Glenn – No Beauty In The Beast – Israel Without Her Mascara

26REASONSof those in the immediate vicinity as opposed to assisting those in the more remote. Coming to terms withthe origins of this tendency should be no mystery, for in truth it is just another aspect of human naturethat is as innate to mankind’s being as cold weather is to January. This nature, being what it is, is suchthat people are imbued with natural affections which lead them to consider what is best for those who areclosest to them as opposed to those who are out of sight and thus out of mind.However, despite the altruistic spirit that this saying may appear to possess, what should be consideredis that the real essence of this theme is rooted in self-preservation, albeit of a more subtle type, and it isprobably safe to say as well that one of the reasons for this saying having been encoded within oursociological wiring is tied to the simple issue of rewards. As unpleasant as it may sound, the truth of thematter is that man is a self-centered animal who prioritizes all things in relation to how they affect himpersonally. As such, oftentimes then we find that the only difference between those things that are brazenlyself-centered and those that take on the appearance of being altruistic contrast each other only by degrees.This being the case, even the concept of “charity beginning at home” does not escape the rigors andregimen of human nature, particularly in that all people understand the fact that the closer the recipientof such charity is, the better the chance there may be of the giver being rewarded with some type of fringebenefit. Walking alongside this statement concerning charity can be found its near identical sister thatspeaks of the insoluble ties that are bound by blood, and again, it is safe to say that the interest that is atwork here is the instinct of self-preservation, albeit not as easily apparent. And although there may bethose who may wince at hearing these expressions (due to the fact that they appear to justify a certainamount of callousness with regards to others) what must be remembered here is that we are talkingabout human nature, which is a tough program to alter, and a condition that rarely responds to negotiation.Therefore, the reader of this work, in glancing over what no doubt appears to be an incendiary cover andtitle, as well as scanning over the material that is covered within it will no doubt ask at some point wherethe reason may lie in my not following that more near-sighted line of thinking that seems to be the normin today’s world. As an American Christian whose country is at war with those in the predominantlyMuslim Middle East, why, they will ask, have I not adopted that more ‘familiar’ charity as opposed toconcentrating on the events that are taking place in the lives of those whom I have never met? In additionto this, such individuals will ask what it is that I hope to gain by speaking on this topic and in this fashion.For those who know me by my writings, and who know me well, there should be no ambiguity as towhere my position lies concerning this topic, as I have been anything but vague or unspecific. I havepainted the picture (at least as I see it) in stark terms—black vs white, good vs evil, and rarely do I runinto someone who, after reading something I have written, is asking for clarification. Instead, mycorrespondence varies between those who love what I have to say and those who hate it, and within thatgroup of “haters” there are those who are not as bold in their opposition and who attack what I am doingby stealth, using the tactic of intellectual distancing and the protected position that it affords by askingthe question we discussed previously, which is “why?”Of course, the question “why” for the most part is merely the primer, and this is what I meant in the firstpart of this discussion when I said that I have come to understand what it is that these individuals arereally trying to say. For most of them, what is at issue is that they simply do not like what I have had to say,and are really not interested in what my reasons are for saying it. Rather though than to expose the truthof who they are and what they are really about, they attempt to cloak the fact that they have come to thediscussion having already made up their minds about this topic with no interest in reviewing it in anymanner, a concealment that they attempt to accomplish by “intellectualizing” their approach with a