The Confirmed Unteachability of Mankind

 

   In a speech delivered before the British House of Commons nearly 75 years ago, Winston Churchill gave voice to perhaps the most pessimistic expression ever heard in that august chamber: " . . . the confirmed unteachability of mankind."  At the time he gave his speech, fascism was on the march in Europe; Winnie was obviously appalled, frustrated and likely depressed by the all but total lack of action or response to either Hitler or Mussolini on the part of European democracies.  He continued his oration bemoaning a certain "Want of foresight, the unwillingness to act when action would be simple and effective, the lack of clear thinking, the

confusion of consul until emergency comes, until self-preservation strikes its jarring gong."  In his peroration, Churchill lamented  ". . . these are the features which constitute the endless repetition of history."  Churchill's gloomy cynicism can be easily forgiven; to a great extent, he knew of what he was speaking.

   In his speech before the United Nations General Assembly yesterday, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu quoted Churchill, similarly lamenting what he called "The unfortunate habit of civilized societies to sleep until danger nearly overtakes them."  Netanyahu spent the lion's share of his speech excoriating those who, like Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad deny the Holocaust ever happened; those who accuse world Jewry of having created a myth out of whole cloth in order to gain international sympathy and thereby justify the very existence of the Jewish State.  In his speech Netanyahu argued forcefully, eloquently and passionately that anyone who can believe such perverse nonsense is either self-deluded or else suffers from the most perverse form of willful blindness.   

   Most intelligent people can concur that there is room for disagreement over what Israel should, can or must not do in order to achieve peace with its neighbors.  Indeed, if we all were to agree on one particular approach it would mean one of two things: either that we were acting in a really inane "B" movie, or that the Messiah had already arrived.   Let's face it: for many, debate is a contact sport. Similarly, those who read history honestly with both eyes wide open know that on those rare occasions when the Jewish State has been offered a chance for peace -- as with Egypt and Jordan -- it has   both greeted and embraced it with all the ardor and passion of a long-lost lover. And although Israel is by no means perfect, it remains the only functioning democracy in that part of the world.  Of course, we all know that this fact, along with a couple of hundred others, don't amount to a hill of beans for those who are anti-Zionist, anti-Semitic, or anti-Democracy. To them, facts don't mean a thing.

   Many years ago I had a math professor named Tom Lehrer.  He was a wonderful teacher and an even better writer of topical, satirical songs.  One of his more memorable tunes -- "Daily News" had the lyric "Don't try to confuse me with the facts . . ." Although Dr. Lehrer's lyric wasn't referring to anyone or anything in particular, it could easily describe those who, like Ahmadinejad, the oil sheiks of Saudi Arabia or Willis Carto and the creeps of the Institute for Historical Review who, despite tons and tons of documentation, persist in telling anyone who will listen, that the Holocaust never occurred.  Talk about the "confirmed unteachability of mankind!"  Of course, they probablydo know that the Holocaust did occur; they just have another agenda . . .

    We have always had our own unteachable faction right here in the good old USA.  Generally speaking, those who deny the Holocaust -- or see Communists under every bed, or firmly believe that all Jews know and speak with one another at least once a week -- have been so far out of the mainstream as to be invisible to everyone save their acolytes or such groups as the Anti-Defamation League or the Southern Poverty Law Center whose job it is to keep track of them.  Mass media -- and the vast majority of sane people -- don't pay them any attention; there's just too many facts out there proving them wrong, wrong, wrong.  Of late however, a lot of Americans suffering from "confirmed unteachability" have been getting one heck of a lot of coverage in the media.  And here, I'm referring to those who, despite a welter of documents and facts, persist in the belief that President Barack Obama was born in Kenya; that he is a Socialist -- or a Communist, a Nazi, a Fascist, a gang-banger from the 'hood, an effete Harvard snob or an ardent Israel-hating anti-Semite.  From what is portrayed on the nightly news, it would seem as if the numbers of the unteachable have reached the point of no return.  Well, as a professor once told me, "If you put a single-cell amoeba under an electron microscope it's going to wind up looking like a Stegosaurus."  Shame on all the news editors for putting them on the tube in the first place.

