Outsourcing to Martin Amis and Martha Gellhorn
Mad Hatter Conversations and a Bit About Suzanne Somers, Because Why Not?
Readers, it has been a month since the massacre/pogrom in Israel. I wish it were a month and a day ago, so that a) it had not happened and so that b) I didn’t know with quite so much certainty how awful everyone is. Well, not everyone, but you know what I mean. And I kind of already knew. As soon as the attack happened and there were all those great statements of support, it was surely only a matter of time before the “both sides-ism” would start and Israel would be blamed or its military response would be parsed in an insane way. I hate it when I’m right about stuff like this. Can you imagine saying to the Allies in World War II, “hey, you have to stop and get aid to Japanese and German civilians.” The wiser thing to do was win the war as quickly as possible, and then help with humanitarian concerns (see: Marshall Plan and the Reconstruction of Japan). And yes, during that war there were airdrops of food in parts of Europe (the Netherlands, in particular) and aid was distributed when possible, but people did not expect the fighting to stop until the enemy was defeated. The Israelis will do the same and they already do more than anyone could reasonably expect to warn civilians out of the line of fire. And, of course, Hamas could always help with humanitarian aid right now by refraining from using pipes for bombs and letting Palestinians use them for water. Also by releasing the hostages and then surrendering. Just a thought.
At any rate, I wanted to write a quick piece today and draw your attention to a great quote from Martin Amis. Somewhere around 2009, Amis gave a talk to a private audience as part of a speaker series in Toronto. My job - or one of them - at the time, was to transcribe those talks, so I was lucky enough to attend. Here, taken directly from the transcript, is the quote, and tragically prescient it was, or rather, tragically accurate it remains. About the left and Islamism:
“I take my hat off to the left in that they’ve found something to defend in a movement that is racist, misogynist, homophobic, totalitarian, inquisitorial, imperialist and genocidal. Perhaps it is their [Islamist’s] view on usury that is attractive to the left — low interest rates, or non-existent interest rates.”
Seriously - all these idiot people cheering for a group that would slaughter them with not an eyelash bat of hesitation. Amis also told a story that night about speaking before another audience - I think in the UK - and asking anyone present who believed that they were morally superior to the Taliban to please raise their hands. As he described it, a few shy hands were shakily raised. Of course, he said, every hand in that room should have shot up, with confidence. And so here we are. Plus ca change. Polls indicate that the majority of people in the United States and in Canada support Israel’s right to defend itself - which is great - but that among the young, this is not the case. So is it just about young people being stupid? I hope so, because they can always grow out of that. My greater concern is that students don’t learn history anymore - they learn (fill in the blank) “studies” and I wonder if they can break away from that divisive and simplistic way of viewing events.
If you would like another powerful plus ca change moment, let me pivot over to the great Martha Gellhorn, writing in 1961 in The Atlantic:
“The unique misfortune of the Palestinian refugees is that they are a weapon in what seems to be a permanent war. Alarming signs from Egypt, warn us that the Palestinian refugees may develop into more than a justification for cold war against Israel. We ignored Mein Kampf in its day , as the ravings of a lunatic , written for limited home consumption. We ought to have learned never to ignore dictators or their books. Egypt's Liberation, by Gamal Abdel Nasser, deserves careful notice. It is short, low-keyed, and tells us once again that a nation has been ordained by fate to lead — this time, to lead the Arab nations, all Africa, all Islam . The Palestinian refugees are not mentioned, and today, in the Middle East, you get a repeated sinking sensation about the Palestinian refugees: they are only a beginning, not an end. Their function is to hang around and be constantly useful as a goad. The ultimate aim is not such humane small potatoes as repatriating refugees.”
[Emphasis mine.] Again, this was 1961. Yes, things have changed. Israel has achieved peace (cold peace) with Egypt and other neighbours and there are the Abraham Accords, of course. All good. But it is the emphasized, bold-print words that - figuratively - stand out for those of us in 2023.
A word about Gellhorn, she was a great writer, courageous and, in my view, a better war writer than A.J. Liebling (sue me) and a phenomenal travel writer. She was also Hemingway’s third wife - a kindred spirit of his, so much so that it couldn’t last. (There is a fairly lame movie about the two of them starring Nicole Kidman and Clive Owen.) The article quoted above is called The Arabs of Palestine and it is absolutely worth your time. The link is here, though there is a subscriber wall - however, there is also a PDF version available at the link. She makes some wonderful references to “Mad Hatter conversations” in the article. If you are a defender of Israel, you have likely had your share of those and listened to your share of those. Gellhorn was always a defender of Israel and in her book The Face of War, she wrote the following:
“Her neighbors oblige Israel to waste resources and time on military strength. Israelis are not fond of being warriors; they have no choice. But Israel is far more than a bulwark. It produces funny wine and good books, scientists, musicians and formers of genius. It may have the highest I.Q. per capita in the world. It is brave. It is there to stay.”
That was in 1967. All still true, except that Israeli friends assure me the wine is better now.
(Link to what I wrote about Amis after his death.)
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I am going to pivot here and talk about the recently-deceased Suzanne Somers. I don’t know her views on the Middle East but I hope they were sensible. I just want to add a bit because I don’t have enough to say to fill a whole essay. When I was a young woman I lived in Paris. I stayed almost five years. One hub of my social and community life was the American Church in Paris. One day, in the church’s library, I picked up a book called Keeping Secrets. It was by Somers. I cannot tell you how much it helped me. I had grown up in an alcoholic home (not the house itself, people in the house) and witnessed all the troubles that ripple out from that. Reading her book about her family’s struggles with addictions (primarily drinking) made me feel less alone, less crazy. She wrote about her own poor coping mechanisms and in those, I recognized my own. Which just shows to go ya, never think you cannot learn from someone else - no matter who - nor they from you.