I spoke with Darian Meacham, a philosopher based in Brussels who teaches at Maastricht University. We talked about the collapse of Western moral and political frameworks in the face of what’s happening in Gaza.
He grew up between the U.S. and Iran, and that outsider perspective shaped how he sees what’s happening now: a total failure of liberal democracies to respond to the mass killing of Palestinians. According to him, the facts aren’t in dispute. Children are being killed. Hunger is used as a weapon. European governments know this. And they accept it. No action is taken. That silence, he says, is not neutral — it’s a moral failure.
We also talked about what happens when political systems abandon responsibility. Cultural protest steps in — artists, musicians, people in the streets. Meanwhile, elected officials read out the facts in parliaments where no one listens. Institutions manage the crisis through indifference.
Students are protesting. The message is simple and repeated everywhere: “For God’s sake, do something.” It’s not about ideology. It’s about the basics of human survival.
Throughout the conversation, the underlying themes were shame, powerlessness, and anger. Shame at the normalization of mass death. Powerlessness because no one with power is acting. Anger at the systems that make it all seem reasonable. Still, there’s a growing recognition that this is not a tragic mistake — it’s a policy, and it’s supported.
Recognition doesn’t undo the damage. It doesn’t stop the killing. But it’s what’s left. And for now, it’s the only thing driving some people to keep going.
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