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Holding Hope Hospital Accountable How the Western Public Was Led to Aid Islamist Terrorists in Syria

by Steven Sahiounie

On April 29 of this year, the Guardian published a ‘feel good’ story about a Syrian refugee chef in London, who is cooking to support Hope Hospital in Aleppo. The claims in the article bear scrutiny.  For example, there’s the claim that “….Hope Hospital […] has saved tens of thousands of lives in Aleppo.” Another claim is that “It is the only pediatric hospital in the Aleppo region, serving more than 250,000 people.”

From these details, the readers will come away with the impression that Hope Hospital is a worthwhile charity, which is located in Aleppo, Syria and which is the only children’s hospital in the area. However, those claims are not supported by facts.

Hope Hospital is not located in the city of Aleppo. The mainstream media covered the battles of East Aleppo for months in 2016, culminating in the December 2016 evacuation of all armed fighters and their families from East Aleppo, and the evacuation of most besieged civilians to West Aleppo, as a result of the Syrian Arab Army’s taking control of East Aleppo after it had been occupied by armed fighters for years.

Aleppo is the most populous city in Syria: during the Syrian conflict, one section was overrun by armed fighters, who occupied the area and subjugated the citizens under Radical Islam. These various armed groups were Jaysh Islam, Nouriddeen Al-Zinki, Jabhat Al-Nusra, Ahrar Al-Sham, Jibhat ansar al-din, Army of Mujahadeen, Sham Legion and Levant Front.

These armed militias were sponsored by USA, NATO, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. All of these groups had the same goal: to defeat the Syrian government and establish an Islamic State in Syria. These groups were numerous and bore different names; however, they were all basically the same type of armed fighters which would be commonly termed terrorists.

These groups did not only target Syrian government personnel, but often their target was the unarmed civilian population in Western Aleppo: their neighbors.

The Syrian government made a decision to fight the armed groups in order to liberate the civilians and to restore peace and order to the city. It was a very long and difficult military campaign, which cost the lives of hundreds of unarmed Syrian civilians and armed military personnel, as well as armed fighters. The battle culminated in December 2016, and since then peace and order of the city have been restored; however, it will take years to rebuild all the homes and buildings which were destroyed in the process of liberating the area.

The vast majority of those who had been held captive in East Aleppo by the armed groups poured out in streams of humanity during the last days of December 2016. Only a very small number of the total involved chose of their own free-will to leave Aleppo and take the offered option of going to areas under the occupation of armed groups, as opposed to remaining in the areas administered by the Syrian government. In the terms of a brokered deal, the armed fighters and their families, and others who adhered to their ideology, left in a convoy of 10 buses to their chosen destination of Idlib. Idlib is the largest area in Syria under armed opposition control. It sits on the Turkish border and receives aid and protection from Turkey as well as from a host of international charities.

Hope Hospital is located in the Syrian city of Jarabulus, which is now under the military occupation of Turkey. If you pull out a map of Aleppo and the region, you will see that Jarablous is 60 miles from Aleppo. Hope Hospital does not serve any patients in Aleppo. The article appeals for the charity of Guardian’s readers, who associate that location, i.e. Aleppo, with suffering civilians who deserve help, especially medical assistance.

In reality, when you dig through the news articles, and look at the map, you see that Jarabulus is the location of Hope Hospital, and Aleppo is a misleading name used to grab the attention and purse strings of the uninformed Western reader. Jarabulus belongs to the Aleppo province. In the 2004 census, the city had a population of 11,570. However, the Guardian’s aricle claims Hope Hospital will serve 170,000 patients. The location and numbers concerning Hope Hospital do not correspond.

Why are the charities and news articles misleading the public that Hope Hospital is in Aleppo, when it is located in Jarabulus? Why are they inflating the numbers, and using misinformation and subterfuge in appealing to the public for charitable contributions?
Jarabulus is the destination of the terrorists and their families who were in the evacuation deal in many areas in Syria. For example, the Jaysh al-Islam group with their wives, families and supporters left Douma and went to Jarabulus. They could have chosen Idlib; however, the armed groups numbering in the hundreds of thousands who already live in

Idlib hate Jaysh al- Islam and have been vocal about it, so the latter had to opt for Jarabulus or face death at the hands of their ‘brothers-in-
arms’.

