Sunday, April 22, 2018

Narcissistic Nation


Much has been written lately by psychiatrist and mental health professionals about the “narcissistic mind-set.”  Defined as:[i]

            One – It is all about me.
            Two – Other people don’t matter because they are not me.
            Three – Regulations and laws are irrelevant because they restrict my being me.

Most of it has been applied to the actions of Donald Trump. And I certainly see the rationale for this concern. However, I wonder if there should not also be a concern for a “Narcissistic Nation,” namely Israel?

            One – It is all about Israel

                        From the bombing of the King David Hotel to massacre in Shebra and Shatilla refugee camps, to the air strikes on neighboring countries, US politicians, media, and the religious right, all give Israel a pass on atrocities. Even an attack on the USS Liberty, killing 34 American sailors, avoids accountability. The American attitude seems to be, if it’s Israel, no questions allowed, no public debate. If it’s Israel, it is sanctioned, (blessed) in the sense of approved, not punished.

Two – Other people don’t count.

In keeping with the narcissistic mindset, other nations and people don’t count. Just think of Gaza. Two million people crowded into an “open-air prison,” deprived of clean water, food, medicine, electricity and meaningful work to do. But, to Israel, they are not Jews, so what’s the problem?  Even the non-Jewish Arabs of Israel are treated as second class citizens in their own country. They are not Jews.
                                   
            Three – No restrictions on Israel recognized.

                        It is phrased as Israel’s “right to defend itself.”  But in reality, it is a cover for Israel’s violence against its neighbors. It is not by mistake that Israel has never declared its borders, nor subjected itself to a constitution. The core of Israel’s society is its military might which does not even stand on its own, but is guaranteed and financed by the US.  Israel shouts, “The world is out to get us, because we are Jewish.”

I would argue that the world condemns Israel, precisely because it is NOT Jewish. Israel’s ancient prophets, from whom Jesus got his message and mission, had much to say about caring for the poor, protecting the weak, defending the oppressed, releasing the prisoner and forgiving debts. These are the polar opposites of the “narcissistic nation” now called Israel.

Thomas Are
April 22, 2018

           
[i] Dr. Decker, Trump’s Brain, an FBI Profile of Donald Trump. And especially, Bandy Lee, The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump, 27 Psychiatrist and Mental Health Experts Assess a President.  (St. Martins Press, New York, 2017.)

6 comments:

  1. Recently, three western leaders falsely accused Syria of using chemical weapons against it own people to use as a pretext to bomb that country giving the impression that they have sleepless bight worrying civilian victims! These same three hypocrites have never ever voiced any criticism of Israel savage brutality against the defenseless Palestinians even when Israel used banned weapons.

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  2. Fully concur with one exception. 'israel' is not a nation more of an entity. It has no shared culture; language; traditions or ethnicity.

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  3. Yes, Israel literally gets away with murder and the entire world looks the other way. If someone actually mentions the atrocities perpetrated by them, they are labeled an Anti-Semite...clever game at the expense of way too many innocent lives.

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  4. "I would argue that the world condemns Israel, precisely because it is NOT Jewish."
    Nailed it!

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  5. Indeed, The Covenent with God the Jews were offered was on the understanding that they would demonstrate clearly Gods’ Mercy upon them if they were to ‘give alms to the poor’ and ‘establish regular prayer’ and thus be seen as ‘Gods’ Preferred People’. This covenent was broken very quickly by their arrogance, and has been ceremoniously re-broken every day since then, and none more so than the appalling inhumanity of the Zionists towards the Palestinians, who offered their homes as shelter in 1948.So the ideaology of Gods’ Chosen People is now morally bankrupt and simple a tool for mass land theft and the attacks upon seven Muslim countries using America and NATO.

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