Original article: https://archive.ph/au7R9

Against Barbarism (Abridged)

By Eliot A. Cohen

Edited by TheStupidPrizeWinner

There is a place for geopolitical and strategic analysis of Israel’s war with Hamas and its allies and associates, but such discussion will miss an essential element of this war, a conflict that is not solely, or even primarily, about politics or desperately conceived purpose. It is about barbarism.

Barbarians fight because they enjoy violence. They do not only kill and maim—the armies of civilized states do that all the time—but go out of their way to inflict pain, to torture, to rape, and above all to humiliate. They exult in their enemies’ suffering.

Occasionally, they seize hold of a whole society, and instill their doctrines in a cowed population, converting some and terrifying others into passivity. Then they are truly dangerous. But underneath the reveling in their power to hurt lies the real secret of barbarians: They are insecure.

Barbarians live for grievance—grievance against those who they believe have wronged them, but also against those who enjoy the good things in life. That is why they enjoy wrecking homes and kidnapping children and raping women. They dream of an unrealizable utopia, in which their nation dominates the Earth, or their religion extirpates all others, or their enemies grovel for a mercy they will never grant.

Civilization is built and protected by many forces—law, religion, habit, philosophy. It is not impregnable, and can be undermined from within. The challenges sometimes take mild forms, like flash mobs looting and burning a luxury store. The challenges can take more violent forms as well, as murderous gang violence motivated by greed or ideology.

Civilization can also be undermined in another way. If you do not believe in civilization or simply are unwilling to fight for it, you construct philosophical systems to appease what remains of your conscience and denigrate those who shame you by their courage. Opportunists in civilized countries flatter barbarians and make deals with them when they look strong. And why not, if you do not believe in the values upon which civilization is built?

The reality is that barbarians have attacked the margins and in some cases—as on 9/11—the core of the civilized world. We need to shake ourselves loose of the notion that these are completely distinct and limited phenomena. They are not. All of us are in the fight of our lives, and it is about time we recognized that, and acted with the vigor and courage the times demand.

TL;DR I took an Atlantic article and cut away much of the excess to turn it into a generalized call to action against "barbarians" (whomever the reader would define as such). I believe this is what some would call "suberverting expectations", but I will leave it to you to judge if "that's a good thing".