The western charity market in Europe and North America would not be so inclined to send their hard-earned donations to a hospital which caters to the armed fighters, their wives and children, and supporters. Some might not mind: thinking that to save the life of a wife or child of a terrorist is worth a donation. A life is a life, in humanitarian terms. However, there is another school of thought, which says that by helping armed fighters you are playing the global role of their ‘enabler’. You are sending these groups a clear message: that no matter how brutal and savage you may be, in the end we will come to your rescue, and save your wives and children; you can count on us. There is also the accusation of child abuse: aren’t armed fighters and their wives responsible for the health and safety of their children? Some people would call it child abuse to subject children to a life of violence and destruction, especially as such a life was not thrust upon the parents but their reflects their own choice driven by a political ideology.

In reality, the city of Aleppo is now populated by about 1,602,264. Prior to the conflict, Aleppo had 112 hospital, of which 14 were state hospitals providing health care free of charge. Some the hospitals were destroyed during the conflict. Aleppo still had more than 20 hospitals which were operating during the conflict, even though the Western media and charities were telling unwitting donors that the ‘last Doctor in Aleppo’ was gone, and the ‘last Hospital in Aleppo was destroyed’. Aleppo University Hospital was never closed during the conflict. The children living in Aleppo, the city and countryside, are being well served between a network of state hospitals and state clinics, which are smaller and scattered in rural areas, and still offer free health care, especially for all the existing children’s vaccinations and routine pediatric visits.

Hope Hospital was equipped and supplied in part by “The People’s Convoy”, set up in December 2016 to transport hospital equipment and supplies from Chelsea & Westminster Hospital to Turkey; a journey covering over 2,600 miles by land, through Europe. These supplies were not sent to Syria legally, or efficiently. This was an illegal international smuggling operation, crossing borders without any passport controls or any visas. The legal route would be to load the equipment on a ship in England and off-load it in the Port of Latakia legally, as a humanitarian shipment, and then truck the shipping container to Jarabulus.

Turkey is one of the main supporters of the armed fighters in Syria. They have acted as the hosting country for international terrorists, flying them in to Turkish airports and passing through Turkey unhindered. In fact, Turkish merchants have made money off the terrorists on their way to Syria. The Turkish government officially transported weapons and supplies for use by the terrorists in Syria. The Obama administration used the Port of Iskanderun, Turkey to offload weapons and supplies stolen from the Libyan government to be given to the terrorists in Syria.

The funding behind “The People’s Convoy” was the charity “CanDo”, which was founded by Dr. Rola Hallam, who now serves as its CEO.
Robert Stuart, formerly a newspaper reporter, has been forensically investigating the apparent fabrication of the BBC Panorama documentary “Saving Syria’s Children”. A recurring character throughout Saving Syria’s Children” is Dr. Rola Hallam, a British doctor representing the charity Hand in Hand for Syria. She immediately jumped out to Robert due to the manner of her introduction — taking time out during the apparent mass casualty scenario to conduct a calm and coherent to-camera interview.”
Stuart presents evidence this footage was staged. Experts have examined the footage and declared the portrayed burns victims are actors and not victims. Dr Hallam’s claims were edited and her words changed between different versions of the video.

The Guradian’s and BBC’s ‘feel good’ stories don’t feel so good after all.  They feel like they was designed to ‘pimp’ for the support of Hope Hospital. The people of Syria have suffered 7 years of an international proxy-war against them. There will continue to be the need for charitable and humanitarian donations.  However, there are some charities which have remained connected exclusively to areas occupied by the defeated armed fighters, and in refugee camps which are not on Syrian soil. Those charities have taken sides in the war and will only help those who are committed to the Radical Islamic ideology of the various armed groups. The charities are free to choose to support their cause; however, uninformed Western donors may not share that ideology.

