Tag: israel

Is Democracy the Problem?

Posted on by josuter

Is Democracy The Problem?                                                                                             jsuter@sbcglobal.net

Citizens blame leaders.  Leaders blame citizens.  Could it be that the problem is democracy itself?  In an interview by Danny Haiphong with Sean Foo and Richard Wolff, they discuss the inability of US business and investors to know the investing landscape.  If the current politics is unfavorable, investors only need to wait a few more years until another band of merry men and women take over.   This does not bode well for future planning.  China has a dictatorship but they still have 5-yr plans.  Russia too is not held back by a three-legged stool of democracy and seems to move faster.  

Are we seeing the end or an evolution of the Nation-State?  A complex system must change several things simultaneously if it is to maintain balance.  If only one thing is changed, the system will snap-back to what it was before, be it Deep State or whatever.  It is important to look at all aspects of our existence within the Nation-State framework.  This includes looking at the structure of government itself and analyzing what feedback mechanisms keep it on track.   

One option is to put more authority in the hands of a single regional leader, but then also make that leader removable at any time by 80% of any minority.  This would encourage communication in both directions and form a more Dynamic Democracy.  Even Israel could use a Dynamic Democracy for the benefit of everyone.  

A government which is set up only to divide the spoils will push leaders and citizens into separate spaces rather than have them work together to solve problems.   Grassroot citizens – as a group – are often ahead of their leaders, especially in the knowledge of what is happening on the ground.   Paraphrasing Friedrich Hayek: “there is often no substitute for information on the ground.”

Economics too must change if we are to address the health of the economy.  An additional currency could be added at the hyper-local level with about 100 people.  Properly used, hyper-local currencies (HLC) can be used to induce people to cooperate at the local level for the purpose of creating useful goods and services to trade on the open market.  In addition, it creates resistance to inflation and a buffer against recession.  Adding another currency at the hyperlocal level is where people can be accountable to each other without a court system. 

Banks create incentives or gradients when they direct money from one sector to another.  A business then uses that gradient power to create organization.  There are other ways however, of creating organization that can be started by people at the local level.  If ten bread winners are able to support two in their group for some period of time as determined by the group, then those two then can do any job that the group decides is important.   They answer only to the group.  This is an opportunity for grassroots engagement.  In fact, many changes may not start without grassroots.

A new type of nation-state can join with other nation-states and maybe even business to form clusters that have defensive military capabilities.  When the most powerful nation, where leaders dress in fine suits, cannot subdue one of the poorest nations where people dress like Star Wars characters, it may be time to think about different types of governing and military structures.  An Association of Non-Nuclear Nations (AN3) does not need large, impressive buildings or fancy accoutrements, yet such an organization can create a purpose and flexibility that is missing from the United Nations.  It is an exclusive club however, since nuclear nations cannot join.  

Military industries too could find other missions, arming small clusters (3) of non-nuclear nations with non-nuclear missiles, maybe even some that are supersonic.  Lots of money to be made here.  It will be defensive buildup, yet able to reach critical targets within nuclear nations.  This would remove the current advantage of nuclear weapons and point us toward a nuclear-free world.  

If war and war games are the purview of the nation-state, then anti-war games may be the purview of citizens who must otherwise make the sacrifice for war mongers.  What anti-war games look like is still unclear, but many things can be created by people at the grassroots with the goal of making the environment for a next-door neighbor or next-door country more predictable and stable.  We cannot escape the fact that much of nature is about competition, so assertiveness and even aggression may be needed if a potentially dangerous or de-stabilizing threat is detected.  The goal is to create a stable and predictable environment.  Petitions to Congress may not be enough. 

American citizens are told to “wake up!” – but sleep is not the correct metaphor.  People have the wrong story in their heads due to mis- or missing information.  Citizens can create additional information filters made up of small groups using any news source.  They then bring ideas and information back to hash it out in a private space, maybe with team competition.  This would benefit other readers and listeners of the news.   

Another tactic is to focus on one target region or town (foreign or domestic) for a short period of time with the goal of giving people the tools to making their region self-sustaining.  Others may benefit and learn from observation.   This too can be done with competitive games.  There are many places and many levels to start if there are people who see another pathway and share their vision.  One person can also set a gradient, just like a bank, only smaller, by creating an incentive for an individual or small group to answer some specific question.  

