Can a nation act stupidly, bring ruin upon itself and destroy its future? That depends on whom you ask and to whom you attribute the stupidity.
For instance, if Jewish Israelis were polled on whether Gazans managed their affairs wisely or stupidly, I have no doubt the vast majority would say stupidly.
They would argue that instead of investing the huge sums of money they got from Qatar and other countries to build a military force against Israel and digging tunnelswith which to invade it, Gazans should have invested the money in improving their quality of life and building infrastructure to ensure a prosperous future for future generations.
They would also respond affirmatively if asked whether two historical events that became national traumas involved stupidity. One was the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans 2,000 years ago, which stemmed from the Jewish community's preference for thoughtless fanaticism that had no chance of succeeding over a wise, judicious policy of survival.
The other was the Germans' choice to follow Hitler – a choice that led to the Holocaust, destruction, bereavement and a loss of sovereignty for Germany itself.
And what would Jewish Israelis think about their own conduct and the wisdom of successive Israeli governments' policies? This question should focus particularly on the main issues that will decide the country's future.
Those issues are preferring military control and Jewish settlement in the occupied territories over support for establishing a Palestinian state through a peace agreement under the auspices of the great powers and moderate Arab states; increasing funding for the ultra-Orthodox community while cutting funding for science, academia and the state school system; preferring a judicial overhaul and an expansion of the fighting in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran to establishing a democratic culture, being scrupulous about humanist morality and humanity, bringing the hostages home, ending the war and preserving our economic strength and international relations.
The idea that "the public is stupid, so the public will pay" isn't new. In an interview, the author of that dictum, Shalom Hanoch, explained that he was angry "at the public, which allowed people on an unacceptable level to lead it. I was angry that they admired stupid demagogues ... at a time when they should have demanded maximum credibility, truth and responsibility and a maximal moral and intellectual level from them."
Hanoch was preceded by many others. They include the prophet Samuel, who rebuked the people over its desire for a king who would oppress them; the biblical narrators, who drew a distinction between true prophets, who demand justice and rational thought, and the fawning false prophets, who promised redemption or total victory but led to disaster; and the Enlightenment philosopher Immanuel Kant, who said that for reasons of laziness and convenience, most people tend to delegate thinking to some outside authority instead of thinking for themselves and relying on one's own mind to make rational decisions.
The decisive point – which is antithetical to the postmodern spirit and the "post-truth" era – is the conclusion that a nation's stupidity often leads to its destruction is the truth, not a mere opinion. Truth is a view based on accumulated human experience as learned through factual evidence and logical argument. It's an idea that appeared as far back as the biblical book of Ecclesiastes: Stupidity leads to losing one's way in the dark, but "wisdom preserves the life of he who has it."
This is also the foundation of the concept of progress, in which rational behavior produces results that are many times better than insipid beliefs and messianic delusions. Accumulated knowledge about the nature of reality, the processes that organize it and the causal connections that exist within it teach us, with a high degree of credibility, what is or isn't possible in any given situation, what constitutes a judicious plan of action that is preferable to delusional aggression.
What can we say about continued support of so many Israelis for a government and a prime minister that brought them security disasters and failures? That completely betrayed their trust, and the hostages in particular? That has destroyed Israel's economic might and international ties, undermined its democratic character, neglected the civil service, demolished our moral conscience and harmed the school system, academia and culture?
All we can do is present the stupidity of this nation, which is bringing ruin upon itself, not merely as an opinion, but as a truth, a conclusion, a view based on the best accumulated knowledge and the arguments advanced by the best minds in security, economics and a variety of other relevant fields.
One reservation is in order. Everything that has been said here about both the Israeli public and the Gazan public is true only if you assume that they in fact don't want to drown. In other words, on condition that they accept the fundamental axiom that life is preferable to death, wellbeing to distress, freedom to oppression and democracy to tyranny. Neither ordinary logic nor common sense is capable of reaching and convincing people who don't accept those fundamental axioms.
Prof. Nimrod Aloni holds the UNESCO chair in humanistic education