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vexarb
vexarb
Jun 9, 2018 10:47 AM

comment image
Syria flag heads Day of Jerusalem march in Yemen.

vexarb
vexarb
Jun 8, 2018 10:57 AM

While the MSM wastes acres of space describing an imaginary Hope Hospital, in SyrPer Mike-Florida reports on progress in the real Syria:
“Ziad also mentioned the opening of the highway between Homs and Hama. Here’s supporting info > “which just reopened after forces retook rebel-held pocket that closed the road for seven years. Motorists waved Syrian flags as they drove down the highway whose re-opening marked a victory for President Bashar al-Assad. From holding less than a fifth of Syria in 2015, Assad, with Russian and Iranian help, has recovered control of the largest chunk of the country.” (Interesting this from MSM source, with just small portion of article PTB’s narrative. Mike Florida.)
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mideast-crisis-syria-homs/syria-opens-homs-hama-highway-after-near-seven-year-closure-due-to-war-idUKKCN1J21O8

jazza
jazza
Jun 8, 2018 7:53 AM

As I remember it was Lionel (LionelNation) who claimed ‘we are the press’ – and how right he is – the guardian along with all western media never go outside the office to report on Syria or Iran or Iraq or anywhere anymore – they just make things up to suit the latest western propaganda agenda – “WE ARE THE PRESS” – LONG MAY WE REIGN!!!

vexarb
vexarb
Jun 8, 2018 5:46 AM

Cut-and-paste from Ziad Fadel’s editorial in today’s SyrPer, how to keep one step ahead of the POTUS:
“The U.S.A has been curiously mum about Dr. Assad’s expected summit with Kim Jon Un in Pyongyang ahead of the much-ballyhooed Trump event in Singapore. Kim Jong Un, the North Korean leader, is fully aware of the furious US attitude toward Dr. Assad, arising from the Syrian leader’s defeat of all NATO plots to oust him. Yet, he has shrewdly accepted Dr. Assad’s arrival to the North Korean capital a few days before his other expected meeting in Singapore, with the POTUS.
I had a short discussion with my source in Damascus the day before yesterday. While we could not speculate about the President’s thinking here, I got the impression that Moscow had a lot to do with his decision to meet up with Mr. Kim. I believe that Dr. Assad will pursue a similar line to Russian F.M. Lavrov’s warning to the young Korean Leader: “Be extremely careful” and “Don’t believe it is POTUS Trump calling the shots on this.” In other words, the “Libyan Model” announced by chicken-hawk John Bolton: the U.S. will seek Kim’s ouster at the first opportunity. In other words, don’t give up your nuclear arsenal under any circumstances ….”
[Vexarb recalls that Dr.Assad often said in interviews on TV in the West, “We do not concern ourselves over what US politicians say, we watch what they do and plan accordingly”. Wise advice from an Elder Statesman of the Middle East to the young Korean Leader].

Betrayedplanet
Betrayedplanet
Jun 7, 2018 11:35 AM

My attitude toward the MSM is that there is no longer a MSM. It is not possible for journalism to be real journalism when it is filthy mix of lies, propaganda and propping up criminal Western governments whose attitudes towards the lives of others is of no consequence whatsoever.
The reckoning will come, history if we survive which is questionable, will decimate extreme capitalism as one of the worst atrocities ever inflicted on the planet and the human race.
PS. The Guardian will fall, I hope I live to see its demise

wardropper
wardropper
Jun 9, 2018 2:11 AM
Reply to  Betrayedplanet

I fear a fallen Guardian would just be bought by another mogul, with the promise of “genuine progressiveness”, or some such facile terminology, only to end up exactly the same as it was before.
We should be looking at our post-apocalypse plans right now, because the catastrophe has already happened, and all the principal players are at their respective posts, ready to screw us all.

Robbobbobin
Robbobbobin
Jun 7, 2018 8:26 AM

Unfortunately, the passage of time has seriously undermined one of the supporting planks of this article. The author seems to assume that The Guardian is a reputable publication, when that is clearly no longer the case.

