Q&A: Political Outlook
Political Outlook
Question
Have a good week and a joyous holiday.
Lately I find myself feeling empathy toward the residents of Gaza and, similarly, the Arab minority living here.
In fact, I have a religious worldview and a right-wing political outlook—which is not self-evident.
I understand that some of them were born into this reality (against their will, of course). And beyond that, into a reality of hatred of Jews.
I wonder: does showing this empathy place me more in the left-wing camp than the right?
Am I not supposed to connect to the situation they are in? Could it be a case of “whoever is merciful to the cruel will in the end be cruel to the merciful”?
Thank you.
Answer
I think that understanding the other is always a good thing. Even if you oppose them, first you should understand them. But one should not confuse understanding with justification. I can understand their point of view and at the same time say that they are wrong. Especially when looking at the overall situation and not at the situation of an individual person who was born into a certain reality. Arab society as a whole is definitely responsible for its situation, even if we bear some contributory responsibility as well.
The tendency of both the right and the left is to mix together different levels of analysis. So the right makes a point of not understanding them, and the left makes a point of justifying them. Neither side is capable of complex thinking, and that is unfortunate. It seems to me that if everyone adopted the point of view you described—which is the balanced and correct point of view—the arguments would be more purposeful, if they would even remain as they are.