U.S. and Israel Attack Iran
Welcome to From Insults To Respect.
I just watched President Trump’s speech about what he hopes the U.S. hopes will be achieved by joining forces with Israel to attack Iran. Since the attack began three days ago, some friends have asked for my reaction. Here’s my response.
There are only four things that I am certain of:
- Billions of tax dollars will be spent on this intervention,
- A great number of buildings and infrastructures that had been built by the hard work of thousands will be destroyed,
- Many will be seriously wounded,
- Many, including children, will be killed.
According to a New York Times report, a strike on a girls’ elementary school in southern Iran killed at least 175 people, most of them likely children,
Several videos and images verified by The New York Times showed that at least half of the two-story school was destroyed in the explosion. Emergency workers with the Red Crescent could be seen alongside families desperately combing through the rubble, which was littered with schoolbooks and book bags covered in blood and ashes. Portions of the building jutted out from the rubble, with bits of colorful murals visible on what were once the walls of the school. Desks were piled with debris.
As to what positives will come from the horrors of all of this, we will have to wait and see.
With deep sadness,
Jeff
So you take the word of the Iranian regime regarding the reports of a school being hit. That’s like taking the word of Hamas on face value. Shame on you.
If it were up to you, more Iranian civilians would be killed by the Iranian regime (50,000 during the recent uprising against tyranny) rather than getting rid of the totalitarian regime itself that causes these deaths.
Before condemning anyone for the attack on the school, let’s get reliable reports.
Hi Jessica,
Thanks for giving me a piece of your mind. That’s always very welcome here.
As for your conclusion that I had taken the word of the Iranian regime prior to getting reliable reports, I respectfully disagree with this. I was just reporting on a New York Times article that did raise some concerns within me.
My Best,
Jeff
Hello Jeffrey,
Like you, I deplore the deaths and destruction.
Because of the deaths and injuries, it seems inappropriate to elaborate too much at this time.
But this conflict is directed against a theocratic regime, meaning that the religious dimension is significant and even a contributing factor.
I see war as the failure of communication. And also something invisible in the fabric of reality, called karma. I find it horrific to kill. I find it horrific to threaten and shout, “Death to X or Y!” I find it foolish to shout when someone criticizes a religion, whatever it may be. I think we haven’t communicated well. We could have explained to these religious leaders in power in Iran, as well as to the pious people on the other side, that no divine entity can demand bloodshed, sacrifice, or war. If it did that, this entity would not be divine in nature, but would most likely be a tyrant of the past, using religious deception to achieve its goals of territorial conquest and personal power. Therefore, it is clear to me that the authors of religious texts calling for war were not connected to divine beings, but were imposters. It is therefore necessary to stop being naive and to stop blindly believing religious texts, or anyone who claims to be a medium and connected to a divine entity. For we are all brothers and sisters in the eyes of an entity that would be divine.
That is how I see things. The goals of a divine entity are spiritual in nature, that is to say, the progress of each person’s soul. A divine entity considers us its children, without favoring one over another. But the divine entity allows us to experience the consequences of our choices, so that we may develop our discernment and our sense of responsibility. Thus, on the surface, the divine entity appears absent, since its intervention would prevent us from having these experiences.
It seems obvious to me that religious professionals who finance wars or bloody repressions are obviously incapable of receiving correct spiritual guidance. I find it utterly pathetic to claim to be a religious guide and do such things.
Jeff,
I find it all horrific and terrifying.
Hi Mary,
I, too, view it all as horrific and terrifying. It brings back awful memories of what was said that brought us into the Viet Nam War, the Iraq war, and Afghan war, as well as what Putin told the Russian people as he led them into war with Ukraine.
My Best,
Jeff
Hi Luc,
Thanks for sharing with us the way you view karma. I view people who blindly believe in religious text are failing to use their capacity for wisdom, or what you refer to as spiritual guidance.
My Best,
Jeff