Frankly Speaking
Frankly Speaking
Jun 7, 2018 6:42 AM

MI* have done a very clever job with the London Fraudian.
It probably all started very slowly when it was relocated from Manchester many years ago. Year by year gentle influence from the Establishment.
It perceptively changed around the time of the Iraq war when they realised there were too many clever people out there and parading on the steets.
It went into full thrust for the Libyan annihilation. Then it went into overdrive for the Syrian civil war commencement.
For their sponsored Ukraine coup and the subsequent four years and counting of non stop Russophobia they went into hyperdrive.
When Viner took the helm it was no longer just about Russia and Syria but the wholescale assault on our equality and freedoms through the classic “divide and conquer” using Political Correctness and Identity Politics, giving massive column inches to her jack booted Feminasty brigade. Her opinion writers produce the daily Two Minutes Hate, albeit far more subtly and skillfully than the Daily Fail.
It continues unabated. The British middle classes and Millennial youth who had any social conscience and read the Guardian have been very well controlled. A few free thinkers and nutters such as we who frequent this site and others are just peripheral outliers.
We are the Winstons. Orwell was spot on.

vexarb
vexarb
Jun 7, 2018 7:33 AM

Frankly, true — but do not despair. Animal Farm and 1984 are also Orwell’s private nightmares — which he happened to share with History. The real world is larger than History, and brighter with laughter.
“All my life I have been trying to wake up from the nightmare of History”. — James Funagain Joyce.

Frankly Speaking
Frankly Speaking
Jun 7, 2018 12:51 PM
Reply to  vexarb

Vexarb, yes, I guess it may come across as despair, but it’s really more of an underlining where we are, that there is no more chance of the Anglo-Saxon-Nato-5 Eyes MSM becoming a fair broker, which some parts of it used to be two decades ago. It’s game over on that front.
There is no real point in us railing about it continuously, getting upset, angry, stressed. It’s as if many of us are still surprised when they churn out endless lies. No, it’s merely my own personal final acceptance of where we are. My humble opinion is that we need objective and neutral people to work even more strongly together, to contibute, to create and build up their own media, ideally cooperating so that we don’t end up like a thousand Linux distributions sharing 1% of the consumer market.
I think we need to strongly support, let’s say, a dozen alternative websites, to allow them the funding and focus to grow, each with their own different angle. I know this probably pie in the sky, and I will get voted down and condemned as being contrary to free speech, but we have to act smarter. Much smarter. There will always be blogs and independent writers, but I’m talking about making a dozen alternative mouthpieces such as this one more professional and more appealing to a wider audience so that more can hear the wise words and analysis.
We have to live in hope, and act, otherwise “imagine a boot stamping on a human face – forever.”

vexarb
vexarb
Jun 7, 2018 2:04 PM

Frankly, 100% agreed. But it will be an Herculean task, either to build up new MSM or restore credibility to the currently discredited MSM. No less than diverting the flow of Father Thames to clear out that accumulation of filth in the Westminsterean stables. A good start would be to look up “They Work for You”, and vote out every time-serving piece of biological waste product who approved the Iraq rape, the Libyan horror and the Syrian debacle.

Ross
Ross
Jun 7, 2018 5:28 PM

Hmmm…I think those you support would be undermined and infiltrated pretty quickly unfortunately.
I would like to do something but at this stage I dont know what. I think the answer might be to wake up the new generation, get them to question their parents, be cautious, keep an open mind and search for the truth. A long game. I dont think there is a quick win.

Mulga Mumblebrain
Mulga Mumblebrain
Jun 7, 2018 9:16 AM

The Zionist take-over, through financial power, is the key to the Fraudian’s hideous metamorphosis.

Antonyl
Antonyl
Jul 1, 2018 2:48 AM

Preferable over the Islamist or Chinese take over..

vexarb
vexarb
Jun 7, 2018 4:57 AM

One flight of swallows doth not a summer make — nonetheless:
European parliamentary delegation visits Aleppo
https://sana.sy/en/?p=139614comment image

vexarb
vexarb
Jun 7, 2018 4:34 AM

Meanwhile back in the real world, Dr.Assad and Pres.Putin build:
Two flights to Moscow each week from Damascus. The Syrian Arab Airlines (Syrian Air) and Cham Wings Airlines signed an agreement on exchanging tickets for flights between Damascus and Moscow.
https://sana.sy/en/?p=139620
+15
And there are green shoots this Spring, signs that even Murdoch-controlled British Sky News is poking its head out of the MSM mud:
Checkpoints line the road to Daraa [in Southern Syria] a sign of Damacus’s extension of control to the area destabilized by ISIS terrorists infiltrating from Israeli-occupied Golan heights, and Anglo-controlled Jordan ruled by King Abdullah ex Harrow-and-Sandhurst.
“It’s the city where the uprising started in 2011. Everyone Sky News spoke to in Daraa could not remember any 2011’s protests – they claim it was all fomented by outside powers – mainly Israel and the US. The uprising against President Assad was a gambit to achieve regime change and steal Syria’s money and oil.There’s no doubt the Syrian President is winning.”
https://news.sky.com/story/syrian-government-extends-control-across-the-devastated-south-11391205

