Our leaders are powered by falsehoods as the ‘day’ approaches

‘A n election is a moral horror,” George Bernard Shaw wrote, “as bad as a battle except for the blood, a ‘mud bath’ for every soul involved.”

My blood is boiling when I listen to the ‘slop’ being thrown around by the parties at each other, “using euphemisms, lies, emotionalism and fear mongering to dupe average people.” This is my 9th maybe 10th election. Certainly, I have heard the leadership of the major parties pitching their tar to cover the opponent. However, this election is the worst for me. It seems my hearing has become sharper not dulled, as it should, so I can better hear what is being said. Are these Jews spouting the worst epithets possible? My eyes tear up – look to what depths the Israelis have descended.

What, for me, is worse – I wonder what age voters will turn out in large numbers. Because it interests me, I floated around on the campuses of the Hebrew University – in town and on Mount Scopus – and of Tel Aviv University. Just sitting down and starting conversations with students, I heard over and over again. “Why should we vote? Our ballots will not help – this country does not want a government.” When I asked whether they were going to vote? Over and over again I heard – “We will take the day off and enjoy ourselves far from the ballot boxes.” After the elections, study what percentage of the voters – in their 20s and 30s – actually used their ballots.

Larken Rose, an American tax activist, pointed out, “When widely followed public figures feel free to say anything, without any fact-checking, it becomes impossible for a democracy to think intelligently about big issues.” Oh well, concerns about the elderly poor and holocaust survivors need not have a place in any of the politicians’ platitudes. If the novel coronavirus had not begun to kill and kill and kill some more, the problems of health care and hospitals would not have been raised dramatically as they are now by all the parties.

As societies grow decadent, the language used grows decadent, too. One political scientist emphasized “words are used to disguise not to illuminate.” Here we are in the “promised land,” but all our leaders do is try to erase “promised.”

They seek their ‘keesay” (chair) and their “kesef ” (money); nothing else matters. Not one of the outstanding hi-tech leaders, who transforms the world on a daily basis, would ever consider becoming a political leader of this nation.

Yes, I am very angry at what I see. What should I do with my anger, I keep asking myself. If my anger has no outlet, it will become an even greater festering sore. Numerous times, I have expressed my anger in the wrong way, and I suffered for it. Some friends suggested to me many years ago – David, all this anger you have can be constructively channeled.

This is what I would say to my fellow Israelis: “The wheels of change, of progress, can be moved by the steam of anger.” Here, in this country, many of you out there, like me, are very angry. Take that anger, I challenge you, do not suppress it. Use your anger – express it with all the force you can – at the appropriate time and in the appropriate manner.

I have no candidate in mind whom I think could lead our nation “properly.” But as all of us know, someone will be chosen or choose himself, if not this election then the one after it. What we angry citizens need to do is symbolically “storm the bastions.” We need a new election system – Ben-Gurion got it all wrong when Israel began. Even more importantly, we need new leaders, women and men, who will demonstrate how we can make this great nation better – “v’im lo achshav eimatay” – if not now, when?