The most difficult Years of Adolescence

Not all children grow up and mature at the same pace, therefore it is impossible to put down an exact age at which adolescence will begin with this child or that one, and when it will end.

Even when a child starts to clearly behave as a typical adolescent in crisis, it is impossible to predict when he will reach his most difficult year, and when he will get past it.

It is not surprising therefore, to see that all forms of human development go through a similar sort of crisis as the years go by; often displaying the same kind of incomprehensible adolescent-like behavior. It is one that lasts till they get over it, only to look back and be amazed at “the way we were”.

This can happen to a family or a tribe; it can happen to nations, cultures and even full blown civilizations. In fact, it can be seen to happen at this time to the new Jewish culture that's developing in the English speaking world, more precisely in America. This is where the adolescent phase of the culture the Jews have been developing for half a century is going through twists and turns as incomprehensible as those of an adolescent in crisis.

If you think of Benny Avni not only as an individual but the embodiment of that Jewish culture, you'll recognize some of the behavioral traits he displays as being those of a child exiting childhood but one that’s not an adult yet. Study his latest column which came under the title: “Obama led the world downward into chaos,” and see for yourself. It was published on September 19, 2016 in the New York Post.

Like the adolescent who believes he is the only one in the world that knows everything there is to know, Benny Avni begins the conversation with this certainty: “Obama will surely put his best spin on his legacy. But even his fans [cannot] ignore the spread of mayhem on his watch, in the Mideast and beyond.” It is obvious that Avni has not read about two world wars, those in Korea and Vietnam, the upheavals of Eastern Europe and South America, Rhodesia, Rwanda and Cambodia. And of course, there is also George W. Bush's destruction of Iraq, not to forget his father's Black Hawk fiasco in Somalia. Avni knows none of that or chooses not to know.

It would be a bad thing if Avni did not know that history and worse if he did but chose to ignore it. That's because he goes on to display something that is truly shocking. Sit down my friend, prepare to be shocked and read these words: “How fitting that as Obama speaks in New York, Iranian President Rouhani will be completing a trip to Cuba and Venezuela, before giving his own UN speech.” You cannot escape the conclusion that Avni's brain is so screwed up, it is telling him that Rouhani visiting two countries and giving a speech at the UN is worse than the millions who died in the wars, genocides and upheavals of the Twentieth Century. It is simply incredible.

But what would a brain such as Avni's want from someone like Obama? He answers that question by telling what it is that upsets him: “The Obama-Hillary Clinton 'reset' with Russia has left that nation more aggressive than 2008 ... China, too, is pushing hard in the Pacific.” It is obvious from this answer that Avni would have wanted to see a more “muscular” American foreign policy. And he gives an example of a lost opportunity in this field: “Remember when Obama said Assad must go? That policy secretly became a dead letter two years ago”.

Now that the adolescent has listed his observations, he does what a self-assured delusional kid does. He speculates as to what it all means. It is this: “Pyongyang's ally, Iran, is on the road to joining the growing club of nuclear-armed countries.” Aside from this being a speculation that's contradicted by the nuclear deal signed by Iran and the world’s representatives, Avni is upset at yet another Iran initiative.

Here is how he complains about it: “Iran wages proxy wars with rival Saudi Arabia, consolidates its Syrian and Lebanese bases, and stretches its tentacles as far as Africa and Latin America.” It seems someone forgot to tell Benny Avni that Iran is a sovereign nation that makes its own decisions. This is why – left to himself – the kid has displayed his most revealing adolescent trait. Here it is: “America shies from confronting Iran for fear it might walk away from the nuke deal”.

And just as you were prepared to leave it at that, Avni does something that tells you he is the adolescent that stopped growing, and reverting back to early childhood. He put it this way: “America toiled to strengthen global institutions but its global leadership has waned. The world is worse off, and so are we.” Of course, he believes he has a mandate to speak in the name of all humanity.