A Personal Note on the Battle of Ideologies, Demographics and Realities

Photo story from The Free Press about one of the couples attacked by Hamas this past weekend in Israel

I hope you'll forgive my absence these past few days. I'll continue writing on Covid issues but the news at hand is focused on one thing.

The past few days have unfolded an escalating conflict, inciting fierce tensions that extend far beyond the warring blips on the global map. Perhaps now, more than ever, the clashes in Israel and the violent insurgence by Hamas seem to captivate us all, stirring emotions, adding to the universal consternation, creating tensions and spurring allegiances.

My stance on this critical issue, as my Twitter followers are already apprised of, has been staunchly clarified. I stand with Israel.

There is no imminent 'Red Dawn' threat by an aging Russia materializing at my doorstep. However, I'm compelled to underline that Israel's antagonists, unfortunately, cannot be dismissed so quickly. While the Kremlin may lack the manpower and willpower for global dominance, Israel's adversaries, brimming with youthful determination, do not.

It's not clear that Putin had any international ambitions. It's clear that Israel's opponents do.

Going further, the contrast in demographic profiles is not a trivial detail to overlook. Russia's median age stands at a stark 42 years, whereas the United States reflects a marginally aging demographic with its median age close to 38 years. Meanwhile, Israel's population sits comfortably at a median age of 31, but the most profound data comes from the Gaza Strip, where the median age is a mere 17 years.

These statistics matter. They are critical to understanding the Gretzky question.

Wayne Gretzky was famously asked, "Why are you so good at hockey?" He answered "I skate to where the puck is going, not where it is.”

Where is the puck going for our world?

To throw light upon this, we might turn our attention toward a cluster of islands located off the northwestern coast of Europe. England, the birthplace of the lingua franca (English) of diplomacy, technology, and finance, achieved an unprecedented triumph over infant mortality - and those two facts are intimately related. Consequently, by the mid-19th century, the median age of Londoners was merely 15 years old, endowing the Queen with a surplus of manpower to expand her dominion worldwide. As the saying goes, the sun never sets on the Queen's kingdom.

Our present conundrum arises from a rapidly growing demographic, characterized by youthful vitality, indomitable willpower, and, unfortunately, a fractious relationship with Western society's tenets, as noted by Mark Steyn in his thought-provoking book, 'America Alone.' In short, radical jihadists have plenty of manpower, and they have a powerful, cultural wind at their back. No one emigrated to France to become French. No one emigrates to Italy to become Italian. It used to be that people emigrated to America to become “American.”

That last part is important. That used to be the glue that held us together. I fear we’re losing that.

In short, the fastest growing demographic in the modern world is also the one most opposed to liberal democracies and republics. That’s a problem.

Efforts must be employed to deter radicals from their perilous modus operandi of deathly religious jihads. The challenge we face is significant - one that involves swaying the perspectives of potentially two billion individuals who currently embrace that religious adherence. Note: I’m not dissuading them from their religious beliefs - rather - I’m want them to expel the ones who pervert those beliefs.

It’s not the regular “mosque-goer” that I worry about. As we saw in the last few months, many of these adherents have joined us in our cause against radical, woke ideology in our schools. We have a lot in common.

It's the extreme violent parts that we need to help them upend. How we proceed is unclear.

But, right now, we need to give Israel the room it needs to rebalance things.

The disturbing images emanating from Israel have forced me to reflect on how we've managed to lose sight of these very real threats. While intertwining with other nations and addressing threats like China are important, we cannot disregard the looming danger I outline. This isn’t xenophobic, this is just reality. Tiny little Yemen (about the side of the state of Georgia) will have a population greater than Russia by mid-century. I’m pretty sure that will have some impact on the world. Are you quite ready to dismiss it?

As someone pointed out: if you're high school has 300 students and you're facing another high school football team from a school that has 3000 students, your chances of winning are very, very small.

I want us on the same team. The world can't afford this terrible, consequential game.

Offered not as a polemic, but as a cautionary tale, the underlying message is clear – there are sides in this moment and I’ve chosen mine and invite all to come over. I’m eager for some stimulating discussions that might lend insight into navigating this complex quagmire of demographics, ideologies and impending realities.

Note: I’m not calling for the U.S. to put boots on the ground. I’d very much like to avoid that - I don’t want to relive the terrible decisions of the last 20 years but I’m not willing to risk another incident with what happened 22 years ago.