Responding to Bari Weiss
For those of you who do not know her, Bari Weiss is the journalist who had the courage and intellectual honesty not only to leave her gig as an opinion writer at The New York Times in 2020 but to pen a public resignation letter that exposed the oppressive culture there that prompted her departure.
Weiss thereafter launched The Free Press, a subscription-based online news and opinion journal that has already acquired a reputation for ideological balance, in-depth coverage of complex issues and willingness to interview and publish articles from individuals who have been effectively banned from "traditional" media.
Weiss has written extensively about the horrific terrorist attacks against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, as well as what those attacks portend for America. The address Weiss gave at the Federalist Society's annual Barbara K. Olsen Memorial Lecture ("You Are the Last Line of Defense") garnered a standing ovation and made headlines across the country, not least because the Federalist Society is a politically conservative legal organization, and Weiss is neither an attorney nor a conservative.
This week, Weiss published a piece titled "The Holiday from History Is Over." In it, she describes conversations she had on her recent visit to Israel with survivors and family members of those killed on Oct. 7. According to Weiss, Israelis believe they are fighting "a second war of independence -- an existential war necessary for the survival of the state." Israeli journalist Gadi Taub told Weiss that "one of the slogans of this war is lo noflim midor tachach! which loosely translates to 'do not fall short of the '48 generation'"(referring to 1948, the year the modern state of Israel was founded).
Weiss opines that it's "nearly impossible to imagine" a comparable sentiment in the United States, a "rallying cry about not falling short of the 1776ers." Toward the end of the piece, she asks rhetorically:
"What would the people I know do if we ... had to fight for homes and our families, and the homes and families of our fellow citizens? ... Does courage emerge spontaneously out of necessity? Or is there a quiet wellspring inside some people or some cultures waiting to be tapped? Do we have that here in America? Would we answer the call if it came?"
Weiss fears that Americans think we live "outside" of history.
I think she's wrong.
Does this country contain citizens who view themselves as inheritors of the mantle of the Founders? Would Americans step up to defend their homes and families, and those of their neighbors? Do we have the courage we would need in a crisis?
The answer to each of those questions is "yes," and the proof is in the headlines every day -- although perhaps not in the way Weiss might see it.
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