Toby
Toby
Jun 7, 2018 11:08 AM
Reply to  vexarb

One of the foundation stones of my own hope for the future is human decency. It’s not even a ‘spiritual’ notion, but more of a logical derivation. It just makes no sense to me to see any animal as essentially wrong or evil. I don’t think nature works that way. So when information like the Sky News story you cite comes to light, I experience it as a tiny confirmation. There is terrible sickness out there, but its stink is so pervasive now that even the brainwashed are starting to detect it. The task those of us – who by chance reacted to it sooner – have, is to develop structures and vectors for real change as this ‘powerful’ disease start to devour itself in increasing panic.

Mulga Mumblebrain
Mulga Mumblebrain
Jun 7, 2018 10:08 PM
Reply to  Toby

Some humans are decent-perhaps even still a great majority. But a minority are not, and the worst of those are Evil incarnate. And under capitalism the Evil are in charge, hence our terminal predicament.

David Ferguson
David Ferguson
Jun 7, 2018 3:26 AM

The ‘New Guardian’ ethos:
“Oh yah I’m all in favour of radical change… only please God don’t ever let it actually happen. And if you do, then please God don’t let it impact on my upper middle-class metropolitan lifestyle. And whatever you do God, DON’T LET IT DIMINISH THE VALUE OF MY LONDON PROPERTIES!!!

Mulga Mumblebrain
Mulga Mumblebrain
Jun 7, 2018 9:17 AM
Reply to  David Ferguson

And do NOT let it threaten my Precious-Israel.

Jen
Jen
Jun 7, 2018 1:47 AM

Would you believe, Hope Hospital and its parent organisation Help Refugees receive funding from none other than George Soros’ Open Society among others!
Go to page 8 of Help Refugees’ annual financial report for 2017 and see for yourselves:
https://helprefugees.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Help-Refugees-Annual-Accounts-2017.pdf

Jen
Jen
Jun 7, 2018 12:10 AM

One insidious aspect of The Fraudian article on Imad Alarnab’s Choose Love Kitchen pop-up restaurants is the exploitation of Syrian refugees – many of whom became so precisely to escape the activities of those championed by The Fraudian – to continue funnelling money through crowdfunding and other channels to the takfiris.
Another is to appeal to foodies and customers through their stomachs and desire for more novel foreign foods, and to encourage them to feel good that by filling their tummies and satisfying their appetites for food and gastro-adventure travel, they are also contributing to a humanitarian effort.
The cynicism behind this exploitation of refugee and consumer alike, and the way the refugee and the consumer are encouraged to accept and cooperate in their own exploitation, is astounding.
Nadia Khomami should be ashamed of herself. But I suppose anyone who happily retweets regular Fraudian dimwit Luke Harding’s admiration for Arkady Babchenko’s fabrication of his murder (to incriminate a businessman being harassed by the Ukrainian Secret Service so it can seize his business assets) is beyond feeling genuine shame.

Jen
Jen
Jun 7, 2018 12:14 AM
Reply to  Jen

BTW I must say thanks to Vaska for taking the time and risking her sanity in plumbing the darkling depths of The Fraudian so the rest of us don’t have to and can stay normal.

flamingosarepink
flamingosarepink
Jun 7, 2018 12:46 AM
Reply to  Jen

Thanks Jen thanks for your contribution and hear hear for Vaska. I guess there is a special place in heaven for hero’s like Vaska where they can enjoy remedial reading therapy and champaign or tea of their desire after having been ‘required’ to read the Fraudian for their professional duties.

vexarb
vexarb
Jun 7, 2018 5:10 AM

Hear, hear for Vaska! But with a caution:
“When you gaze into the abyss remember, the gaze of the abyss is directed right back into you”.

Francis Lee
Francis Lee
Jun 7, 2018 9:00 AM
Reply to  vexarb

Don’t forget the rest of the quote:
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster.’ Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil.

