Enablers Are Just as Guilty

In this polarized, 24/7 news feed cycle society in which we live today, we are regularly bombarded by lies, half-truths, politicians publicly dissing people with whom they disagree as well as flat-out disinformation. Recognizing that this is the milieu in which we find ourselves, it is legitimate to ask a simple question: What is the responsibility, if any, of those who witness such a barrage of garbage?

Do we simply listen, shake our heads and lament how depressing this has all become? Or, do we have an obligation to identify and hold accountable whoever or whatever is the source of the misinformation or despicable conduct? And if we choose to remain silent, do we become, perforce, actual enablers of the person or institution responsible for the lies, half-truths and dissing of one individual by another?

It would seem that we can make a legitimate case that people who remain silent in the face of any of this really do become enablers.

The dictionary defines an enabler as one who enables another to achieve an end, especially one who enables another to persist in self-destructive behavior (such as substance abuse) by providing excuses or by making it possible for one to avoid the consequences of such behavior.

Being an enabler involves supporting or allowing someone’s unhealthy, destructive, or irresponsible behavior, often with good intentions or out of fear. This dynamic, common in addiction or dysfunctional relationships, prevents the individual from facing consequences, thereby maintaining the negative behavior. It often includes covering up for others, making excuses, or offering financial support.

Here in Israel, as an example, on April 27^th of last year Prime Minister Netanyahu delivered an address at an event sponsored by the hawkish and generally right-wing Jewish News Syndicate (JNS). During his remarks regarding a Palestinian state in Gaza, he said: “We just tried a Palestinian state in Gaza,” referring to the fact that Israel had fully withdrawn from Gaza in 2005.  However, no one ever considered Gaza as an independent state, because it is not. Even Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Palestinian Authority and the United Nations never said that. What he wanted from this lie, directed at the foreign ambassadors among the audience, is to say that a Palestinian State is actually dangerous to Israel’s survival. Everyone in that audience who sat quietly and did not call out the Prime Minister for his twisting of the facts became enablers in that setting.

Of course, on the US side, we see this every day. On Tuesday of this week during an Oval Office press conference, CNN reporter Kaitlin Collins raised a question about the ongoing saga of the Epstein files. Those files were mandated to be released not later than December 19, 2025, by a law passed by Congress and signed by the President, but still have not been fully released. However, rather than answer the question, President Trump laced into Collins, calling her “the worst reporter” and scolding her for not smiling as she tried to ask about the latest release of files related to Jeffrey Epstein.

“She’s a young woman — I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile,” Mr. Trump said in a sarcastic tone. “I’ve known you for 10 years. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a smile on your face.” Ms. Collins noted that she was asking the president about Mr. Epstein’s sexual assault victims, but Mr. Trump interrupted her saying: “You know why you’re not smiling? Because you know you’re not telling the truth.” Last year during a press gaggle on Air Force One, he similarly cut off a female Bloomberg News reporter by barking, “Quiet! Quiet Piggy!”

Everyone present during these outbursts should have risen and left the room or whatever venue they were in to demonstrate forcibly that they are not prepared to be enablers of leaders who lie, demean and show disrespect for others as a matter of course.

Among the most disappointing aspects of watching democracies slowly commit suicide and become autocracies is the complicity of the general population who choose, by their conduct, to themselves become enablers. As such, they too, bear the guilt as does the perpetrator of the offense.

“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely” is a famous 1887 quote by British historian Lord Acton. It warns all of us that holding power often leads to moral corruption, and total, unchecked power results in complete moral decay. It is commonly used to highlight the dangers of authoritarianism and the tendency for leaders to abuse authority.