There are people, including some in the media, who were very moved by the prime minister's speech at the Herzliya Conference yesterday, in which he spoke about the need to inculcate values. "Unless the younger generation loves the excitement of pioneering, is prepared to sacrifice, unless it loves the nation and the country, our future is uncertain." I envy people who manage to get excited over statements like these. For my part, I attach no importance to speech or speaker. Why? Because political speechmakers don’t necessarily say what they really think, but rather what they think "the people" want to hear.
And that is perhaps the strangest thing. For the public has heard thousands of speeches like these over the years. The public has lent its ears to billions of such fine words. The public should know by now that nothing comes of them. Despite that, the public, what is known as "the people", continues to pay attention. Naivete? Herd mentality? Foolishness? At any rate, cynical politicians and their public relations friends know how to exploit the phenomenon.
The best proof that Netanyahu himself attributes no importance to what he said lies in the sentence in which he criticized what he described as "the culture of affluence" of young people in Israel. The young of Israel? They represent the culture of affluence? And what about you, Bibi Netanyahu? Houses in Jerusalem, a house in Caesarea, millions from speeches. If you practiced what you preach, Netanyahu, you would go on speaking tours for free, for the love of Israel, to glorify its name, not to line your pockets. That would go some way towards inculcating values, more than empty speeches behind which there hides a man whose behavior is the opposite of what he says.
For the sake of values, Bibi, it would do no harm if you were to cut your ties with people of dubious morality. It would also help if you were stop showing patience and tolerance towards the corrupt politicians and hacks who surround you, including those who demonstrate that knowledge of the Bible is no guarantee of honesty and values. I don’t remember ever hearing from you any forthright condemnation, as opposed to forced mumbling, of revelations of corruption among your associates or in your party.
You want education in values? Start educating. Don't impose the task on teachers and on all kinds of people whose influence is less than yours. Show us how you yourself and the people you work with act and live according to the values you talk about. Let's see you cleanse your politics of those whose corruption sets a bad example to the youth about whose values you are so concerned. Show us how your inward considerations are guided only by the values you talk about; construct a budget that reflects your words, that shows concern to give to those with values and in need, and not one that benefits those who are often corrupt, only for the sake of the sacred value of your political survival.
You said that "a strong army and economy do not represent a sufficient guarantee of our existence here." By the same token, a "strong" speech about values does not represent a guarantee that they will be fostered, if those who show the way are themselves examples of an absence of values.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 4, 2010
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