Gather around, young people. Or people of any age, really, but this conversation is going to be directed (mostly) at those of you who are of the “Gen Z” age group. We need to talk about war, why Israel has to fight, why Hamas must lose, and the nature of evil.

Now, I do know something about Gen Z – after all, my kids are all within the Gen Z age range, with two of them now legal adults. For us older generations (I’m a late Gen Xer myself), Gen Z is the age range out there on college campuses, chanting slogans, and not comprehending that their speech is so racist and abhorrent (and in the case of Patrick Dai, allegedly escalated to death threats) that their future employment prospects are now on the line. After years of “politically correct” curriculum shoved down their throats, and the idea that being an “ally” is more important than having knowledge, and being wise enough to determine right from wrong, Gen Z is now falling flat on their faces because they fail to grasp certain realities. The same group that wants to proclaim “my truth” doesn’t want to look actual facts in the eye, and discover that they might have been wrong all along.

So, Gen Z, let’s have a conversation about the facts, and then I’ll put this in terms you can understand.

1) War is hell.
Gen Z, your generation begins around 1997. The oldest of you were, at best, four years old on September 11, 2001. To most of you, who were born after that horrific day, it is a historical event. We on this blog have tried to convey the shock and trauma of that day over the years. I know that the progressive left wants to blame the United States for giving al-Qaeda “cause” for attacking us on 9/11. Does the progressive left also tell you who died that day? Families. Children. People simply going about their every day lives. What did they do to deserve death?

Now think about the numbers of people who were killed in Israel on October 7th. People just going to a concert. Families. Children. People in their own homes, living their every day lives. What did they do to deserve death?

Think about this – no one asked the United States to declare a “ceasefire” on al-Qaeda, or the Taliban (who were hosting them) after 9/11. There was no question of going after them. Why, then, are there calls for Israel to accept a “ceasefire,” when there was a ceasefire in effect before Hamas broke it on October 7th? The United States spent a decade hunting down Osama bin Laden, and yet there are some in Congress calling for a “ceasefire” and “restraint.” This is war. The government of Israel issued a declaration of war on Hamas, which runs the government of Gaza. War is hell.

Unfortunately, innocent people die in war. There has never been a war in the history of the world that has not resulted in innocents being killed, either accidentally or as a result of forcing a surrender. Telling Israel that it cannot target underground tunnels in Gaza, even though there may be a hospital or a school on top of it (which Hamas does to protect themselves, using their own people as human shields), would be the same as telling the Allies during World War II that they could not target the Führerbunker in Berlin, because even though Hitler was there, so were the Goebbels children. War is not a game, even though your generation has been raised on video games that let you play at war. War is not a movie, which I know you have seen plenty of – be they fictional wars, historical wars, or documentaries. War is hell.

2) Israel is fighting to survive, and they have a right to do so.
I know, I know, you’ve been hearing all the chants about “decolonization” and “apartheid” and “stolen land” and other such bullshit. The Jewish people have lived in the area we know today as the state of Israel continuously for more than a millenia. While other military forces and countries have invaded and controlled that area in the past, there has been a Jewish population in Israel for far longer than Islam has even existed – which traces its beginnings to 610 to 613 AD in Mecca. After World War I and the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the British took control of the area, which was then known as the British Mandate of Palestine. The intent, all the way back in 1917, was to give the Jews their own country, with a “two-state solution.” Well, two states were made. One was Israel, which declared independence with the backing of the United Nations in 1948. The other was Transjordan – which is the country you now know today as Jordan. So, what happened? Jordan, ruled by the Hashemite dynasty, refused to accept the Arab Muslims living in the new state of Israel, thus creating a permanent “refugee” status that still exists to this day.

We can skip ahead a bit, and stop at the 2005 withdrawl of all Israelis from Gaza. The Oslo Accords in 1993 had created the framework for a self-governing “Palestinian state” in Gaza. The Israeli army forcibly removed all of its citizens in 2005 from the designated area – the same area that is now so colorfully referred to as “an open-air prison” by some. Hamas was then elected as the government in 2007, and have since then been focused on enriching themselves on the backs of the civilians, and waging war on Israel. On October 7th, Hamas invaded Israel, murdered hundreds and hundreds of people, and took hostages. If either Mexico or Canada had done the same to the United States, it would have resulted in a declaration of war – which is what Israel did. Remember, Hamas is the ELECTED GOVERNMENT in Gaza. Its leaders are currently hiding in luxury in Qatar, mysteriously wealthy while Gazans live in poverty. No country would be expected to simply accept a massacre of civilians with no response. The United States didn’t. Israel shouldn’t, either.

