Jack’s Angle: The Horrors of it ALL – John J. “Jack” Partridge

by John J. “Jack” Partridge, contributing writer and commentator

When did it go so wrong? The horrors of it all; marches in defense of evil, the madness, the disappointment, and my astonishment at gullibility and ignorance of students and others.

The messages from our presumed to be next generational leaders as to Israel and Hamas is downright dispiriting, as has been the responses from elite universities. Did they not watch the numerous television reports from October 7th of families massacred, babies cut to pieces, women with their bodies violated, women and children targeted by Hamas for execution, humiliation and abduction? 

The revolting reaction by students preceded any retaliation by Israel. So, the later bombing in Gaza is no excuse. Did it not occur to the students that they were aligning themselves with deliberate viciousness? What excuse do they have?

Certainly, the Palestinian cause seems to be at best a second thought to the poster bearers decrying Jews and, no matter how worthy the cause of Palestinian rights might be, it should not be conflated into a support of evil.  

The university response – the response from the high poohbahs of academia – has been weak on facts and couched in the language of academic freedom, and diversity of viewpoints on campuses, neither of which are at issue. 

The only issue is whether evil can be defended, supported, even commended as is so often the case in the marches and campus rallies. The faculties who support such poor leadership should be equally called out. And perhaps there lies the greater fault for not educating students.

Their politically contrived events have triggered latent anti-Semitism – particularly on campus. For shame on the students. And the institutions they attend. And on an educational establishment that supports a slanted view of history favoring only those who have not been as fortunate as others, dividing all into the oppressed and oppressors. 

I am fearful for the America I love. Have we fallen so low in our common view of ourselves as Americans that we can’t see the threat to our future?  Have we lost a substantial portion of our youth to unreasoned violence spawned in part by violent video games and social media basking in self-virtue, joining ignorant influencers in aggressive support of undeserving causes? 

I hope I am wrong but fear I am not. A particular issue for me is the public media, for the most part, forgetting that if the hostages were released there would be a cessation of the fierce battles affecting civilians in Gaza, but Hamas refuses to do so. It is Hamas that could stop civilian tragedy by doing the right thing. Where is the outcry against Hamas. On campus – or in the media? 

Our media wants to condemn Israel without any blame on Hamas which refuses to release hostages wrongly held under international law and humanitarian concern. Why not state and repeat the obvious truth?  Why? When will facts matter again? 

When faced with the unspeakable evil of murderers and thugs, why can’t we be plain-speaking and not be concerned with their sensibilities, and why is it our elites who dodge answers to questions of right and wrong? They seem to defend themselves by saying the situation is too complicated to speaking in moral outrage. Showing an unspeakable poverty of moral indignation.

I have an urge to point my fingers. But I must be honest. This sickness has long been tolerated when our streets are filled by pillaging mobs, and dishonest vitriol faces us every day, without effective response from political leaders. We can blame ourselves, in part, for misplaced tolerance for those committing violence in the name of free speech, or vindication of the economic status or rights of the less fortunate in our society.

Our choices in news media and social media have something to do with it. By using these portals we support the regimes of misinformation and wrongful denials of truth and an elite leadership that seems morally bankrupt.

We can all do a better job of policing ourselves and promoting voices of moral courage to overcome the mindless shouts of those who have abandoned any pretense of appreciation of truth and the protection of the rights that for decades have allowed this country to prosper and remain the best hope for human dignity and freedom.

___

To read more columns by Jack Partridge, go to: https://rinewstoday.com/our-team/john-j-jack-partridge/

John J. ‘Jack’ Partridge, is a retired lawyer and Senior Counsel to the firm of Partridge Snow & Hahn LLP, with four offices in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

A Pawtucket native, Jack graduates from St. Raphael Academy and summa cum laude of Providence College, where he majored in history. After Harvard Law School, he served in the United States Army in Vietnam, where he was awarded the Joint Service Commendation Medal. In 1967, he joined the firm of Tillinghast Collins & Tanner. In 1988, he became a founding partner of Partridge Snow & Hahn LLP.

Jack has been engaged in many civic, political, governmental, and business organizations, serving as legal counsel to the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce for 27 years and was chairman of the Old Slater Mill Association, Common Cause Rhode Island, and Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island.

He is the co-founder of The Pawtucket Foundation and an officer and director of innumerable not-for-profit entities. He served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Pawtucket Boys & Girls Club and was Treasurer of the Ocean State Charities Trust.

Jack has a long history of leadership involvement with Providence College, which recognized him in 1999 with the Providence College Alumni Association Recognition Award for Public and Community Service, and in 2011, with an honorary Doctor of Laws degree.

He is married to the former Regina McDonald and has three children: Sarah, Gregory and David.