A Generational Divide

Created
Thu, 26/10/2023 - 06:00
Updated
Thu, 26/10/2023 - 06:00
Different worldviews, shaped by a different understanding of history I was on the Majority Report last Friday and in discussing the Israel War with Sam and Emma I made the point that one of the divides on this issue is generational and it’s for a lot of reasons. Older people like myself were raised in the direct shadow of WWII and “Never Again” is etched on our brains. The war was an everyday part of popular culture, our parents talked about it as if it was yesterday (which it was, to them) and the Holocaust was something immediate and horrifying. (I went to see “The Sorrow and the PIty” twice!) All that is ancient history to today’s young people who are far more influenced by our culture’s belated recognition of white colonialism and racist violence writ large as their historical touchstone, perhaps made more immediate to them by the actions of the United States after 9/11. It’s a different worldview shaped by different historical experiences. Both are valid ways to see this current situation and it’s hard to argue either way. In fact, it’s vital that it be seen both ways which is what makes the situation so morally fraught. This piece by Julia Ioffe discusses the Jewish experience which I think is probably not as well understood by some of the young people who are naturally sympathetic to the plight of the Palestinians, as they should be. This longer historical view may not seem relevant but it is: Tragedy…