A transformed United States is more flexible and able to counteract the OBOR initiatives made by China in the developing world.  Rather than regime change, we can contribute to the developing country becoming independent and healthy.   That country will then be able to resist the OBOR initiatives – and we will gain trading partners.  

Liberty on Trial

Posted on by josuter

Liberty on Trial – Hearings on the USS Liberty                                       by josuter

This is the time for Congress to hold hearings around the attack on the USS Liberty by Israeli war planes in 1967. It may be a small bit of justice for those Americans killed, but more importantly, it will be a realization that Israel is willing to kill Americans in a white flag operation if needed to help pull the US further into the war with Iran. This is not out of the question. Hearings should be done soon. If Congress is cowed by the Zionist Lobby, there are many other places around the country where this issue can be discussed and debated.

Is it any wonder that Trump is an incessant liar? Mainstream media has ignored and covered up so much in the last decades. Mainstream media print whatever they are told. Truth-seeking media will persist in asking questions. The benefits of being an incessant liar allows Trump to lie to those power brokers around him: “I was told these were bunker-busting bombs.”

Diplomats complain that Trump does not do diplomacy in the normal way, and Trump does not read the daily intelligence briefings. Reagan and Gorbachev, meeting in Helsinki, both wanted to get rid of nuclear weapons but when they left the room the dark suits entered and nullified the intentions of their leaders. Why would Trump or Witkoff surround themselves with a group of people that cannot be trusted?

Tim Harford (“Adapt”) makes a case that new communication technology should allow more decisions to be made at the lowest level consistent with their ability to find useful information. This is in contradistinction to the man Netanyahu sitting in front of a big screen with a white cat sitting on his lap giving commands to everyone, including to Donald Strangelove.  

President Trump, either intentionally or unintentionally, is giving us a window of time to reclaim democracy. If Congress is unable or unwilling to decide on what is Anti-Semitic, this question could be decided at the institutional level, including universities and civic institutions, answering the specific question “What is Anti-Semitism?”. We know there is real Anti-Semitism and then there is the stuff that common sense simply rules out. If we cannot do this, then let’s hang up our boots.

Donald Trump, as the captain of the ship, may be willing to go down with it, taking neocons and Zionists with him. It will be a radical, but maybe necessary change to the Story of Democracy that is not just For the People, but Of and By the People.

A Story to End Israel

Posted on by josuter

Stories can be created by anyone, but stories that create a culture mostly come from people above us in the social hierarchy – people like politicians, religious leaders, parents, teachers, and older siblings.  Time-tested stories provide a structure to help guide beliefs and behavior.  When reality changes, however, the story must also change to match reality.  That is not the case with Israel.  Enemies of Israel, frustrated for decades, are setting a trap to destroy Israel.  Using a known martial arts technique, they are using the force of the opponent turned against the opponent themselves.     

Zionist Christians and Jews in United States, the largest and most powerful country, are force feeding the Zionist war machine with financial and military support.  With war as the primary mode of foreign policy, the coffers of the leaders in Israel are overflowing from well-meaning Jewish and Christian Zionists who are mostly ignorant about what is happening.  

What is happening?  Younger brother has grown up.  Younger brother has developed supersonic missiles with ranges of thousands of kilometers and using pinpoint accuracy from advanced guidance systems.  These missiles have already evaded the Iron Dome to strike military bases within Israel.  Yet Zionists are kept in the dark about this due to censorship and misinformation by government, mainstream media, and local religious leaders.  

Is there a way out?   Maybe.  First, it must be understood that God and Government are not the same.  Secondly, pressure must force better choices by the warring parties.  This pressure can come from leaders in other countries but the pressure itself can be started anywhere at any level.  Leaders must be pushed to find or create alternative pathways.  A Dynamic Democracy could allow significant input by any minority in a new government.  Grassroots people, who primarily want stability and predictability, will also have input in a Dynamic Democracy process. 

Realizing the bad blood between United States and Iran stemming from the 1979 overthrow of the Shah, third parties can host public hearings on why the Iranians felt strongly about charting their own course and their need for a change in government.  This may help to clear the air.  

