This time of year, especially for those of the Jewish faith, encourages self examination, not of the body, but of the soul. What has been done right and what wrong, what needs to be changed, to be improved; in short, how to be a better person or the best one can be - should be.
It is also a good idea for a nation to undergo a self examination and decide whether or not it is in a good place. Surprisingly, or maybe not so surprisingly, when both individual and state examine themselves, there is a confluence, a meshing of the two souls.
We, both nation and individual, seem to have slid backwards in the area of prejudice and the open expression of it. Different is always a tad scary, be it people or experience or deed or action, but one finds that the better one knows or recognizes what is the 'different', there is less fear and more of a commonality. That is what we seem to have lost or foregone in today's America. And what is worse, is that we have allowed this differential finding to overwhelm many of us, much of the country.
Why? Why is that happening? Because we have allowed our baser instincts to overwhelm us. We have allowed feelings that are wrong to suddenly be pronounced okay. And it does not stop with one group. Those who are erred against join the errant crowd in their own behavior at times, and while understandable, it is simply not a good situation for all of us. This all needs to change. And now.
Why are we calling down the wrath of law enforcement on black candidates who are going door to door, with materials in hand?! Why? Why are we once again having a growth of vicious anti Semitism in this country? Why do we have a President who himself is a hater, a man of prejudice, a man who despises all, other than his own blood? Yes, things can rot from the bottom, but when involved with people, it often rots from the top. As in today's America where the wrong and the hateful are encouraged and are daring enough, enabled enough to come out of their filthy hidey-holes and air their nastiness, put it out there for all to see.
And the filth, the poison, flows on with this man. And the fear it brings, it causes, is always growing. And the trouble it brings about seems to never end. The climate is not changing - it has changed already and our super monsters of Nature are upon us as proof. And yet, this man and his minions seek to remove the safeguards as in allowing methane, one of the worst gases around to be more freely allowed into the air, perfect to warm the air some more! Maybe we should look forward to more flooding or perhaps we should build pipelines from more likely to be flooded areas to those states and areas where there is a yearslong drought. Just as sensible as that dumb wall!!
But have no fear, for Trump is here! He gave out several packages of hot dogs. Wow! He toured an area and then for days focused and obsessed on a yacht found in someone's yard. Who owns it? Has it been claimed? Who can get it? What is happening to it now? And his other obsession? The lake on yet another of his golf courses! The whole damn area is a lake but he wonders over and over about his own lake for he really is "fond" of it!
We have well regarded politicians calling for his removal, to "get rid of him" - strong language indeed. It is phrased in terms of voting to do that, but how have we reached this point where we have allowed this man and his crooked election to get into and remain in office? How? I think that we have neglected our souls for too long and he is the result and it is heartening to see the regeneration of a base of people, of women, of thinking and caring people, who are getting out there, running for office, helping, protesting what needs to be protested, standing up for those who cannot.
This man is now feeling dejected, rejected? Good! About time. Or actually, late, but better late than never is the old maxim and it fits here very well. We must not allow his crooked friends or associates to remain in office either and certainly not entertain the idea of more appointments of this nature, such as the bad, bad one of Kavanaugh, but watch the Republicans vote in, openly approve, of a man with a bad stain in his history, a man who has character flaws of such nature and size that he should not be allowed within any distance close to the Supreme Court.
I recently read this in a book and found it extremely apropos of this topic and time.
"Maybe all one can do is
hope to end up with
the right regrets."
Arthur Miller
Think about that when deciding upon your own self exam and prescription for the future.
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