November 27, 2014

The self. The thing which cannot be sacrificed, or compromised to fit within anyone’s idea of life, except one’s own. It is the very tenant that is behind the idea of capitalism, which incidentally is also the most moral of economic systems, regardless of what popular opinion, or the public has persuasively been trying to push forward. Why? Precisely because of its main tenant.

Yaron Brook, the Israeli-American president of the Ayn Rand Institute has become one of the main propagators of the ideals of Objectivism, and the ideas of the ‘individual’ within the Israeli state. Yet, I fear that although Atlas Shrugged sales are soaring, not enough people are hearing the message it has been propagating for the last 50 years: the importance of individualism, especially today when collectivism, and “groupthink” is becoming increasingly prevalent.

Brook has taken Ayn Rand’s ideas about selfishness and their rational application within one’s life and has shown that one can reasonably live like Howard Roark, Hank Rearden, and Dagny Taggart. It basically amounts to one simple concept: the pursuit of happiness. Of course the issue is far more complicated than that, as a 1000 page novel itself was not enough to completely cover the philosophical framework of the idea that man and woman hold their lives in their own hands, and that all free societies are only truly free if based on laissez -faire capitalism. Still, how true is this? The short answer is true. The long answer is more than one would think.

It is through capitalism that one is able to achieve one’s individuality, as through one’s labour and work one may find his/her happiness, as Ayn Rand said, not through others, not by working for others, but simply for oneself. All of Brook’s seminars, lectures, and book all point to one thing: the practical side of Objectivism, and the ultimate benefits of living in a democratic society.

Israel of course is the perfect example of a democracy within a sea of tyranny, and an even better example of the benefits of capitalism which has prompted the world to name Israel the “start-up nation”. Brook, although denounces Zionism because of its collectivist ideas, praises Israel for the one thing which must be recognized: out of all the countries in the Middle East, Arabs have the most freedoms in Israel- the Jewish state. I disagree with Brook’s view of Zionism, as I vehemently believe that it is in fact the materialization of freedom, and in this case that of the dreams of individuals to live a better, freer life. In a sense Zionism is freedom, that from oppression from those who have use collectivist mindsets to subdue the Jewish people throughout history. However, that is a different issue. There is more to Israel than its political system. Economics which although play on mixed-policies has had an enormous role in the way Israel has turned out today.

Is capitalism a good thing?

Unlike what you have been told, Israel has not been a “group effort”, rather it was the work of individuals that each played a role in the creation of this country. It was the arrival of men and women who worked for their own good to make a better life for themselves, that led to Israel’s stance in the world today. Each individual created, produced and profited, which in turn held Israel’s society up- regardless of the socialist principles that the government has instilled upon its people. You are wrong if you believe that Israel has become the great nation it is today through kibbutzim and social policies. No. It is the product of individual men and women, who sought achievement, who sought happiness for their own selves. The businessmen, the entrepreneurs, the men who did not achieve great heights but worked with such passion, that they molded deserts into agricultural farmland, villages into cities, and a barren place into a nation.

The virtues of capitalism, which are the ability to achieve, accomplish, and to build on one’s own terms without the involuntary need of others, is what propelled Israel to one of the most prominent countries in the world, and when compared to the collectivist natures of the countries that it is surrounded by, it is obvious why. Let us not forget that Israel is 19th on UN’s list of Human Development Index, which ranks it amid other European and other Western countries. How do you think it got there in only 66 years?

People need to realize that individuals such as Brook, are not in fact the ones who are advocating an immoral idea, rather it is those who make us believe that somehow men and women have a right to the unearned. Capitalism has made Israel a prosperous place, one which is only second behind the United States in technological innovation. Even if you deny all the virtues of capitalism, you cannot deny that.

This has been a horrible week for the Jewish people.  Those who seek our destruction have struck again.  They attack the innocent and the vulnerable.  Who is more innocent than a three month old in a stroller, a teenager on his way home to spend the Sabbath with his family, or a young Ecuadorian convert?  Who is more vulnerable than men engaged in prayer?  The Rabbis who died last week knew their murderer.  They greeted him everyday.  He watched their movements.  He and his cohort knew when to hack them to death.  How brave! How bold!  The blood spattered prayer books and tefillin on a severed arm remind us that the depraved have no conscience.  The perpetrators were little more than the human faces of unadulterated evil.

Our leaders know this, but they released statements that were almost beyond comprehension.  They “condemned” the attack using conjunctions.  “This is a terrible tragedy, but…”  “It is a senseless attack, however…”  They wasted no time imploring Israel to “show restraint.”   They showed no outrage at the slaughter of American citizens. Instead, they focused on “moral equivalency.”  There is none.    In their attempt to become the next Neville Chamberlain, they sent a clear and deafening message. The terrorists didn’t kill Americans.  They killed Jews.  Our leaders have succumbed to the notion that Jewish blood is cheap.  It is not.  As the Jew goes, so goes the world.  Things are going to get much worse for all of us before they get better.  It was fortunate for the world that a Churchill followed a Chamberlain.  He knew evil could not be appeased.  It must be eradicated.  We have no Churchill because we have no absolutes.  Moral equivalency implies a justification of evil.   Our leaders lack ethics and morals.  We will suffer.

The media screwed up big time this week.  CNN’s initial report was, “mosque attacked.”  That was followed by, “two Palestinians dead in terror attack.”  These headlines were not the result of a “mistake” or even shoddy journalism.  They were a result of a biased culture within the media.  They no longer keep us informed. They have an agenda.  One of my friends sent me a picture showing the attack on the south tower of the World Trade Center on 9.11.  The revised caption from CNN read, “8 Arabs die in tragic plane crash.” 

The media also reported that the Rabbi’s were “ultra-orthodox.”  The reporters have no idea what the “ultra-orthodox” are, but they are quick to apply a label.  There is a reason for this.  It is a tactic to divide the Jewish people. If we believe that it is just the “orthodox” that are the targets, then the rest of the Jewish nation can rest easy.  They are not after us. Anyone who can read the Hamas charter, listen to the leaders of ISIS and their brothers in Iran and elsewhere knows that is a crock.  There are still many people in our community who have numbers on their arm.   They will testify that evil does not discriminate.  There is no difference between Chassidic Chava and secular Anne.  Those who hate us hate all of us.  Abraham Lincoln said, “A house divided against its self cannot stand.”  The House of Jacob needs to be united.

After the attacks, the same people who danced on 9/11, danced again.  They offered sweets and congratulations.  The Jordanian parliament held a moment of silence for the terrorists.  Evil rejoiced.  It always does.

Our sages tell us that there are thirty-six righteous people in whose merit the world continues to exist.  They are supposed to be anonymous, but I think some of them were revealed to us last week.  After they buried their husbands and fathers, they asked us to participate in the Sabbath and its rituals.  They asked us to be good and do mitzvot.  They asked us to be kind to our fellow human being.  They looked in the face of baseless hatred and answered with abundant love.  They asked us to love     G-d, love our neighbour and love ourselves.  A grateful nation remembered the heroic sacrifice of Zidan Saif.  May his memory be a blessing to his family and to us.  The next day, the same synagogue that witnessed death observed an eight-day-old boy take his place among the Jewish people.

At this time I realize I cannot walk in their shadow.  I am still a work in progress.  I am very blessed to be a part of the Jewish people. 

Have a peaceful week,
Emuna