I found a new blog today, the Bookworm Room. It is blogrolled. Check it out: Israel, politics, books, and dogs. I think Harrison would like this blog a lot.
Come to think of it, use the comments here to recommend blogs that I may not have read yet. Time to add some to the blogroll.
Many thanks for finding me.
As for the feminism (I read your “about me”), I suspect that you’re an old fashioned equity feminist — that is, someone who demands equal treatment, not special treatment. I think most conservatives — or, at least, most neocons — are that kind of feminist. I know I am.
What boggles my mind is that feminists can be so hostile to Israel, which has given women equal rights since its inception, and so supportive of the Palestinians, who embrace a misogynistic honor culture.
But I digress. Again, thanks for the link and the blogroll.
Yes, that sums up my feminism pretty well.
As for the Israel issue, well, never underestimate the power of anti-Semitism. Because very little else explains the demonization of Israel—and the deliberate refusal to acknowledge human rights crimes by the Palestinians—by so many people who say they care about equality and human rights.
I’ve had that argument with close friends. I don’t bother any more. Nothing you say gets through to them.
That’s why I haven’t voted Democrat in years.
Why be surprised. Equal rights used to be about correcting unfairness. But once you start changing the balance, all most people see is that groups who previously were not getting something they wanted are now able to get it, and it turned into grievance politics and identity politics. Combating injustice depends strongly on shared values. Once you take the values out of a society, the only basis left for “I deserve more” is “I want more.” And that quickly leads to the default assumption that those with more power are automatically in the wrong, and those with less are automatically in the right, and victimized, and therefore should show solidarity with others who depict themselves as powerless.
Israel-bashing is a direct consequence of this: virtually every map showing the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs shows an enormous Israel next to a tiny Gaza / West Bank. I have seen reports that people shown maps of the entire Middle East, with Israel as a tiny nation surrounded by large Arab neighbors, tend to be more pro-Israel than those shown the opposite.