Ted Belman at Israpundit has posted an article by Dr. Joel Katzman, Ph.D., "Path of Least Resistance".
The "Path of Least Resistance" is a law of nature. It is as "instinctual" and "self-centered" as the flow of water that seeks to avoid anything that might stand in its way. Water will seek out a path where it can flow freely with the least amount of resistance or obstruction, and it will flow without concern about the consequences of its actions. The "Path of Least Resistance" is a law of nature that does not reflect or aspire to the higher values and standards of what it means to be human or humane. It is a law of nature that knows no ethics, morality or justice, and certainly is not concerned with history.
And when I read that, I nodded and thought, "But of course. Its a variant of what is called, in Physics, a minimal energy/time/distance path. Nature works to minimize the expenditure of some quantity. If there is a tradeoff between one quantity and another, nature always finds an optimal point: For instance, a soap bubble forms a sphere because a sphere encloses the maximum amount of space with a minimal amount of surface, which, in turn minimises the forces on the surface. As for morality in nature, well, nature just IS. You gotta take it as it is, because the alternative is to die."
This law not only applies to the flow of water and other worldly elements, but it also applies to how animals and humans often go about the business of achieving their goals. Politicians, nations, diplomats, world organizations and other human groups are not immune to the temptations of choosing the "Path of Least Resistance" when it comes to satisfying their needs. Humans have been observed to choose the least obstructed path towards a desired goal with little regard for the consequences of their actions, and this has been especially true when it comes to advancing their self-interests.
Heh, I believe that: #2 son works hard at minimising energy expenditures, and liberals work hard at minimising thought energy expenditures. No surprise there.
Furthermore, choosing the "Path of Least Resistance" is frequently the standard decision making tool that is applied to issues regarding Israel's security and rights. Neglecting or trampling on the rights of Israel, its people, and Jews in general has often become a "Path of Least Resistance" employed by world powers to avoid conflicts with Arab world. This is why many Middle East peace proponents and their plans (Oslo Accords, Road Maps, and now Geneva) have repeatedly sacrificed the security needs and the historical and sovereign rights of Israel. Israel has been discovered to be a "Path of Least Resistance" for avoiding conflicts between many world powers and the nations of Islam.Choosing to follow the "dictates" of this law is a major reason why Arafat remains protected. It is a major reason why Arabs/Palestinians are rewarded for terror by world powers, with planned "land grabs" (a state having no legitimate historical basis) in the West Bank and Jerusalem. Seemingly, the proposed Palestinian State (with fact and history removed) is a humanitarian act, but actually, its creation is the least obstructed path that can be taken by world powers to avoid conflicts that would threaten their security and economic needs.
[snip]
Unlike Israel, Israel's enemies (the PA, most of the Palestinian population and Arab world) maintain a status of significantly greater and ominous resistance and obstruction to world peace by sheer size alone, and the threat that poses to the Western world. The Arabs have multiplied their resistance power through acts of terror, economic threats, distortions of reality, and false claims of victimization, to such an extent that Israel is perceived as the weakest link in the chain, or the easiest target for self-sacrifice. The resistance to peace in the Middle East by most Arab nations and their support groups makes it more "natural" (once ethics and morality are removed) for world powers to side with Arabs against Israel - the "Path of Least Resistance".
Upon reading this, I slapped my head and had one of those "Oh Doh!" moments. You know, the moments where a concept suddenly and magically grabs all the loose ends, pulls them together, and ties them up into a pretty bow. The Palestinian Problem. My wife's problems at work (and my relative lack of them). GOP performance in the House and Senate. Or lack thereof. The Antiwar protests.
It suddenly NOW MAKES SENSE.
This is what I call a foundational concept. Something so fundamental that losing sight of it causes all kinds of problems, and grasping it turns it into the light that illuminates the True Path. It's not like an especially pretty or profound picture that hangs on a wall, but instead dictates the capabilities and parameters of the eyeballs you use to SEE ALL THE PICTURES. Nobody changed the pictures on the wall: You are seeing with NEW EYES. The best word for this comes from the Orient: Enlightenment.
The solution to this problem, of course, is for Israel to stand on principle, on ethics, on morals, and TAKE A STAND. At the moment, people don't believe that resistance in Israel will increase, because they're counting on the Liberals to push the Appeasement card, because Nice People Compromise.
Well, some things should not be compromised, and the Liberals have forgotten that human lives should NEVER be compromised. Not ever.
Go read the article. Go directly to read the article. It is more important than passing Go and Collecting $200.
Not enough time to Grok this completely. More later.
Posted by ptah at January 6, 2004 10:02 PM