Writers of the Old Testament, knowing the types of people whose minds were closed, may have been led to write about their demise.  Stories of Armageddon in the Bible may have been written specifically about the end of the Nation of Israel.  Zionists today remain unaware of the impending destruction of the land they say God has given them.  Even if nuclear weapons are used in a war between the US and Iran, Israel will be merely a footnote.  

The Old Stories will not work in a new time and new environment.  Ignorant about what is happening on the ground, Israel is going out on a limb soon to be cut off.  Ten of the Twelve Tribes of Israel are already gone.  The last two are headed for a buzz saw.  This is sad for those of us who want Israel to survive.  Tens of Thousands of Zionist supporters within the United States could rise up and demand a change in the government of Israel – but will we?  Can we imagine another future?  

Changing the Story for Israel

Posted on by josuter

Goliath got up on the wrong side of bed.  It would be a difficult day for him.  People of the Jewish faith must thank him for doing it however, since it was Goliath who provided the reason that a shepherd boy David would rise to become King.  It was not surprising that David had skill with his slingshot, having practiced daily to keep the wolves away from the sheep.  He could hit a tin can at 50 paces – or something like that. 

This is a cherished story of Judaism, yet one can imagine another chapter to the story.  Goliath, whose first name was Garth, had a younger sister Billie who had seen the whole incident.  Billie made note of the fact that Garth had not worn is helmet like his mother told him.  Billie was not going to make the same mistake.  Sure enough, on the second meeting with David, Billie was victorious and went on to become Queen of the Philistines. 

Stories can certainly be inspirational, but to be really useful they must touch reality at some point.  Fast forward to Israel today where the Iron Dome is said to keep out all the missiles. . . except they don’t.  The story of the Iron Dome has holes in it, allowing both Iran and Yemen to fire missiles into Israel. This is a problem. Once the enemy has equal or superior military force, the story must change if Israel is to survive. It does not have to be a new Story, but it must change directions and follow a new path. 

Up to this point, Israel’s solution is to “kill the enemy first” before they have a chance to strike, following a strategy conceived by the early Zionist leader Ze’ev Jabotinsky.   That might have worked during the time of Abraham and Isaac, but that was long ago.  At that time, a “nation” was a group of related tribes with no geographic boundaries.  The earth was flat and one might see only 50 miles from the top of the nearby mountain. This was their story, and it remains precious, but will it guide us today?  

We must now think not only about who the enemy is, but about who we are.  Are we an older sibling – or are we really an enemy?  This self-concept can make a difference.  Is the God we worship the God of all – or only a God for us?

Then how does one change a story?  It is not a group effort except maybe a consensus to trim a bit here and there like a hairdresser might do. It should grow from a seed from ideas of one or two people, then be compared with another story, then chosen by a third party judge who makes a “decision” (meaning “cut off”), and the process repeated. 

What can Christians do about the war in Gaza?  Christians know both the stories of Abraham and the current direction of Israel.  And we like stories.  We can help to start a new story or at least a change in the current story, and with just a few people, re-iterate the process, invite some outsiders, maybe some Jews, maybe Muslims or others. They can participate but cannot take over the process. If those invited refuse, then we develop the Story alone.  Others may eventually join in to create a new pathway ahead. 

A New Story to Avoid Nuclear War

Posted on by josuter

A New Story to Avoid Nuclear War

I was a young boy when my father told me something that I realized was not true.  I loved and admired my father, but why would he do that?  Maybe he believed it.  Maybe that’s what his father told him.  Both grew up in different times and different environments.  For that I could forgive him. 

When the environment changes, the story must change.  A powerful story must touch reality at some point yet leave room for imagination.  Culture is a collection of stories that work and have value in a particular environment.

Metaphors reflect our vision and understanding of the world.  We think in metaphors and use them to influence other people too.   Memes are metaphors with feet.  Allistair Crook says the fever of misleading memes should be broken.  But how do we do that?   It takes a long time for a bad meme to burn out.  Because of this lag it may be necessary to take counter measures simultaneously at multiple levels.   

The Story of The Emperor’s New Clothes is just as true today as it was when written nearly 200 years ago. The Big Lie in the tale was not that the Emperor had no clothes.  That fact was evident.  The Big Lie was that people who could not see the new clothes were stupid.  This made people shut up.  When political leaders are afraid to look weak, it increases the resistance to finding Useful Information, both for themselves and others. In the same way, censorship destroys language.  People hide what they mean and some others may create a new language.   

