attack boats, and a mechanized unit comprised of several white Toyota pickups full of troops or mounted machine guns, a few dozen Honda motorcycles seating two fighters, and most impressive of all, surveillance/attack drones.

The highly coordinated training for the attacked largely took place just barely a mile from the border and watchful eyes of Israel. The training, which in some instances took over year to complete (such as for the paragliders and drones) took place in 14 training centers scattered throughout Gaza. Some of the training included the most efficient way to seize a house, destroy an Israeli tank, breach Israeli border walls to how to move Israeli hostages quickly while getting the maximum propaganda coverage.

Andreas King, a Senior Lecturer of Security Studies at Kings College in London  gave one of the best descriptions of how Israeli intelligence monitoring was beaten.  According to King, "while there was centralized planning, execution was decentralized, with each squad operating as it saw fit". Secondly, there was no effort to hide anything. Everything was done out in the open to make it look as routine as possible.

Hamas is considered a terrorist organization backed, supplied, trained, and financed by the Iranian government. Iran and Israel have a long history of  mutual hatred. Iran has repeatedly promised to "wipe Israel off the map" including the use of nuclear weapons regardless of the consequences to the people of Iran or the region. Iran also backs other terrorist groups regardless of whether they are Shia or Sunni such as Hezbollah, ISIS, Al Qaeda, and Boku Harem.  

Hamas was first "elected" to government to a series of political campaigns and  open warfare between Hamas and Fatah over the control of Gaza, the West Bank, and Palestinian refugee camps.  Fatah which was previously known as the Palestinian National Liberation Movement. Fatah is a nationalist social democrat political party originally founded by individuals like Yasser Arafat and Khalil al-Wazir.

Hamas was originally known as Islamic Resistance Movement, a group of radical Sunni Islamists who follow an extremist form of political religious of the Koran similar to Iran. Historically it has had a close relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood, including the pro-Nazi Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Mohammed Amin al-Husseini.  It emphasizes their version of Sharia law everywhere, anti-Zionism, pan-Islamic unity, and full rejection of non-Muslim influences.

Hamas has managed to "win" and keep control of the Gaza pretty much since 2007. Their control has been a combination of intimidation and placation. However, their goal has always been on the removal of Israel and restoration of a united Palestine under their Sharia law.

In their attacks on Israel, Hamas has routinely used private homes to store munitions and military supplies. They typically operate rockets and missiles from mosques, minarets,hospitals, businesses and schools against Israel and also where they store their supplies.

It's commonplace that the homes of innocent civilians are used to fire on advancing Israelis while the residents are forced to remain in place. Hamas is well aware of the propaganda value of a retaliatory strike by Israel against a school full of students or a mosque full of worshipers, or hospital full of patients. But nothing is mentioned about the military use of these sites which prompted the Israel's retaliatory strikes. 

They've also developed an extensive and highly sophisticated network of tunnels extending well into Israel and Egypt which put the tunnels built by the Viet Cong or the Sinaloa drug cartel to shame. They use these tunnels to move terrorist cells, train, organize and plan. They even had munitions factories, repair shops, and well equipped Hamas only hospitals. Most importantly, smuggling of everything from advanced weapons to food, clothing, and medicine. Smuggling?  

Yes. The majority of what they smuggle is used for Hamas purposes. Most is sold or traded on the black market, while hospitals and the public receive whatever is parceled out to appease the populace. In addition, Hamas takes in millions of aid  which follows a similar path. The smuggling generates between $12 and $15 million a month.

As a result, while the people of Gaza starve, Hamas spends at least $100 million annually on its military infrastructure.  Meanwhile, Hamas receives as much as $360 million dollars from oil rich Qatar as well as  millions more from other Arab countries like NATO/EU member, Turkey, and wealthy Arab families.

As an aside, despite the abject poverty of Gaza, the senior most Hamas leadership are all billionaires thanks to grafted "donations". For instance, its top three leaders are worth a purportedly $11 billion dollars which goes to support their luxury lifestyles in Qatar and elsewhere. 

 The United Nations spends over $600 million to fund and run schools and operate hospitals (much of that money comes indirectly from U.S. taxpayers). This means all of the needs of Hamas are provided from outside, leaving it with millions on it military while its people starve.

