Whenever we ignore others’ problems, we’ll pay for it

Very liberal minds might say: “I’m not obligated to care about everyone. I’m free whom I love or not.” That might be but you’ll pay for the results.

The West

Millions spent their free time (and sometimes work hours) spreading their hatred over the Internet. It’s only words, who cares? All kinds of lies and nonsense, from conspiracy to a flat earth theory, spread like wildfire. No one cared. Until the fabrications elected a race-baiter to the White House.

The West never cared that over a billion Chinese live without democracy. Their totalitarian leaders commit genocide, but it’s not on us. And they violate copyright laws and trade agreements. Ah, it gets less nice for us. And they just teamed up with Iran. That sounds dangerous. They seek world domination. Now, that gets uncomfortable. And they don’t reduce climate pollution enough. Now it starts hindering everyone’s survival. And they hid the beginning of a pandemic. Killing hundreds of millions.

The West never cared too much Israel was fighting hatred for Jews. Then, in the civil war in Syria, almost all parties were antisemitic so none of them could be supported. The civil war made life in Syria impossible for all and millions fled to Europe. Now it needs to deal with this Jews-hatred.

The West never cared too much about generations of Africans starving. So now, they have started to move up North. Now it’s Europe’s problem too.

The West never cared Iran had cruel junta rulers. It’s their problem. Then, Iran became the world champion in spreading terrorism. That’s less nice. Then, they began to seek nuclear weapons. Now, maybe all should care.

The West never cared that two million in Gaza live under a cruel junta. It’s their problem and that of Israel. But when Israel refuses to be mass-murdered, Antisemites around the world begin to protest. So many active neo-Nazis aren’t so good (looking) in a democracy. It helps Aliyah, though.

Israel

In Israel, anti-Zionists are ignored by the majority. It’s their lives, who cares? The Ultra-Orthodox didn’t learn math or biology. Muslims live in their own cities. All their problem. Then, came a pandemic that needed us to follow doctors’ orders. They never trusted science or the State, ignoring recommendations. It killed thousands and paralyzed the economy for all.

In Israel, much gang violence plagued Muslim villages. Many Muslims carried centuries of hatred for Jews. In some Jewish circles, hatred for Muslims and Gentiles in general became popular. Haters of Muslims or Jews are even allowed to sit in the Knesset. No one cared too much. It’s ‘them.’ Now, some of the most militant have begun to seek to murder random others. That’s not so good. But, caring about it comes a bit late.

The Law of Return accepted a sizable number of relatively poor immigrants who are not (necessarily) Jewish. Although they chose Israel, and often served in the IDF, they can’t integrate. A giant problem in the making. Will we only start really looking for solutions when all hell has broken loose?

Some of the most spiritual people live in secular neighborhoods and some of the most generous people live in religious communities, but, both, in general, need a serious update in their Jewish respectively humanistic outlook. Will we only begin to teach each other when a civil war arrived?

Conclusion

Morality teaches we should already care before it becomes ‘our’ problem.

