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The individual and the state
By Rabbi Berel Wein
http://www.jewishworldreview.com --
ONE OF THE LEGACIES of the awful century that has just ended is the
rejection by much of Western society of the concept of individual sacrifice
on behalf of the nation-society. This is undoubtedly a reaction against the
horrors perpetrated by the false god that glorified the nation/state during
the past century. The nationalism and imperialism that led to the slaughter
of the First World War, the fascism and totalitarianism that marked the
path of the Axis Powers in World War II, the slaughter of millions and the
oppression of tens of millions more as well as the destruction of the
Russian economy by the Bolsheviks, all contributed to the current
deification of the individual and the rejection of societal norms and
responsibilities by the citizen.
The pendulum has swung to the opposite
extreme now and the state's demands on its citizenry are to be opposed,
ignored and protested. Loyalty to the state, to the common good of society,
is completely secondary to the personal preferences and demands of the
individual.
As is true of much of the waves of current ideas and culture, this new
militant, anti-state attitude began in the United States. It was a result
of the failed Vietnam War and the concomitant creation of fanatic
single-issue groups and people. Thus in America, the issues of abortion,
environmental considerations, and gun control have all become questions of
personal "freedom" versus the "good of society." There are those who
literally demand their right to drill a hole in the floor under their seat
in the national boat and they have much support for their suicidal wish in
the Western world. Modern man has passed from the destructive extreme
nationalism of the twentieth century to the eventually equally destructive
self-interest and egoism of the twenty-first century.
This attitude has not skipped over Israeli society. The destructive labor
strikes that regularly punish Israeli society, tourism, exports, education
and other vital sectors of our societal life, are but a reflection of this
single-issue, self-interest, only-what's-good-for-me behavior of the
individual citizen. The soldier who did not come to the aid of his fallen
comrade and then says that he is justified in behaving so because of his
objections to the continued Israeli presence in Lebanon, the undermining of
Israeli governmental policy by Jewish groups in the Diaspora who know
better than we do what is good for us, the avoidance of taking the general
public good of all of Israeli society into account by many of our political
leaders in their statements and public behavior, create a climate that
corrodes the very foundations of our national being. Post-Zionism, the
current darling non-philosophy of the Israeli avante-garde intelligentsia,
sees nothing positive in the Jewish past that created this country. Instead
it decries the "racism" of the Jewish presence here and is far more
merciful and understanding regarding the position of those who still
proclaim their intent to destroy us than it is of those who wish to retain
the Jewish character and historical right of Israel. The Post-Zionists have
rejected the ideals and ideas of the past Jewish century. They are entitled
to do so, but their substitution of selfish nihilism and Jewish self-hatred
as the ethos of our time is hardly an encouraging development.
The truth is that the task of the democratic form of government is to
create a balance between the interests and demands of the state and general
society and the rights and freedoms of the individual. The United States of
America, the world's leading democracy, has struggled with this issue for
over two centuries and has not yet found the perfect solution to this
problem. It would therefore be unreasonable to expect that the State of
Israel, constantly under the gun militarily, diplomatically and
economically, should achieve that perfect balance between state and
individual in its first half-century. Nevertheless, we should be wary of
extremes that always becloud the picture. At one and the same time, Israel
needs less governmental interference in our private lives, fewer
commissions and ministries, a slimmer and more efficient bureaucracy and it
also requires more national loyalty and greater consideration by individual
citizens of the requirements of the national welfare. We need the perfect
combination of national responsibility and individual freedom to realize
the potential of our society and citizenry. That is a worthy goal to aim
for.
Judaism deliberately blurred the line between national responsibilities
and individual freedom of choice. Since Judaism is a faith of commandments
that emanate from Divine authority, all human behavior inherently had no
contradictions or tension since both national behavior and personal actions
and choices were dictated by the authority of commandments - of mitzvot.
But again, since Judaism itself has been relegated by many of the moderns
to the bygone past, a secular Jewish society is now left without eternal
means and unchanging norms by which to regulate the relationship between
society and the individual. Thus we vacillate between deifying the army to
despising it, between glorifying the state and denigrating it, between
being selfless for society's good at personal sacrifice and being selfish
and uncaring for the general good as long as it is beneficial for me. To
prosper, we must therefore struggle to escape the swing of the pendulum and
achieve the necessary healthy balance between state and citizen that will
allow us progress and general
JWR contributor Rabbi Berel Wein is one of Jewry's foremost historians and
founder of the Destiny Foundation. He resides in Jerusalem. You may contact Rabbi
Wein by clicking here or calling 1-800-499-WEIN (9346).
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