Stopping the Neighborhood Bully

It's a mistake to let a bully push you around for too long. You should make attempts to resolve things peacefully, but don't let it go on too long, or you begin to lose on a number of levels, and that makes it harder to stick up for yourself in the end.

Israel has made the mistake of letting it go for too long, and the world has made it very hard indeed.

Thomas Sowell talks about pacifists and pacifism, up at the recently renovated Townhall.com. It's a great short read.

"...there have been more cease-fires in the Middle East than anywhere else. If cease-fires actually promoted peace, the Middle East would be the most peaceful region on the face of the earth instead of the most violent."

"An aggressor today knows that if his aggression fails, he will still be protected from the full retaliatory power and fury of those he attacked because there will be hand-wringers demanding a cease fire, negotiations and concessions. "

"The most catastrophic result of "peace" movements was World War II. While Hitler was arming Germany to the teeth, "peace" movements in Britain were advocating that their own country disarm "as an example to others." "

I really love his opening line -

"One of the many failings of our educational system is that it sends out into the world people who cannot tell rhetoric from reality. They have learned no systematic way to analyze ideas, derive their implications and test those implications against hard facts."