About the Author

MM is a prolific and creative writer and thinker, previously a daily blog contributor to the TOI. He often makes his readers laugh, mad, or assume he's nuts—close to perfect blogging. He's proud that his analytical short comments are removed both from left-wing and right-wing news sites. None of his content is generated by the new bore on the block, AI. * As a frontier thinker, he sees things many don't yet. He's half a prophet. Half. Let's not exaggerate. Or not at all because he doesn't claim G^d talks to him. He gives him good ideas—that's all. MM doesn't believe that people observe and think in a vacuum. He, therefore, wanted a broad bio that readers interested can track a bit what (lack of) backgrounds, experiences, and educations contribute to his visions. * This year, he will prioritize getting his unpublished books published rather than just blog posts. Next year, he hopes to focus on activism against human extinction. To find less-recent posts on a subject XXX among his over 2000 archived ones, go to the right-top corner of a Times of Israel page, click on the search icon and search "zuiden, XXX". One can find a second, wilder blog, to which one may subscribe too, here: https://mmvanzuiden.wordpress.com/ or by clicking on the globe icon next to his picture on top. * Like most of his readers, he believes in being friendly, respectful, and loyal. However, if you think those are his absolute top priorities, you might end up disappointed. His first loyalty is to the truth. He will try to stay within the limits of democratic and Jewish law, but he won't lie to support opinions or people when don't deserve that. (Yet, we all make honest mistakes, which is just fine and does not justify losing support.) He admits that he sometimes exaggerates to make a point, which could have him come across as nasty, while in actuality, he's quite a lovely person to interact with. He holds - how Dutch - that a strong opinion doesn't imply intolerance of other views. * Sometimes he's misunderstood because his wide and diverse field of vision seldomly fits any specialist's box. But that's exactly what some love about him. He has written a lot about Psychology (including Sexuality and Abuse), Medicine (including physical immortality), Science (including basic statistics), Politics (Israel, the US, and the Netherlands, Activism - more than leftwing or rightwing, he hopes to highlight reality), Oppression and Liberation (intersectionally, for young people, the elderly, non-Whites, women, workers, Jews, LGBTQIA+, foreigners and anyone else who's dehumanized or exploited), Integrity, Philosophy, Jews (Judaism, Zionism, Holocaust and Jewish Liberation), the Climate Crisis, Ecology and Veganism, Affairs from the news, or the Torah Portion of the Week, or new insights that suddenly befell him. * Chronologically, his most influential teachers are his parents, Nico (natan) van Zuiden and Betty (beisye) Nieweg, Wim Kan, Mozart, Harvey Jackins, Marshal Rosenberg, Reb Shlomo Carlebach, and, lehavdil bein chayim lechayim, Rabbi Dr. Natan Lopes Cardozo, Rav Zev Leff, and Rav Meir Lubin. This short list doesn't mean to disrespect others who taught him a lot or a little. One of his rabbis calls him Mr. Innovation [Ish haChidushim]. Yet, his originalities seem to root deeply in traditional Judaism, though they may grow in unexpected directions. In fact, he claims he's modernizing nothing. Rather, mainly basing himself on the basic Hebrew Torah text, he tries to rediscover classical Jewish thought almost lost in thousands of years of stifling Gentile domination and Jewish assimilation. (He pleads for a close reading of the Torah instead of going by rough assumptions of what it would probably mean and before fleeing to Commentaries.) This, in all aspects of life, but prominently in the areas of Free Will, Activism, Homosexuality for men, and Redemption. * He hopes that his words will inspire and inform, and disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed. He aims to bring a fresh perspective rather than harp on the obvious and familiar. When he can, he loves to write encyclopedic overviews. He doesn't expect his readers to agree. Rather, original minds should be disputed. In short, his main political positions are among others: anti-Trumpism, for Zionism, Intersectionality, non-violence, anti those who abuse democratic liberties, anti the fake ME peace process, for original-Orthodoxy, pro-Science, pro-Free Will, anti-blaming-the-victim, and for down-to-earth, classical optimism, and happiness. Read his blog on how he attempts to bridge any tensions between those ideas or fields. * He is a fetal survivor of the pharmaceutical industry (https://diethylstilbestrol.co.uk/studies/des-and-psychological-health/), born in 1953 to his parents who were Dutch-Jewish Holocaust survivors who met in the largest concentration camp in the Netherlands, Westerbork. He grew up a humble listener. It took him decades to become a speaker too, and decades more to admit to being a genius. But his humility was his to keep. And so was his honesty. Bullies and con artists almost instantaneously envy and hate him. He hopes to bring new things and not just preach to the choir. * He holds a BA in medicine (University of Amsterdam) – is half a doctor. He practices Re-evaluation Co-counseling since 1977, is not an official teacher anymore, and became a friendly, powerful therapist. He became a social activist, became religious, made Aliyah, and raised three wonderful kids. Previously, for decades, he was known to the Jerusalem Post readers as a frequent letter writer. For a couple of years, he was active in hasbara to the Dutch-speaking public. He wrote an unpublished tome about Jewish Free Will. He's a strict vegan since 2008. He's an Orthodox Jew but not a rabbi. * His writing has been made possible by an allowance for second-generation Holocaust survivors from the Netherlands. It has been his dream since he was 38 to try to make a difference by teaching through writing. He had three times 9-out-of-10 for Dutch at his high school finals but is spending his days communicating in English and Hebrew - how ironic. G-d must have a fine sense of humor. In case you wonder - yes, he is a bit dyslectic. If you're a native English speaker and wonder why you should read from people whose English is only their second language, consider the advantage of having an original peek outside of your cultural bubble. * To send any personal reaction to him, scroll to the top of the blog post and click Contact Me. * His newest books you may find here: https://www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3AMoshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&s=relevancerank&text=Moshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1