Israeli intelligence, including the famous Mossad and Shin Bet failed magnificently on October 7th, and to an extent, so did the numerous U.S. intelligence agencies like the NSA, CIA, and DIA. They never saw what was coming, which is likely how future operations such as this will play out.

Netanyahu is furious, and rightly so. He knows all too well that lesser failures like this have brought down Israeli governments.  He knows too that these kind of failures expose weaknesses in Israel's defenses. Yes, the Israeli military---the IDF---performed with brilliance in its recovering and counterpunch.

There's little doubt that COGAT is intentionally delaying the release of humanitarian aid to Gaza at the direction of  Prime Minister Netanyahu.  He knows better than most, including  some bureaucrat in the United Nations or in some ivory tower NGO, that little of those supplies will actually reach the average citizen in Gaza. The majority of those supplies will be diverted (likely at gun point) to Hamas.

 Just a few weeks ago video footage was secretly shot of bread being selectively passed out to Gazans to keep them from rioting. At the same time, Hamas soldiers were firing their guns into the crowd to keep them back and in abeyance. Obviously, Hamas, which brought the war to Gaza, can't  now lose control over the people. The aid lined up on Israeli check points stand an excellent chance of being sold on the black market by Hamas, and you can be sure than none of Hamas' leadership have lost any weight.

Netanyahu has vowed to destroy  Hamas at any cost. In that, he has been largely successful. As many as 10,000 Hamas and associated fighters have been killed with over four thousands taken prisoner. Several of Hamas' top leaders have been killed, however, their senior most likely left the area before the October 7th attack for someplace safe and relaxing (applying a lesson from ISIS and Al Qaeda).

However, Netanyahu has to be very careful about winning the battle and losing the war. A large number of countries, financial institutions, and powerful NGOs have openly accused Israel of genocide (and withholding aid would seem to support that). Even in the United States and Germany, two of Israel's strongest allies, public opinion shows 65% blame Hamas while a large minority---35%---blame Israel.

 But let us remember that it was Hamas---not Israel---which started this war knowing full well the hellfire which would rain down on the people of Gaza, and chose to do it anyway.  Let us also not forget that Hamas regularly launches tens of thousands of rockets and missiles against Israel on a monthly basis, although that's of cold comfort to the starving 2.2 million men, women and children Hamas has bequeath to the world. 

Israel must reach as a realistic deal for a single Palestinian state. That's at the heart of Israel's national security and would deprive its enemies of their key weapon. Perhaps a good start would be for Israeli troops to accompany a relief convoy into Gaza and pass out the aid themselves, thus ensuring the food, water, and medical supplies  goes where need and denying Hamas both a propaganda and humanitarian victory. Nevertheless, Hamas has to go. It must be replaced by a government which sincerely cares for the wellbeing of Gaza and truly wants peace. Until then, this level of carnage will only continue. 

If you enjoyed the article, please consider passing it along to others and don't forget to subscribe. It's free! Lastly please be sure to "like" us on whatever platform you use to read anotheropinionblog.com. It helps beat the algorithms and keeps our articles in circulation. Thank you!

 

How Hamasbuilt a force to attack Israel on 7 October

Integrated  Food Security Phase Classification

Hama's Main Source of Funding Might Surprise You

How Hamas secretly built a "mini-army' to fight Israel

Whichcountries have criticized Israeli attacks on Gaza

How HamasAttacked Unfolded----In Videos

Hamas leaders worth staggering 11B revel in luxury---while Gaza's people suffer

A Race Based National Anthem? Gay Beer? Injecting politics into Sports and the Perils of Corporate Marketing in a 'Woke' Society

 

It used to be that the world tuned into the Super Bowl as much for the commercials and performances (especially during Half Time) as they did the games. Sadly, Sunday's showing proved that the NFL's entertainment drought continues, leaving viewers parched for some quality performers.

Of course, there's no shortage of performances to pick from, be it Janet Jackson's infamous "Wardrobe Malfunction", the Who's tone deaf performance, or this year's offering from Usher. However, there have also been some pretty spectacular shows too over the years such as the legendary Paul McCarthy and Prince performances.

One of the key problems is that in times past, there was a general equality of respect in the various musical genres, ranging from rock, to Motown, Pop, and Country. Nowadays, it seems that just one market segment is even considered. But like many others facing this country, there is a divide which seem ever more insurmountable. 

