Today's Thorough Thursday is free to read, but I'm not sure many folks are going to want to.
I was going to talk about lost opportunities with tech, but Smotrich's latest actions are surprisingly big in Western news today, and warranted a piece about why it's still so hard for folks to talk frankly about Israeli state politics. Even when the US is terrified of losing democracy at home, folk still struggle with Jingoist wounds when addressing the far right among allies.
https://mlclark.substack.com/p/the-agony-of-living-through-jingoism
Much obliged, Brainwise. I wasn't too happy about writing on such a tough subject today (of all days!), and I sorely hope the rest of your day is spent on kinder news and happenstance.
Thank you for this, and especially for this:
"And so sometimes the very best that we can do, when bearing witness to the worst of us especially, is to remember the power of democratic *thinking*—including the ability to hold multiple points of view in fruitful tension. When we comport ourselves like democrats, not like statists, we find the courage to call out what we know to be wrong… even when it’s done by people we want so very much to be in the “right”."
@MLClark Read it. And shared it. Thanks for these thoughts.