Despite the vast amounts that have been written, I do not think Israelis, or their Jewish and non-Jewish supporters, have grasped the full moral horror of this terror war that was funded, abetted and applauded by so much of the world, including the European heartland of Western democracy. The world is routinely and rightly castigated for its apathy toward ongoing atrocities in places like Sudan or North Korea - not to mention the apathy, at best, toward the Shoah as it was unfolding. Apathy is bad enough; but still not as bad as zesty approval for atrocities that are the focus of media attention and shown graphically on TV screens every evening.

The effect on me has to been to push me further into ethnocentrism and pessimism about human nature.

What good is melody, what good is music
If it ain't possessin' something sweet
It ain't the melody, it ain't the music
There's something else that makes the tune complete
It don't mean a thing, if it ain't got that swing
It don't mean a thing, all you got to do is sing
It makes no diff'rence if it's sweet or hot
Just give that rhythm ev'rything you got
It don't mean a thing, if it ain't got that swing