3) Hamas is evil and must lose.
Have you read the Hamas Charter, Gen Z? Do you know what Hamas stands for? What do you think their actual aims are? Here is their spokesman to tell you.

So many of you are parroting Hamas, and you have no idea what they actually stand for. Let me tell you – you won’t like it when you know.

Oh you like Hamas?

Siding with Hamas isn’t easy when you know what they actually stand for.

Well done: FactsForPeace on IG pic.twitter.com/ksLmr2dDeE

— Yaakov Langer (@jacklanger) November 2, 2023

So, Gen Z – why are you supporting a government that would murder your “queer” friends? Why are you supporting a government that says men must control women? Why are you supporting a government that last held an election in 2006, and then seized power completely in 2007? Can you tell me why?

As you can see, Hamas is opposed to all those things you proclaim to value, and yet, you are chanting for their “freedom.” Is it Israel holding the people of Gaza back, or is it Hamas? It seems that all Hamas is focused on is killing Jews and destroying Israel. Is murder, rape, and destruction okay with you?

4) You need to understand evil.
I know that many of you have rejected any kind of organized religion, instead deciding that you are “spiritual,” and can pick and choose what you like, and what to ignore. Gen Z, listen up. There is such a thing as good and evil, and you need to recognize what evil looks like, even if you would rather turn away and pretend that everyone in the world is just like you. For those of you who do believe in God, then you must realize that there is a good and there is an evil.

Tied into this is the notion modern society cannot fathom, that being evil’s existence aside from the flippant assigning of “evil” to anyone or anything deemed potentially ruining the party. Since October 7, 2023, the world has seen brutality and death on a scale unimaginable to the allegedly sophisticated modern mind. The Israel-Hamas War is anything but the bloodless imagery of video games flashing across a screen, imaginary bullets cutting down digital depictions of nonexistent foes. From the war’s beginning, subhuman perversion on Hamas’ part has ravaged humanity on a scale and to a depraved depth hard to envision and even harder to stomach for even the most battle-hardened veteran observers of man’s inhumanity.

It is little wonder that in the face of such barbarism, many have retreated to their preferred variant of lollipop dreams in a cotton candy sky, one in which Hamas’ satanic cruelty and hatred cannot possibly exist and therefore does not exist. Also seeping from society’s sewer are the hardened antisemites whose true gruesome colors are now on full display. In addition, an allegedly more civilized yet equally vacuous resistance to Israel’s effort toward forever ending Hamas in the only fashion it can be terminated, namely killing its members and supporters, emanates from social media stages and corporate political/media stooges bleating for an Israeli-led ceasefire as a legitimate response. Were it not for the desperately unfunny nature of matters, this would be laughable. Envision, if you will, a bully punching you in the nose. You draw your fist back to hit back twice as hard, thus ensuring no further assault. At the sight of this, the bully cries out, “Don’t hit me! No more violence!” This takes place with no assurance save their word alone of the bully abandoning their previous behavior. Does any reasonable person agree to such a relationship? The last person who did so was Neville Chamberlain, and as a quick glance at history’s way reveals, it did not go well for him or Europe.

Evil doesn’t just exist in a history book, as your teachers may have told you. Evil walks among us right now. Evil is the person who celebrates the death of others. It’s an uncomfortable thought, isn’t it?

I promised to explain this to you in terms that you can understand. This is how I explained it to my oldest son, now an adult, who is on the autism spectrum. He has been watching the Marvel Cinematic Universe since he was young. When he asked why innocent people had to die, I reminded him of the scene in the first “Iron Man,” where the Ten Rings terrorists are using women and children as human shields when confronted by Iron Man in his first big “reveal” fight. In the movie, Iron Man uses his advanced technology to target and kill ONLY the terrorists. All the hostages are saved. That movie is fiction, I told him. That technology does not exist. In war, there are casualties and losses. Not everything can be undone with Infinity Stones and a snap of the fingers.

But here is a thought exercise for you, Gen Z. Let us pretend that the Infinity Stones are real, and I have them assembled in the Gauntlet and am ready to snap. I offer you this deal – I snap my fingers, and every single Hamas fighter and leader is instantly gone. No civilian casualties. But Israel survives as a country, and a people. Would you take that deal?

My fear is that too many of you would not accept the survival of Israel. If that is so, then you have chosen sides. And it’s not the side of good. You are the very bloodthirsty racists that you claim your enemies are, and you are willing to accept and celebrate the death of children in order to get what you want. Think about it. For your own sakes.

Featured image: flag of Israel by edu_castro27 via Pixabay, cropped and modified, Pixabay license