Author: Jordan G Estabrook
There is this newfound idea, thanks to COVID-19, that we can't have an opinion unless experts tell us it's okay.
Granted, the term “experts” is now widely debated.
We've seen this a lot when it comes to Hamas and Israel. We're not allowed to believe what we see and the basics of terrorist groups. And this is partly because the media has taken so much time to lie to and manipulate us over three years. And they've probably been doing it longer, but this is the most notable and recent.
When we see a known terrorist group like Hamas raping and murdering children, women, and grandmothers, some of the most ignorant among us question this. Of course, this is consistent with Hamas’ past behavior and ideology, but mixed with our moral relativism, we tend to question the obvious.
Let’s stop questioning the obvious.
Have you heard of Occam’s razor? It tells us that the simplest answer is probably the answer. And in this case, there was evidence of Hamas’ crimes. It is far less likely that photos of burnt babies were AI creations. Unsurprisingly, the straightforward answer is that Hamas is doing these things to innocent civilians.
I like what Dennis Prager said about Hamas. When Hamas is murdering babies, beheading them, and burning their bodies, they see a tiny Jewish baby as guilty as an Israeli soldier. Doing that takes a profoundly twisted psyche and a broken moral compass, especially with abundant, undeniable evidence.
Now, here's another thing that surprises me when it comes to Hamas and Israel. Some people on the left needed more evidence to prove that Hamas had done these things to these people. But when the media accused Israel of attacking a Gaza hospital, no one blinked an eye. They immediately said Israel did this, and Hamas sympathizers immediately expressed their outrage. Why were they so quick to condemn Israel but much slower to condemn Hamas? It is deeply saddening that we have more hesitancy in condemning terrorism than defending a sovereign nation.
Let's also not forget that when Hamas came after Israel on Oct. 7, they targeted the Jews because they hated them. But anyone in Hamas’ way, like Muslims living in that area or peaceful Arabs were seen as simply casualties and obstacles to their primary target, the Jews.
Here's my main point for conservatives and leftists alike, and I think it's something that we ought to take home with us and ponder on:
We don't need experts to tell us what's right or wrong. We can critically think through issues and come to our own conclusions.
The longer we embrace a society that relies on the elites to tell us what's right or wrong, the more we lose ourselves and our moral compass. And the compass that replaces our own could be far more devastating than anything we could imagine.
As Occam’s razor explains, the most straightforward answer is often correct.
There are things in life that are black and white and don't require us to look into the gray. However, some of our moral compasses are so irreconcilably broken that they’ve flipped upside down right and wrong. That is another conversation for another day, but I believe we can find true white and black somewhere in everyone.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s and do not necessarily represent those of Resident Skeptics.