Last night was emotional. It was overwhelming. It was strengthening. It was desperate. It was thankful. And it was grieving and questioning.
Where was I? I was at an interfaith vigil/memorial for the victims of the massacre, for a simple yet complex effort to understand what has happened here in our country. Between two synagogues that I know of which served as places for the vigil, over 2,000 were crammed in to standing room only sanctuaries. All people, from all walks of life, from all ethnicities, from all religions. It was both heartening and disheartening at the same time. Why, why, did we need such a thing today, at the end of 2018? Is it not time that we put behind ourselves all this hate, this false outrage, this anger at the 'others' - whomever they might be - put aside the killing, the differences and realize that we are all the same. We bleed the same red blood. Our organs are interchangeable. Our brains work the same way. We love our children the same way. And we dream of a bright future, hope, the same way.
But somehow this message has not come through clearly to still so many benighted and yes, violent, people, those who will espouse words of hate, words of incitement and then follow through with acts of hate and violence. And sadly enough, the President of our country is one of the biggest instigators of this hatred and violence. And I am so tired of hearing about his two court Jews, Ivanka and Jared. How many times do we hear an anti Semite say that he has a best or close friend who is Jewish so how could he be an anti Semite? Simple. It has happened throughout history and will continue to do so until and unless we straighten ourselves out and we had better do so quickly. And I must say that seeing a false front Trump and an obedient Melania putting stones and for some reason a white rose on fake tombstones, in imitation of a Jewish custom - well. excuse me while I barf!!!
So over 100 Steelers, players and staff, came to the funeral of the brothers, but Trump has to do something to set the eyes of attention upon himself. Who needed him there? Who wanted him there? His presence means nothing , nothing, until and unless he totally disavows all the words and groups of hate. But that will never happen because they are so much of his base, so intertwined with his campaign, so mixed in with the weak and spineless Republicans of today that it is nigh unto impossible for him to do so if he has any hope of remaining in power.
So my cup runneth over when I stood there in that crowded sanctuary and heard over 1,000 voices raised in power, in hope, in loyalty as they sang the Star Spangled Banner. Full disclosure - I did not. I stood respectfully, understanding what this country meant to me and my family, to Jews and refugees as a whole, to all of us - but this is not my America any longer and I will not sing to it, of it, until it returns to what it is supposed to be. But the ties of the Jewish people to this country were evident in those raised voices.
And the fear and concern of the centuries, that there truly was NO home country for us, that we were never really accepted, that feeling and concern was just as evident as the Hatikvah, the national anthem of Israel, was sung with raised voices as well. For how long, for how many more centuries, are we to be the wanderers of the earth, welcomed in to build a country and then thrown out in an outburst of falsehoods and hate. And for how long, for how many more centuries will we indulge ourselves in hate, bathe in its awfulness?
And my cup runneth over with sadness when I read that 5,200 armed and trained combat soldiers, in violation of the Constitution, will be sent to the border, some already there, and then what? Use up millions of dollars? Waste equipment and training that are needed elsewhere? These are more than the soldiers than we have on the ground in Syria!!! And do not tell me they are not allowed to interact or shoot, only build and help. Help how and one knows damn well that someone will shoot and then what? Then what!!!
An atmosphere of hate with a man who aspires to become the first King of America, by term or by power. A man who wants to turn the country upside down and cancel the 14th Amendment which gives citizenship to a baby born here, or of American parents, born no matter where. There are over 30 - THIRTY - countries who follow this principle, even as that Demented One lies that we are the only ones to do so and he, with an Executive Order will annul that Amendment. Who the hell does he think he is? How dare he suggest such a thing?
So even as those 'dangerous' women and children along with some men make their way to America, the land of hope, of dreams, where the "tempest tossed" are welcomed, we here must know, must feel deep in our hearts and souls, our minds, that this must stop and stop before it is too late. Friends are divided. Families are divided. Hatred separates. A daughter tells people not to vote for her awful anti Semitic father. Parents and children hide their thoughts. How long can this ever growing divide remain in place before the nation splits asunder?
The only peaceful way is to vote and to make sure that all receive the right as is supposed to be. It is already too late for that in many places, but pay attention - and I am not the only one saying this - heed the warnings all around us, understand the demographics of hate and its limitless flow. Heed that and vote it away. Insist on that. For if not, the division will be handled another way, like it or not, willingly or not and then violence such as we have not known will be all around us. No running away then. No ignoring the truth then. So please, for the future of us all, turn away from the hatred, from the fearmongers, from the negative and vote for the America that we know and love, the America of the Statue of Liberty, the America that welcomed in our parents and grandparents, the America that will hopefully be a home for our future generations. VOTE. For all our sakes, VOTE. What will overrun your cup? The choice is yours.
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