The NFL's selection of a very narrow band of performers does not appeal to the majority of fans, especially those who are willing to plop down the big dollars, either in the form of season tickets or one of the numerous viewing methods. If it wasn't for those fans, the NFL would quickly find itself  unable to keep paying out those multi-million dollars salaries to players, coaches. and administrative staff.  

One seriously problem is the apparent growing willingness of the NFL to allow a measure of racism which it wouldn't tolerate from any other group. It originally began with a few players deciding to "take a knee" rather than stand for the playing of our National Anthem (the players claim it was a protest against racial injustice).

This relatively small clique, which revolved by then San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick, had decided to interject their race based political beliefs into a sporting event.  The practice quickly spread into other sports venues, and down to high school and Pop Warner leagues (further proof that children and young adults often emulate what they see more so as a form of "hero worship than an understanding of issues).

The clap back  came swift and hard from the fan base. Fans made it clear that they were there to watch a sporting event, not attend a political event. This was particularly among law enforcement and veteran associations despite denials from the NFL to the contrary.  The general consensus was that if players want to make political statements, they should do it on their own time, not on that of the fans.  

The NFL lost nearly 1/3 of its viewership and took a hit of $8.1 billion dollars in revenue. Other sport leagues and associations face similar drops in the revenue. I imagine that whoever in NFL management who opted to do nothing about the kneel downs found themselves with a pink slip in hand fairly quick. No one take hits in the billions without heads rolling.

While the issue of "taking a knee" during the playing of our National Anthem, has largely faded from the public's mind along those responsible for triggering the movement, but it didn't end there. Not by a long shot.

Today we face another attempt to politicize  sports through the playing of the so-called "Black National Anthem" as the song, "Lift Every Voice and Sing" has been coined.  It's being performed increasingly at various professional sporting events around country, and as with the copycat kneeling, has begun to spread into colleges and Pop Warner games. More so, the media is often encouraging attendees to afford the same level of respect as the actual National Anthem.

The song, "Lift Every Voice and Sing" was a hymn written by NAACP leader James Weldon Johnson around 1900 and set to music by his brother, J. Rosmond Johnson. James Johnson, who was Chair of the Florida Baptist Academy, penned the hymn in honor of Lincoln's birthday. 

The hymn was written from the perspective of late 19th Century Black Americans as a form of thanksgiving and evokes imagery commonly found in Black Liberation theology of the Biblical Exodus story from enslavement to freedom.

It was pointed out that during the last Super Bowl game, attendees were urged to stand for the Black National Anthem, but not for the American National Anthem. Was that a one off mistake or was that intentional?  Later, leading Democrats were critical of the crowd for not standing enmasse.

As an aside, when Andra Day sung the Black National Anthem, she was roundly booed by the audience which was audibly suppressed and downplayed by the media commentators while praising the NFL's openness.  Meanwhile, country music star Reba McEntire received a rousing round of cheers and applause in response to her rendition of the National Anthem (am I the only who thinks Reba looks like a caricature of a poor country mouse?)/

While the sentiment of the song is noteworthy, the question of whether a country can or should have two national anthems, especially one seen as promoting a certain racial segment of its society needs serious debate. It's not as if this is a choice between "America the Beautiful" and "If I had a Hammer".  This is especially true given how deeply divided America has become across political, gender, economic class, educational, and racial lines.

According to several surveys and polls conducted by Pew and Gallup, America has never been this deeply or widely split over  even basic issues since the decade preceding the America's bloodiest war, the Civil War. That war resulted in deaths of over 620,000 mostly young men. That's more than the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, the Spanish American War, WWI, WWII, Korea, or Vietnam...combined!

Lately the public has shown a willingness to use economic and social media pressure to respond to bad corporate decisions. As mentioned earlier, the Kaepernick Fiasco resulted in the loss of $8.1 billion dollars in revenue not to mention ending a number of professional sport related careers.  

When Budweiser began its promotion of "transgender influencer" and TikTok personality, Dylan Mulvaney in 2022, "Bud" had long reigned as America's top selling beer and was especially popular at sporting events. It was even referred to as "blue collar beer". Anheuser-Busch, the maker of Budweiser, reported a quick kick in its most tender spot---its bottom line.

