A Story to End Israel

Posted on April 2, 2025 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?

Breaking Mirrors, Changing Stories

Posted on November 7, 2024 by josuter

Breaking Mirrors, Changing Stories

Israel and Iran mirror each other’s actions. Strike for strike. This is Israel’s game because Israel wants to draw US into the fight. This pattern could go on forever. War is a game like chess, with strategy and tactics. Make another move. Shatter the mirror and break the pattern. Stop Gulf Oil. Without use of force, Iran can simply make an announcement that all oil from gulf will stop until there is a permanent ceasefire. Iran is now in a position to do that. In the same way that Israel draws the US into the conflict, Iran can draw in other countries in a positive way to help put a stop to the conflict, stop the genocide in Gaza, and find a peaceful solution. Diplomats around the world will get their exercise and a chance to make things better.

Stories

Humans can live without games, but it is impossible to live without stories. Stories contain useful information for survival within a certain time and place. The clash of civilizations is a clash of stories. Thousands of years ago, when travel was very limited, it was a challenge to mix with others. In the jet age it’s easy to arrive at a place so different that it causes culture shock. Getting off the plane one notices that people who live in very different climates wear very different clothing, but that’s OK. After living there awhile it makes sense.

Lies and Misinformation

Nearly all of us remember a time during our childhood when we suddenly realized that what our parent or teacher was telling us was not true. It was a defining moment. Do we confront that parent or teacher? Do we try to understand why they would lie? Maybe we simply decided that words have a magic power and whatever the elders say must be true. That attitude would keep me in a comfortable spot, whereas confrontation would make my future less certain, but at least I would be my own person and make my own decisions.

Bad Stories

Recently an IDF soldier, who himself had children, was commanded to drive a bulldozer over houses where the cries of Palestinians women and children rang out. Not long after, that IDF soldier committed suicide. Should this be a surprise? The gap between story and reality was too great. Any story that turns children into cruel killers cannot be a good story. Many soldiers have doubts about their story. Why else would they send photos of their misdeeds? “Am I doing good?” “Is this OK?” Parents and friends who receive these photos are themselves unsure how to react. They certainly do not want to appear weak, and so they too continue to follow the same story.

Deceit in the Social Hierarchy

We all look for other people to push around. It makes us feel better and more important. The person being pushed is the stooge, the odd man out, or the patsy. Warren Buffet, in describing a poker game, said “If you don’t know who the patsy is, it’s YOU!” Public intellectuals commenting on international relations often wonder aloud “Why would they do that?” They may not realize the overwhelming need to have some stooge, some patsy. Who is the patsy in the forever wars? It is the American people, the Brits, citizens of the West who bankroll the Department of Defense. Running low on missiles? Don’t worry, the government will buy more. Cost? Whatever it takes. Sounds patriotic, right?

Good Stories have Power

Anyone can tell a story, but does that story have momentum, or “legs”, as they say? There are two factors in determining the effects of any story: 1. the number of listeners and 2. whether or not the story is connected to reality. Does it contain useful information? Good storytellers can sometimes have great power. The story of genocide in Gaza could be changed, but who will tell that other story? Religious leaders seem to have given up their storytelling power to political leaders of the nation-state, many of whom have dual citizenship. On a moral level this drops the status of the nation-state to the point where the nation-state loses the right to demand a pledge of allegiance. The important question now becomes “How do we get back on track – or evolve to something else?”

Old Stories

Are we really here to fight the battles of our ancestors? During the time of Amalek, there were many wandering small tribes fighting over resources. A careful reading of the Torah reveals that not all of Amalek’s tribe was destroyed but rather, like during football season, they came back to fight again. That was the story of their time. It is not the story for today.

Define words and concepts

Useful feedback is important for friend and foe alike. Clarify terms and question any single interpretation. “Birthright” described by Zionists is the very land of Israel. Deeper reflection on the meaning of the concept of birthright will include responsibility for taking care of the whole group, the whole tribe. Here the language of religion can help define roles. The most powerful God takes care of everyone, including those that I may not like.

Language of Religion

The role of the older sibling is to push the younger one to make positive decisions. Iran has been the patient older sibling for decades but now must push the younger sibling to do better and not destroy everything. People on both ends of a gun are pushing the other to make a decision. Which side of God might be on, in this situation, is not for us to judge, but it is interesting that during the reformation when people were being executed for their religious beliefs, the numbers among the martyrs grew. The recent public prayers by Muslim leaders also drew millions despite the risks. Why do people do that? Is it their belief in God or are they fighting for some righteous cause?

Opponents

The struggle between church and state is a struggle between stories. It may be a healthy struggle and create tensions that move people to think beyond themselves, to ask questions they would not otherwise. We can use tension toward positive outcomes.

Some of the change must be at the local level and depend on simply how we talk and debate. Create a division of labor to gather and filter the information. Divide issues. Make the process efficient or break the issue into smaller bites. Pay attention to the methods of finding and filtering information. The founding fathers were trying to prevent the re-accumulation of power in a few elites. They did not need everyone to vote, only a mix of people who knew how to read and write and were willing to debate.

Power Types

If we define power as “the ability to get things done – or the ability to slow down things that already have momentum”, then power is what we need. This all presumes that we have good information. One cannot do democracy with bad information. So types of power must include informational and economic power.

Focus Energy

A child who is continually ignored by their elders will kick them in the shins. Now they have their elder’s attention. But how does that translate to democracy? To reclaim democracy, we must find the right pressure points. This can be one function of local small group debates (SGD’s). Anyone who has a discussion question or a burning issue can start a debate at any level.

Secret Meetings and Money

There are always people around leaders who lurk in the shadows, feeding each other’s paranoia, yet unaccountable when it comes to writing history. In their own mind they may recall memories of real danger but still cannot see or imagine other pathways because of the limited company they keep. Lobbyists too yield an inordinate amount of leverage on politicians. Lobbyists don’t hide in the dark but they still use semi-private conversations and are difficult to neutralize – until one realizes the power of having useful information. Campaigns are fundamentally about information. Money is simply a tool to “get out the message” and it does work quite well, but voters who have better information will be able to see the direction we should be going.

Tools for Rebuilding Stories

The Genocide in Gaza has now lasted for more than a year. Why so long? Concurrently, western hegemony is undergoing de-construction. The United Nations and International Court of Justice seem to lack power, so they (or we) must find and use other types of power. It may be up to citizens to find a way to re-construct or evolve democracy according to what is needed.

Can democracy deal with the current world-changing events? Activists seem to be pushing the wrong direction or pushing the wrong people. Social media has been an essential tool, but social media alone will not be enough to turn the ship of state. We must find the bottlenecks and pressure points if we are to change from below. Government cannot “re-invent” itself without the help of feedback from the outside. Voting every 2 or 4 years is not enough feedback. We need feedback that is balanced and sometimes focused on a few individuals, not to embarrass but rather to push in a positive direction. This will require a Division of Labor for information gathering. Small group debates can make the difference.

4 Walls

Posted on April 20, 2024 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 March 28, 2024 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

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Tag: stories

A Story to End Israel

4 Walls

G_d With Us