On Democracies and Death Cults

I just finished a remarkable book by Douglas Murray titled
“On Democracies and Death Cults.”
Before you run out and buy it … a word of caution … it is not for the faint hearted as the events of October 7, 2023 are described in much detail. What was reported in the newspapers and on TV does not begin to paint the picture of what was happening on the ground when Hamas exited Gaza and maimed and brutally murdered innocent Israelis who just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.
What I found very interesting is the contrast between Israel and Hamas in terms of how those on the west bank glorify truly evil murders by naming streets and plazas after them … while not so with Israel.
Similarly here in the U.S. young people, both on and off college campuses, many seem to have no hesitation in referring to the Israelis as the aggressors and Hamas as the victims. One has to wonder if this is the result of brainwashing or if it is just plain stupidity.
As far as those in the upper hierarchy of Hamas, they had no hesitation in sacrificing the common folk in Gaza, while at the same time making sure that they and their families were well taken care of.
An additional thing about war was addressed in this book … that being the concept of proportionality. If a nation were attacked and X number of its innocent citizens were killed, proportionality implies that it would be okay to kill that same X number of the attackers, but no more. Douglas Murray says, “that is nonsense,” and I agree. Wars are bad things and bad things happen in wars, but nonetheless wars are fought to be won.
Although in some wars it might be difficult to identify who are the good guys and who are the bad guys, here it is clearly a case of ‘good versus evil,’ and to me Hamas is clearly not “good!”
5/20/25