Israel needs a New Story.  Their Old Story worked in the past but not today in this new and different environment.  Can they forgive their fathers, or will they continue to be prisoners of an Old Story?  

Environment

By themselves supersonic missiles (SSM) can be viewed as a dangerous and destructive weapon.  But this is a nuclear weapon environment.  If only the Big Players have SSM’s they will simply be another weapon on the shelf and potentially destabilizing.  As a part of a larger system with feedback loops, SSM’s can be distributed to both nuclear and non-nuclear countries where they could be a stabilizing force, allowing us to back away from the Nuclear War precipice. 

Even several SSM’s fired by mistake or by malice will not destroy the whole world.  There will be time to investigate.  On the other hand, detonation of a single nuclear weapon will likely lead to thousands of them being launched.  Henry Kissinger noted that after the first nuclear weapon is launched everything beyond that point becomes unpredictable.  So it is highly likely that all the missiles will be launched.  Consideration of the atomic bombs dropped on Japan during WWII are not helpful in thinking through this problem since the United States was the only one who had them at that time.  This situation is more like the old-fashioned gun fight with two gun-slingers – except we are using nuclear guns and everybody dies, including the crowd.  Is this how we will treat God’s Creation, this great and miraculous Creation? 

Jonathan Schell’s book “The Gift of Time” was a reflection on the luck – or maybe providence – that kept us from using nuclear weapons in the decades since WWII.  But time can be so short and even disappear when leaders have only minutes to make a decision that will affect the fate of the world.  “He who hesitates loses”.  We must not put anyone in that position.  Yet some leaders believe that a nuclear war can be won.  That is the Story they tell each other – but it is misleading.  

Motivation of those who are Gender-Queer might be, in part, a statement that the alpha male model does not work anymore.  The alpha male model has brought us this far but continuing along the same path will lead to destruction of everything.  The risks go up even further when more nations want nuclear weapons.  Yet Queer people want to be protected too, so we and they must find some other type of defense.  

Nuclear weapons are not a “great equalizer” as some have said, but rather a “great destroyer”.  They warp reality and make individuals blind.  SSM’s could be a key stabilizer  and function to keep the larger system stable, but only if distributed among all nations and using interlocking regional groups.   

Types of Power

A Story can definitely have power but it must match the environment.  It should be obvious that we need other types of power.  It may be up to citizens to find and use those powers since current leaders are too busy and may have no motive to do so.  

Education is power.  30 years ago, Jackie Jackson, a public school teacher speaking as a guest on The Newshour, clearly stated that the value of education is survival of the group, not just getting a job.  We argue over school funding while the Russians educate their students in STEM subjects, allowing Russia to build SSM’s while the US  lags behind. 

Government, business, and mainstream media use BOG (Barrel-Of-a-Gun), money, and information as tools of power.  This aligns with the task of government to set boundaries, business to produce goods and services, and media to gather and filter information.  

These types of power might be called Type I or material powers since a person who possesses them has power.  Type II and III powers are process-structure types of power and include Division of Labor (DoL), Competition, PIE Games, Feedback (FB), Bottlenecks (BN), Focusing on a Few (FoF), or changing Target Learners (TL). 

Other types of power include: Discovery of better Questions, Discovery of Points of Resistance, Creation of New Stories, and various Information Games.  These are all types of power if they help to get things done. Organization itself might be considered a power, though it may be more a manifestation of power since many organizations will collapse when the power is shut off.  

What is the purpose of the Nation-State?   

The Treaty of Westphalia that ended the 30 Year’s War in 1648 was the result of exhausted warriors agreeing on some boundaries and promising to keep their hands off others’ property.  Since that time the Nation-State has evolved to become the primary protector of its citizens, plus creating a stable and predictable environment.  So the Nation-State can evolve, but can it change itself?   How?  And in what direction?  Feedback will be key.  

Can democracy handle these increasingly complex issues?  How do we Start?  Thinking about HOW we talk can be power.   