   Just yesterday, House Minority Whip Eric Cantor -- the only Jewish Republican left on Capitol Hill -- told Politico, "If you look at the policy that this White House has followed, it certainly does not seem as if we are dealing with a true friend of Israel."  The White House declined to respond to Rep. Cantor's remarks, stating instead that "achieving a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians is how you can be a true friend to Israel."  What I find amazing is that Cantor's charge -- that the President is not a "true friend" of Israel -- came on the very day when he hosted a trilateral meeting between P.M. Netanyahu and President Abbas.  According to Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY), chair of the House Appropriations State and Foreign Operations Subcommittee, Cantor's criticisms "appear to be timed deliberately to weaken the administration's ability to lay the foundations for peace negotiations."  Could it be that Mr. Cantor is among the "unteachable?"  Or, is it something else?

   I have interviewed Eric Cantor, and know him to be both intelligent and skillful.  I also know him to be a highly partisan, deeply conservative Republican; a man who believes the answer to every fiscal issue is lowering taxes and whose mistrust of the federal government is akin to a religious obligation.  Perhaps in questioning President Obama's bona fides vis-à-vis Israel, Cantor is really attempting to convince those for whom the Jewish State is an issue of primal importance that they would be better served belonging to -- and voting for -- the Republican Party.

  From where I sit, and from what I've learned, there are certain incontrovertible facts in this vexatious, headache-inducing world of ours:

1. Israel really, truly does want peace.
2. The Holocaust really, truly did happen.
3. Barack Obama is really, truly a native-born American.
4. The current administration -- although it may not always agree with everything Israel does or says -- is really, truly a steadfast friend.
5. Winston Churchill was -- regrettably -- for the most part correct; there are a lot of unteachable, unreachable people out there.     
   

©2009 Kurt F. Stone

Comments

[Stella Fields]

I thought that Israeli Prime Minister spoke eloquently and defensively on behalf of his country AND Jewish people around the world. His comments regarding Holocaust deniers are crucial to everyone. If people such as Ahmadinejad would deny a genocide when there are still survivors alive and records to prove the facts true, then they do not appear to have respect for human life or social rights anywhere.

Ignorance is a social disease that runs rampant in spite of (or perhaps due to) an overwhelming bombardment of information from the media. People didn't listen to Churchill in the early 1930's and the Allies paid a heavy price of human sacrifice to the atrocities of war. Netanyahu is drawing a parallel reference to the lessons of history, which seems quite relevant to today.

In 1947 the United Nations offered to create two separate states: a Jewish state and an Arab state. The Arabs turned down the offer and in 1948, attacked the newly created State of Israel. In certain social circles this would be called "chutzpah" i.e. the "nerve" or "indecency" to act with such a brazen attitude. The enemies of Israel would rather die trying to wipe it off the map then cooperate with the only democracy in the Middle East.

Israel has attempted to negotiate with its neighbors for over 60 years and has been tried unfairly by the United Nations for defending itself against terrorists. Israel will not "go gentle into that good night" as Dylan Thomas once wrote. The Jewish state has the right to exist, to endure, and to defend itself.

[S.M]

I thought Netanyahu's speech was great and brilliantly delivered. The papers I read did't mention the names of those representatives that left their seats before he started, but I imagine there were plenty!
Time is a great healer. B ut, those of us, unlucky enough to have been there to see the carnage will carry the sights to our graves.
As for Eric Cantor, he's nothing but a no-good disgrace.

[Alan Weiss]

I certainly hope they want peace. I do!

[Murray Romantz]

The underlying bedrock to all that I believe is simply this: That no man or group of men have the right to own, buy, sell or trade or in any way appropriate anything that nature (or God, if you will) gives to all humanity freely. What I call a natural opportunity.
When a man applies his labor to a natural opportunity, the result of his efforts are his property, his economic wealth if it has an exchange value. To do with as he sees fit.
The apples he picks off the apple tree he planted, both the fruit and the tree are his
but not the earth that the tree is planted in. Not the bare land which is a natural opportunity for all men.

[Warren Weinstein]

The careful readers of history have had many problems in warning others of impending danger. Part of the problem has been the lack of clear and precise communication.

Intelligence is an umbrella term used to describe a property of the mind that encompasses many related abilities, such as the capacities to reason, to plan, to solve problems, to think abstractly, to comprehend ideas, to use language, and to learn. (Wikipedia).

Your description of Eric Cantor indicates that he is STUPID and probably greedy, not intelligent. To quote, he "believes the answer to every fiscal issue is lowering taxes and whose mistrust of the federal government is akin to a religious obligation" does not indicate to me that he is "intelligent".