If The Mighty Have Succumbed How Shall The Weak Emerge Unscathed
I was thinking recently of Obama's imminent deal giving Iran a chance to ultimately develop nuclear weapons and continuing what seems to be his goal of stopping America from being the world's policeman. There is, appropriately, a Talmudic aphorism for this situation that comes to mind: "If The Mighty Have Succumbed How Shall The Weak Emerge Unscathed?" Sometimes translated as "If the mighty cedars fall victim to the flame, how can the moss on the wall avoid the same fate?"(1)
That is, if the strongest nation bends its knee to evil how can weak nations prevail?
America, prior to WWII, despite the depression, was the most powerful country on Earth. But it was not the world's policeman; worse, it was an anti-policeman, ignoring Japan's incursions into Manchuria and the Pacific. As well, we ignored Germany's actions for a Greater Germany by way of the Anschluss of Austria and the Sudetenland.
The policy of not sticking our nose in other nations' business caused the deaths of tens of millions of people.
Every town needs a marshal else chaos reigns. So too our world. If America, the great Satan, were to cease to exist tomorrow, within our lifetime you would see a Caliphate rule the world.
What about Russia you ask? By 2050 there will be more Muslims than infidels living in Russia, so there will be no superpower to contain the Islamic Anschluss of the rest of the world.
As for China, there are Muslims living in every region of China. When the rest of the world has fallen to Islam, the Muslims in China will make sure China doesn't interfere until the whole world is for Allah.
ENDNOTES
(1):
השפה העברית, If The Mighty Have Succumbed How Shall The Weak Emerge Unscathed
Let me give the source of that quote; the actual words are "If the mighty are in flame, what of the hyssop?" It comes from the tractate of Moed Katan (literally: the "small festival") of the Talmud which discusses the laws of Chol Hamoed, where the sages discuss restrictions on work-related activities during the intermediate days of the holidays of Sukkos and Pesach. In one section Rabbi Ashi asks Bar Kipuk (the funeral orator): "What eulogy will you make at my funeral?" Kipuk answers (and here is a poetic translation):
What hope the lowly hyssop to survive,
When devouring flames at the cedars strive?What have the minnows of the pond to say,
When the whale has become the angler's prey?How fares it with the waters of the brook,
when the dry torrents shame the fisher's hook?