Small seed groups (2 or 3 people) can start something with one of these powers.  A discussion or debate does not have to save the world.  It only has to take one step or discover one idea.  The next step is a “process” discussion like “How do we get this idea into a larger group?”  Alternating Issue Debates with Process Debates will move us forward. 

We cannot simply point out mistakes or accuse someone of “hubris”.  There is hubris at every level, even among children who are unable to hear others from a lower station.  Maybe it’s boredom or not wanting to repeat things already learned.  Maybe it is a fear of looking bad or an effort to maintain the social hierarchy.   So we must help find a new path.  

Israel Palestine Solution

Posted on by josuter

A nation-state is not a person or a living being.  It is an agreement among leaders about rules and boundaries.  It is whatever can be agreed on and written into a constitution.  This is good news and may allow democracy to evolve.  It may also allow a solution to Israel’s dilemma.  With this dynamic form of democracy, PM Netanyahu can declare victory.  He could say “The war is over.  We have extracted an eye for an eye, ten times over.  Israel has won and now it is time for peace.”  Such a declared victory would be more Biblical than a war without end.   *(Ecclesiastes 3:3 – A time to kill and a time to heal.) 

Israel-Palestine will remain a single state, but because of external threats, the military will remain under Jewish control, even if the Jewish population becomes a minority.  That can be written into the constitution.  Regional leaders within Israel-Palestine will maintain peace in their areas, but they can be removed by a referendum of 80% vote of any minority within that region, or by a 60% of the general population vote within that region. This can also be written into a constitution and allows political leverage by minorities to allow some control over their own lives.  This dynamic democracy is somewhere between one-person-one-vote and one-group-one-vote.  It can work if leaders agree.  

Let the food aid into Gaza.   Palestinians can leave Gaza (with help and transportation) and establish many enclaves around the whole of the state of Israel-Palestine.  Enclaves on both sides can have their own small arms but only to be used defensively.  Any attempt to use them offensively will result in the small arms being taken from that enclave. Declare that the war has been won, but do not go back to the status quo.  The walls of Gaza must come down.  Anyone can live anywhere in Israel-Palestine.   

It may be that PM Netanyahu is the only one who can carry this out.  The role of religious leaders will be key in helping to guide The Story toward a positive future for all involved.  Third party peacekeepers and communicators may be required for some years and will be allowed to carry arms to defend themselves.  This plan is not simply a way of keeping enemies close but gives people a chance to heal.  Claims on geography are important but not in the same way as in the past, and there is no current court of justice that parties will listen to.  The healing must come from within.  

Prisoners of The Story – Or Not?

Posted on by josuter

Prisoners of The Story – Or Not?

Two thousand years ago maybe the Story “worked” but now it needs to be updated because the world has changed.  Opponents now have all the modern warfare technology.   We are not a few hundred people in a tribe fighting over hunting grounds or grazing lands.  

If Donald Trump becomes the next president, Biden may, in his remaining two months, let loose the dogs of war in order to make things more challenging for Trump.  Two of those dogs, B&S, are headed for jail if justice is to be served. They may stop at nothing, pulling us all down.

The Story can be changed if we look at other options.  B&S may never have thought of a Dynamic Democracy model, but it might be the only way forward when neither side wants a two-state solution (and which would allow continued lobbing of missiles to the other side).  

Having a liberal democracy with one-person-one-vote is a key part of the Zionist dream of having a homeland. Yet there are other options, including a Dynamic Democracy that chooses leaders by group methods. It can create dynamic feedback from groups instead of from individuals.  Specific groups may be required on some issues while other times randomly picked groups will work.  If constructed properly, social feedback can even control weapons of mass destruction on the international level.  This Dynamic Democracy model can work if leaders on both sides agree.  It also allows Jews as a minority to still play a prominent role in self-government of a homeland.  

You and I might not know how to move this model of Dynamic Democracy to B&S, but with only 6 degrees of separation between any two people on earth, there must be a pathway.  One can start locally, challenging people around you to consider how to move this model forward.  Results of the first round may give hints. Quickly follow the first round with a remixing of groups or introduction of new players.  This can be done every hour or two until a pathway opens up.  

If Israel only has a minority, then pushing for a liberal Democracy with one-person-one-vote could be the end of Israel.  A Dynamic Democracy as an alternative model could lead the way to finding solutions.

