Two old friends are having a discussion about Benjamin Netanyahu and his level of intelligence; one says he’s “stupid,” and the other disagrees.
Now, I don’t follow Israeli politics as closely as either of these two, but here’s my take on the matter: Insofar as he’s a demagogue, and an extremely effective one at that, we need to grant that he possesses intelligence along a certain dimension that is sufficient to enable him to figure out, with fabulous precision, how to address his audience and control their behavior at the polls.
It’s unclear if he’s capable of solving differential equations, speaking half a dozen languages, or following the advancements in particle physics, but that’s completely irrelevant. The only matter at play here is his love of power, and his capacity to manipulate “common” people, using rhetoric to stir up the passions of the masses so as to push him into power and keep him there.
The many millions of participants in today’s “No Kings” rallies around the world are doing everything possible to avoid hostility between the event supporters and Trump supporters who claim it promotes a “hatred of America” and “domestic terrorism.”
Whether these days of hate and oppression will persist for a “long, long time,” or whether the pendulum is about to swing back the other way remains to be seen.
It’s certainly a terrible time to be an American.
I just saw a question on social media: do you want your tax dollars going to feed someone else’s kids??
Yes. I’d like to live in a world in which no kids go hungry, and I don’t have a problem contributing to create that world.
This may sound like a tall order, especially given the variability of wealth in the world’s countries.
But let’s stick with the U.S. for a minute. In the US, nearly 14 million children live in food-insecure households, a statistic that has risen recently, with some reports indicating that one in five children face hunger.
This is disgraceful.
So again, yes. Please sign me up to allocate a portion of my tax dollars to feeding hungry kids.
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