Much of the destruction around us is based on us lying to ourselves.
I am reading a troubling book, "The Hundred-Year Marathon," given to me by one of our sons. It tells the depressing story of China's rise at the world's expense. The author, Michael Pillsbury, describes himself as being possibly the most connected intelligence agent from the West in regards to China. Over decades at the Pentagon and CIA, he has seen documents that others never have. He has met with generals, defectors, and communist leaders. His conclusions are painful. He makes it clear that China's rise was based heavily on subterfuge and the willing blindness of the West, which accepted China's claims and foolishly gave Beijing technology, information, and access to markets—all at the West's expense.
Maybe we're heading into Gad Saad's "Suicidal Empathy"? The West lies to itself on numerous topics, if only to get to the goal of which it dreams. For example:
- The Palestinians want peace and a state of their own.
- The Ukrainians only want to defend against the Russians.
- Muslims come to the West to live like us.
- Scientists only tell the absolute truth.
- Corporations do right by us.
And so on.
Israelis, for decades, lied to themselves about the Palestinians. Voices of reason warning that Yasir Arafat remained a terrorist and wanted to destroy Israel were marginalized from the days of the first President Bush until the pogrom of October 7, 2023. From the earliest contacts between lefties like Shimon Peres and the PLO terror chief, a few individuals warned about the real intentions of the Palestinians. But the press, most politicians, and the people wanted to believe the cooing of the Palestinians that they just wanted a state and to live in peace with their Israeli "brothers." Go back and read about many who were killed in the Hamas attack who had been actively involved in helping Gazans get medical treatments or work. Hamas never hid its intentions, but there were just enough lies from the Palestinian Authority and supposed representatives of the Palestinians that Israelis and leftists all over the world could hang on to their promises of peace. Thousands of Israelis died between 1993—the signing of the Oslo Accords—and today. Obviously, many thousands more died in Israel's wars before then, but those were with sworn enemies, and the number of people who argued that those countries really wanted peace could be put into a telephone booth with room to spare.
Recommended
Ukraine was invaded by Russia. One can argue why Putin made such a move, and whether Ukraine is completely innocent or brought on the bear through efforts to enter NATO or otherwise weaken Russian interests. It doesn't matter. Ukraine received unprecedented sums of money from the U.S. in the way of weapons and support. We were told that Ukraine was only interested in protecting its territory and people. Then strange things began to happen. Budget requests from the Biden administration included payments for Ukrainian debts and pension obligations. European countries like Monaco and England reported large numbers of Ukrainians appearing with supercars—paid for by Gus and Bella from Deadwood, South Dakota. Rumors swirled of kickbacks to American politicians who were eager to send tens of billions of dollars worth of goods to the Ukrainians. In parallel, there were reports of American weapons sent to Ukraine appearing elsewhere, possibly sold on the black market. President Trump has tried several times to make a peace deal, but President Zelensky isn't biting. He does not have the manpower or equipment to take back Crimea and other captured regions, but he wants everything back for peace. In his dying days, Hitler used to bark out orders to no longer extant German armies. Zelensky is not interested in any peace that does not make Ukraine whole. It ain't gonna happen, and all of the lies about protecting the people—and canceling elections to do so—were swallowed up by those who hate Putin because….he is Putin.
One of the greatest mitzvahs is "hachnasat orchim," or bringing guests into your home. As such, it would seem that taking in millions of poor Mexicans or Muslims from backward, failed countries would seem to be a great thing to do. And that is the argument of the professional Left: every person in the world has a right to live in America. For Muslims, they were passed off as immigrants like the Chinese, Irish, Italians, and Koreans of previous generations. But something was not working. For many of the fake "asylum seekers" (international law requires someone seeking asylum to do so in the first country he enters—and not the one he wants for maximum benefits), they had no intention of changing their ways. Just as they beat their wives and hated Jews at home, they would do the same in the U.S., England, Holland, and beyond. Just as they made Sharia the center of their lives, they displaced local law with Sharia in their new homes. They took maximum available benefits from the local working blokes and stated clearly that they hated Jews and Christians and looked forward to taking over the joint. High birth rates give them a shot at the same in a few decades. The attack at Bondi Beach is the present direction of the West. Saad himself experienced the fall of Lebanon from a Christian land to the divided country held hostage by Shia Hezbollah. Will he see Canada go through the same process again, as the West lies to itself about Muslim intentions?
During the surprise pandemic of COVID, we were desperate to believe the scientists who took over from politicians as the de facto leaders of Western countries. Just as a bomber pilot used to turn over his plane to his bombardier as they lined up for a bombing run, presidents and prime ministers turned over their microphones to obscure medical bureaucrats. Their white hair and white coats made us want to believe that masks, distancing, staying home, closing schools, destroying businesses—all of these acts would save lives and stem the tide. But things kept getting worse. And we were told that the vaccines would save humanity, and we believed it. We lined up to get them, and then people started feeling awful. Some got very sick, and others died. Pretty much everyone I know who got multiple shots of mRNA vaccines got the virus multiple times after vaccination. Science is sporting two big black eyes from the lies sold to us, which we wanted to believe. How many fights were made over distancing? How many screamed at one another when a mask failed to cover nostrils? And it was all one big lie, yet we believed that if we did what they said, we would be safe. For 19 months, we did not visit my father, for fear of giving him the virus and killing him.
Americans specifically, but Westerners more generally, tend to be trusting people. Whereas those who grew up behind the Iron Curtain were often suspicious, Americans trust in others, including large corporations. We believed them when they described their food as nutritious or their drugs as efficacious. We assumed that their products were safe and that they had our interests in mind when they sold us stuff. Then we saw that beef is puffed up with solutions to add to its weight. Bobby Kennedy Jr. tells us of the chemicals in our food that Europeans will not allow in theirs. We learn that insurance companies are "not there" when you need them after a fire or other disaster. Your parents' appliances outlasted them; yours have three years from the moment of purchase.
As Ronald Reagan said, "Trust, but verify." So many are lying to your face.
Editor’s Note: Do you enjoy Townhall’s conservative reporting and opinion? Support our work by joining Townhall VIP! Use the promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your VIP membership!
Join the conversation as a VIP Member