If you give a child who pulls tantrums what she wants in the moment… she will learn to pull bigger and bigger tantrums and she will never develop the character traits that will serve her well in the long term. You need to teach children to ask and to accept when they can’t have everything they desire in the moment.
The longer you wait to teach children that tantrums don’t pay (and doesn’t help them in the long term), the harder it will be to put them on a better path. Instead of dealing with tantrums, you’ll be dealing with far more destructive behaviors.
If you give a criminal who steals what he wants in the moment… he will learn to make steal regularly, and will never develop the character traits that will serve him well in the long term. You need to teach people to work and create and to accept when they can’t have everything they desire.
The longer you wait to teach thieves that theft doesn’t pay (and doesn’t help them in the long term), the harder it will be to put them on a better path. Instead of dealing with theft, you’ll be dealing with far more destructive behaviors.
If you give a hostage-taker what they want in the moment… he will learn to take more hostages, and will never develop the character traits that will serve him well in the long-term. You need to teach people to work with others and accept that they can’t have everything they desire.
The longer you wait to teach hostage-takers that hostage-taking doesn’t pay (and doesn’t help them in the long term), the harder it will be to put them on a better path. Instead of dealing with hostage-taking, you’ll be dealing with far more destructive behaviors.
Hamas and militant anti-Jewish Arab movements has made hostages out of Jews and Palestinians alike. We’ve given them what they want, time and again and so they have not developed the character traits that will serve them well in the long-term. We’ve waited far too long, not only to teach them that hostage taking doesn’t pay, but that they can’t have everything they want.
They have become increasingly destructive. Now, the cost of eradicating this behavior – and improving the character of their society – will be enormous. I pray to G-d that our hostages, and theirs, will all survive. I hope our army will find ways to rescue them.
However, if we decide to leave Hamas in place because they use our children as hostages and their own population as human shields, then they will only become more destructive and dangerous in the future. The cost of teaching them – and improving the character of their society – will only grow.
