History will remember Trump as standing in line with King Leopold II of Belgium, who, during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, killed around 8 million people in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), his colony. Along with these deaths, thousands were amputated, and many men, women, the elderly, and children were physically and mentally deranged.
With his latest unconventional move, backed by enlightened American voters, Trump aims to empty Gaza of its indigenous populace—people who embraced and kissed the mud upon their return to annihilated cities, under the rubble of which lie the corpses of hundreds of Palestinians.
Ceasefire relief and jubilations proved temporary for the people of Gaza. They were immediately followed by Trump’s imperialistic and utopian desire—unparalleled in the modern, civilized world—to resettle the traumatized people of Gaza elsewhere.
For this reason, Sigmund Freud, in the early 20th century, critiqued democracy for its potential to harbor destructive tendencies—a phenomenon that can be called ‘democratic suicide.’ In his book *Civilization and Its Discontents*, Freud suggested that democratic processes can awaken dormant evil impulses in the human unconscious. When this occurs, democracy embarks on a path toward self-destruction.
In the modern world, these subconscious evil impulses of American voters are embodied in the persona of Donald Trump. He initiated a crackdown on illegal immigrants fleeing war, poverty, genocide, and political persecution. Additionally, he exhibited a relentless intent to forcibly displace Palestinians from their land, already devastated after Israel’s 15-month-long invasion and indiscriminate bombardment—a scene reminiscent of *The Waste Land* by T.S. Eliot.
Benjamin Netanyahu, another democratically elected leader of Israel, was even stunned by Trump’s imperialistic and callous decision. How can the leader of a people who suffered genocide at the hands of a cruel dictator celebrate the killings and forced evictions of innocent individuals from their cherished land? During his visit to the White House, Netanyahu gifted Trump a golden pager—a reference to Israel’s September 2024 operation in Lebanon, where pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah operatives were detonated, resulting in significant casualties. Such maneuvers carry profound underlying meanings that discerning minds can grasp.
European nations, especially Germany, in an attempt to make up for their past crimes, allowed for the hideous and brutal campaign of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in the open-air prison of Gaza, which resulted in the killings of children, babies, and women. Perhaps the intellectual community must coin new words when looking at the civilized brutalities of Israel, ironically aiming to make peace in a fragile region in which the Indigenous Arab people are treated and considered as lesser human beings.
Britain was ready to send its troops to Ukraine for defense, yet at the same time, it provided arms to Israel for their massacre. Human rights remain the same under both Conservatives and Liberals, alas! Not only eyes but minds also need to be opened wide.
The invasion of Gaza and Ukraine acted as a test case for the consciousness of the West, which seems to always preach human rights in the regions they label as less civilized, continuing a long-lasting colonial practice. The Western dilemma is uncovered by their dual approach to almost the same phenomena; although Gaza’s invasion was more brutal in terms of deaths and destruction. Despite this, the West remained silent but was vocal against Russian attacks in Ukraine, which were as bad as those of Israel in Gaza. Will they review their actions and approach? Only history will answer.
Completely lost in the opium of U.S. global power, Trump has shared an AI-generated video of his imperialistic vision for post-war Gaza, in which he ideally replaces rubble and dead bodies with tall buildings, thinking it will not only stop Israelis from killing children and women but also make up for the deaths of thousands of Gaza’s people, many of whom do not even know why they were killed.
The Western media, always vocal about human rights, presented two contrasting images of the same scenario. Russian bombardments and subsequent deaths in Ukraine were labeled as carried out by Moscow; however, Israeli brutalities in Gaza were mentioned as the deaths of 47,000 people, leaving it unclear for readers who killed them. Assal Rad, an American journalist, conducted a detailed study of the major Western media outlets, notably including Reuters, BBC, The New York Times, and CNN, which were using ambiguous language while covering Israel’s invasion of Gaza.
That reminds me of an excellent piece of work, *Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media*, by Noam Chomsky, regarding the reality of the Western media, working to protect corporate and state interests. Chomsky, in his book, argues that the Western media, rather than doing justice and raising voices for the oppressed, serve to defend the economic, social, and political agendas of the privileged groups that dominate domestic society, the state, and the global order.
Solutions are plenty if there are problem-solvers instead of problem-makers. Listen to the voices of the beleaguered people of Gaza and, more importantly, the West needs to listen to their consciousness—the only path for the salvation of their souls and democracy.
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