Mulga Mumblebrain
Mulga Mumblebrain
Jun 7, 2018 9:20 AM
Reply to  Jen

Babchenko sounds a PERFECT fit for Harding. Apparently Babs tweeted ‘Burn! Burn! Burn!’ after the Siberian fire in which a number of children died, and also celebrated the plane crash that killed most of the Red Army Choir. ‘Western Moral Values’ at their finest.

MichaelK
MichaelK
Jun 6, 2018 7:50 PM

The Guardian is fast becoming close to unreadable in my opinion. It’s like right-wing cabal of journalists with an unhealthy links to the UK’s Security Services have taken it over, and instead of scrutiny we’re served state propaganda aimed carefully at the educated middle class, people who might, due to their roles in society at large, ’cause trouble.’ So much in the Guardian reads like parody of urban, middle class, obsessions and values. There’s way too much stuff about ‘sexuality’ and ‘identity’ and ‘equality.’ Only it’s a strange kind of ‘equality’ they concentrate on. It’s… ‘staged.’ It’s rarely linked to fundamental, structural, economic inequalities; the hard stuff. But seems ‘harmless’ and a form of virtue signaling that isn’t gonna change anything.

Harry Stotle
Harry Stotle
Jun 6, 2018 8:50 PM
Reply to  MichaelK

Its certainly true the Guardian’s coverage of Syria veers between laughable and lamentable while their vigorous promotion of anti-Russian war propaganda tells us they have little interest in balanced news reporting.
Sounds a similar situation exits in the USA – vintage Jimmy Dore post on the death rattle of journalism in the MSM

reinertorheit
reinertorheit
Jun 6, 2018 9:27 PM
Reply to  MichaelK

But the most successful articles in the Fraudian are the ones about themselves. How hard it is to be a friendless alcoholic Jewish lesbian (J Bindell) etc. No wonder the rest of their articles are dross – because they are solely interested in their own pathetic foibles.

Mulga Mumblebrain
Mulga Mumblebrain
Jun 6, 2018 11:16 PM
Reply to  MichaelK

The Fraudian is ‘liberal’ Western Evil incarnate. Every article about Russia, China, Iran, the jihadist attack on Syria etc, is a little latrine of lies, disinformation, bigotry, and moral posturing by a cabal of nasty narcissists, the worst of all the Identity Politics feminazis. And that is bad, because they have to outdo creatures like Cohen, Tisdall and Freeland, but the females’ moral arrogance while lying in the service of Ukronazi fascists, jihadist child crucifiers or the US Reich really nauseates. Not to forget the filthy campaign to destroy UK Labour with utterly fraudulent accusations of ‘antisemitism’.

Frankly Speaking
Frankly Speaking
Jun 7, 2018 7:27 AM

“little latrine of lies” ?!
Not quite, it’s a very large cess pit and connected to an open street sewer of lies flowing through and connecting our media.

Mulga Mumblebrain
Mulga Mumblebrain
Jun 7, 2018 9:22 AM

‘Every article..’, Frank. As you say, the ‘hole’ is a very large cess-pool.

Antonyl
Antonyl
Jul 1, 2018 2:52 AM

The Guardian is equally biased about the US or India: just search for Trump or Modi.