4 Walls

Posted on by josuter

4 Walls

Does evil exist in the world?  What would it look like?  What connection does it have with morality?  Opposing fighting forces appear to have different moralities – or do they simply have opposing goals, like opponents on a football field?  Death penalty supporters ignore the innocence of some death row inmates, a fact proved with DNA evidence.  Does evil exist here? 

Genocide must be evil, right?  Or is genocide a relief valve for the fear and hatred that has built up over years?  Scour the history.  Look under rocks.  Were does this evil comes from?  One group of people may carry the burden and suffer the consequences of someone else’s sin.  The Jews may have carried the burden of hatred and fear carried within the hearts of the Germans.  Now the Palestinians carry that same burden of the Jews.  This is tangible, even measurable.  Evil must exist then, right?

Yet evil may only reside in the hearts of humans led astray by stories that point in the wrong direction or point to the wrong enemy.  Wrong stories corrupt and mislead.  Wrong stories turn young people into the killers who seem to relish random violence.  Such a story cannot last.

Some people live their whole lives in opposition to other groups, unable to let go of hate and fear, even though the target of their hate may not be the source of their fear.   A closer look reveals that they are surrounded by warmongers and so are afraid to appear weak.  They need to be given a choice, just as Solomon gave a choice to two women.  Palestinians and Israeli Jews unable to let go of their hatred can chose to enter a room with 4 walls and 2 doors but no ceiling so God can see the battle.  No one else can enter.  No weapons are allowed – only the stones on the ground.  The survivor will not be prosecuted.  Will people choose to hold onto their hatred or let it go?  They may form a truce . . .  or one of them will kill the other.  Either way, some evil will be buried.  Women will fight other women, men fight other men, grandmothers fight grandmothers, and grandfathers fight grandfathers. Ages must be within 5 years. 

Set the stage to test their story.  Children will be able to examine the hearts of their elders who themselves were once children too, listening to stories from long ago.  Will the children wipe their hands or forgive their elders? 

Evil may only exist in the human heart, but somehow that does not seem enough. 

We live in a time of different people, different languages, different standards and different tools that existed when our stories began.  Survival requires a different Story, one that changes our focus and points to another path.

John Suter

April 2024

G_d With Us

Posted on by josuter

G_d With Us

In the beginning was the Word.   In the beginning there were Stories, written thousands of years ago by members of small tribes caught up in a struggle to survive.  Was G_d with them?  Did He interact with them?  Did those people have free will and make decisions? 

Historians often say “Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it”.  Those who are not allowed to forget the past however, may be applying the wrong lessons in a changed environment.  We are not the small tribes roaming and foraging for food.  The Story must change. 

One can now understand what Golda Meir meant when she said “We cannot forgive them [Arabs] for forcing us to kill their children.”  It was not Golda, of course, but Golda’s grandchildren, the 20 year-olds in the IDF who are trained to kill.  Instead of studying Literature and Art, young Jews are indoctrinated on the use of deadly weapons.  Instead of using Science and Engineering to create, they drop bombs on their neighbors who are also descendants of Abraham.  Jewish children as young as 10 are loaded onto busses daily and driven to food check points where they are told to block food and water and medicine, causing starvation on a massive scale.   Expecting these children to then come home and do their homework must produce a schizophrenia.  In this case a paranoid schizophrenia.  One can only hope that these children do not turn on their leaders and parents.  Can such a society survive? 

There is a way out.  It is through the creation and telling of a new and different Story.  We all need a Story to live by.   But who will tell such a Story?   Our usual story tellers are politicians, religious leaders, and Hollywood.  These are people climbing some social ladder of success – and they all have a fear of falling.  It may be that social structures have become rigid and inflexible because, despite amazing advances in communication technology, people at the top are still not getting the message. 

Is the same G_d with us today?  Do we have free will and can we make decisions?  Christians made a break with Old Testament rules and created a New Testament.  A New Torah might keep Jews in touch with the Old Testament while charting a new direction, starting on the current path but making abrupt and real changes.  If current leaders are unable to do this, then seed groups of mixed composition can, if watered sufficiently, come to understand the need and direction for change.  They will figure out how to find or make a new path.   

Jo Suter

March 2024