During the second quarter, from April to June 2023, its revenue dropped a numbing 10.5%, especially sales of Bud Lite. That reflected a loss of $395 million in North America sales.  Stores couldn't get rid of the stuff no matter how low it cut prices. Drinkers of the stuff saw Bud's promotion of the transgender activist as a not-so-subtle promotion of LGBQT values, and in particular, those revolving around transgenderism, which highly unpopular among conservatives.

Boycotters made it a point to frame their protests as a personal violation of their trust to their long standing brand loyalty. "Bud" had long been associated with conservative ideals . The fall out later spread to include Target and country singers Garth Brooks, Kid Rock and several others. But how different is this than the attempted boycott over Chic-fil-a's refusal to be opened on Sunday?  

Conservative musical performers, athletes, and event promoters dropped Budweiser product from the lineup (some of largest consumers of Bud also happen to be NFL fans). As a result, after being America's top selling brand for over 20 years, it was toppled by a Mexican lager, Modelo Especial, which is owned by the Belgium company ABInBev.  Think about that. A beer which had been accepted as the essential working class American beer being replaced by a Mexican brew! Meanwhile, Anheuser-Busch reported that two of their top marketing executives were place on a leave of absence.

Three current examples, which by themselves and perhaps at some other time would have captured nothing but dead air time. But other examples exist such as alleged "cultural appropriation" of hairstyles, types of jewelry, and clothing styles. Even the use of certain phrases can serve as a trigger event!  But, given America's deep division and hypersensitivity over nearly everything, should any of this  be considered a proper venue for corporate social responsibility?

Even after a year since the "brew off", profits and market shares at Budweiser remain down. Despite Wall Street's never ending chase for more market share and more profits at any cost, shouldn't we address whether boards of directors be giving the green light to delve into socially sensitive issues? Are they showing due diligence to their stake and share holders? 

On the other hand, there are those who believe that corporations have a unique "moral responsibility" when it comes to the environment and society. Does the ruling oligarchy still retain a sense of "noblesse oblige" to society? 

After all, there are corporations out here who have greater revenues than some countries, and thus greater resources for social change. Corporations are commonly typically more influential than any NGO. The top ten richest companies, if combined, would be the third largest financial entity behind the U.S. and China. Saudi Aramco generates more wealth than Italy, Brazil, Canada, and Russia. Apple's market capital is the size of Australia's GDP.

America, as most of its citizens have come to accept, is a neo-fascist corporatocracy managed by a relatively small handful of super rich oligarchs.  Corporate media serves as its mouth piece in ensure a continuous and unrelenting stream of propaganda promoting one agenda or another. But does Wall Street want to get into the "social reimaging" game?  The public has demonstrated that it can and will respond to the wrong message  just as quickly as to the proper one.

So, if we're to have a "Black National Anthem" being promoted as a substitute to our collective national anthem, will Corporate America give equal thrift to a "Hispanic National Anthem"? What about a Asian-American National Anthem or a Native American National Anthem? Then too (I have to ask), what about a European-American National Anthem? Maybe we should adopt corporate anthems like in the 1975 dystopian movie "Rollerball" (a similar theme was played out in the 1986 film "Rollerblade".

How will they respond to the growing population of Muslims without offending other religions or victims of Islam such as the Kurds or Coptic Christians? What about commercials which promote legitimate Muslim traditions or values but which also comes in conflict with Western values such as the role of women?

We saw the public's reaction over LGBQT when it came to a beer. What about race based holidays which have been adopted by government organizations and corporations? How should they be promoted going forward? Can some holidays be celebrated and not others? Many regional holidays pertaining to the Confederacy have already been forcefully dropped, not to mention the removal of statutes.  

Hispanics already represent the largest national minority and growing. Some studies indicate that American will skip pass racial parity with white Europeans and go straight into a Hispanic majority within the next two decades. How will Wall Street handle that transition without disrespecting other racial groups?

Corporations have worked long and hard to achieve control of our political system. Now it's going to have to face up to some of the same issues our Republic struggled with. The chief difference is that the public will have more arrows in quiver. Not only through boycotts, social media "shaming", internal protests, and challenges via stockholder meetings. Corporate America many caught itself in a trap of its own making in its quest for profit and control.

 

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Lift Every Voice and Sing

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