Francis Lee
Francis Lee
Jun 7, 2018 9:16 AM
Reply to  MichaelK

Agreed. I gave up reading it months ago; as you say it has become unreadable. However, if you like liberal-utopianism, double-think, and daily self-righteous bluster, this is the publication for you. What really gets me is the abject provincialism and smugness of the of the people who write for this pathetic propaganda rag. And they really think that they really are so hip and clued in. In his provocatively claimed book, ‘The Revolt of the Elites’ the late American social theorist, Christopher Lasch, describes the social/political physiognomy of the middle-class, metropolitan elites.
”But in late twentieth-century America it is not the masses so much as an emerging elite of professional and managerial types who constitute the greatest threat to democracy, according to Lasch. The new cognitive elite is made up of what Robert Reich called “symbolic analysts” — lawyers, academics, journalists, systems analysts, brokers, bankers, etc. These professionals traffic in information and manipulate words and numbers for a living. They live in an abstract world in which information and expertise are the most valuable commodities. Since the market for these assets is international, the privileged class is more concerned with the global system than with regional, national, or local communities. In fact, members of the new elite tend to be estranged from their communities and their fellow citizens. “They send their children to private schools, insure themselves against medical emergencies … and hire private security guards to protect themselves against the mounting violence against them,” Lasch writes. “In effect, they have removed themselves from the common life.”
The privileged classes, which, according to Lasch’s “expansive” definition, now make up roughly a fifth of the population, are heavily invested in the notion of social mobility. The new meritocracy has made professional advancement and the freedom to make money “the overriding goal of social policy.” Lasch charges that the fixation on opportunity and the “democratization of competence” betrays rather than exemplifies the American dream. “The reign of specialized expertise,” he writes, “is the antithesis of democracy as it was understood by those who saw this country as the ‘last, best hope of earth'”. Citizenship is grounded not in equal access to economic competition but in shared participation in a common life and a common political dialogue. The aim is not to hold out the promise of escape from the “laboring classes,” Lasch contends, but to ground the values and institutions of democracy in the inventiveness, industry, self-reliance, and self-respect of working people.
The decline of democratic discourse has come about largely at the hands of the elites, or “talking classes,” as Lasch refers to them. Intelligent debate about common concerns has been almost entirely supplanted by ideological quarrels, sour dogma, and name-calling. The growing insularity of what passes for public discourse today has been exacerbated, he says, by the loss of “third places” — beyond the home and workplace — which foster the sort of free-wheeling and spontaneous conversation among citizens on which democracy thrives. Without the civic institutions — ranging from political parties to public parks and informal meeting places — that “promote general conversation across class lines,” social classes increasingly “speak to themselves in a dialect of their own, inaccessible to outsiders.” In “The Lost Art of Argument,” Lasch laments the degradation of public discourse at the hands of a media establishment more committed to a “misguided ideal of objectivity” than to providing context and continuity — the foundation for a meaningful public debate.
In a final section titled “The Dark Night of the Soul,” Lasch examines what he considers a spiritual crisis at the heart of Western culture. This crisis is the product of an over-attachment to the secular worldview, he maintains, which has left the knowledge elite with little room for doubt and insecurity. Traditionally, institutional religion provided a home for spiritual uncertainties as well as a source of higher meaning and a repository of practical moral wisdom. The new elites, however, in their embrace of science and secularism, look upon religion with a disdain bordering on hostility. “The culture of criticism is understood to rule out religious commitments,” Lasch observes. Today, religion is “something useful for weddings and funerals but otherwise dispensable.” Bereft of a higher ethic, the knowledge classes have taken refuge in a culture of cynicism, inoculating themselves with irreverence. “The collapse of religion,” he writes, “its replacement by the remorselessly critical sensibility exemplified by psychoanalysis, and the degeneration of the ‘analytic attitude’ into an all-out assault on ideals of every kind have left our culture in a sorry state.”‘

Mulga Mumblebrain
Mulga Mumblebrain
Jun 7, 2018 10:18 PM
Reply to  Francis Lee

It’s not ‘religion’ that has collapsed among the global elite. It is morality that has been euthanised. The elite care for nothing but themselves and feeding their insatiable appetites for wealth, power and self-indulgence. Being psychopaths that hate and fear others, are driven by monstrous egomania and are utterly unscrupulous. Any time wasted on introspection, philosophical speculation, the interchange of ideas (other than how to better rip off others)etc, is anathema to them. They possess that dreadful certainty and refusal to compromise or find common ground that the worst, the stupidest and the most wretched among us assert to be signs of ‘strength’.

stevehayes13
stevehayes13
Jun 6, 2018 4:00 PM

The corporate media has consistently supported the jihadis. This has been demonstrated over and over again. Given the freely available work of independent journalists such as Eva Bartlett (https://www.rt.com/op-ed/428514-douma-civilians-chemical-hoax/), it is difficult to see how any concerned person could be unaware of the west’s support for the jihadist terrorists.

Mulga Mumblebrain
Mulga Mumblebrain
Jun 6, 2018 11:37 PM
Reply to  stevehayes13

The knowing support for the most vicious death-squad killers ever gathered together to murder, torture and terrorise, and the tsunami of lies uttered to support their Evil renders the Western fakestream sewer simply a stinking mass of little Streichers. With less charm.