TAKEAWAYS

     The time has come. The Jewish New Year is upon us. Time to take account, evaluate what was, what is, and what will - we wish - be. Those account columns do not always balance out the way we would like them to do, but that is life and what we must, every year, face up to and evaluate accordingly.
     Personally, it has been a mixed year. We have received some bad news, some categories have gone into the debit columns and others have in one way or another, surprisingly, moved at least partially into the assets column. Life is funny that way and there are times that good does come out of bad. We just have to recognize it when we see it. Hard to do at times.
     One of the hardest things this year, one of the ones I truly hate, is the fact that one cannot have free conversation any longer, even with long time friends. On the other hand, some friendships have deepened with newly recognized strong bonds that developed politically and then grew into more widely based friendships.
     Death is a topic that has come  up quite a bit this year. I am facing, I hope, with bravery and realism, the fact that my days on this earth, at least in the way I like - and need - to live, can be limited. That in itself brings the need for strong decisions, but all this can be put off for a while, one hopes. But there have been deaths among friends. Now that is hard. My generation, my friends, good people, and yet that is life, is it not. Cavalierly said, as the loss of friends is a great hole in one's life. No phone calls, no jokes and laughter with them, no deeply meshed feelings, and a dazed realization that no one is invincible, no one lives forever, and this year? Who knows other than the Lord and all we can do is pray that we have merited an easy passing when the time comes. In the meanwhile, we must plan as if we are to live forever.
     So what does that mean? It means that like it or not, we cannot turn away from the life of the country, of the world, of the people in it and in fact, of the very existence of it. One of the great things about this blog is the fact that constantly amazes me - people from all over the world read it. Today I have my first reader from Tanzania and welcome to you and to all my readers. We may live all over, be of differing genders and nationalities, our religions might differ as well, but we are all sojourners on this planet, put here to keep it a good place, to watch over it for the new generation to follow. Sadly enough, we have failed, failed badly, in that respect.
     We have taken virtues to the extreme and come full circle to faults. We have taken love and respect and limited it to a special few. We have allowed the growth of hatred, of a prejudice that should have been buried long ago. Yet all this is here. Why? Because, we have grown lazy, valued the wrong things, paid attention to minutiae of life rather than to the big things We have grown selfish and think all the good things belong to us and we will not share any longer. We grow smug as we  think how lucky we are to have had ancestors who came here earlier and that we can stand back and deny it to others. Selfish!
     Countries all over the world are having great difficulties and the lives of once prosperous citizens in thriving countries have descended into hell. We treat people trying to escape this hell as criminals, children and adults alike. We refuse to see the larger problems that have led to this and do not work together to solve it. Instead, we demand the bigger piece of the cookie for ourselves and to hell with everyone else. 
      Worst of all is the betrayal of our kids and future descendants for the world we are leaving them is just about beyond repair. Go watch the old time and the new time apocalyptic movies, read the books, and no, not zombies, and think about what we are doing. Art and life - in what order, in what causality?
     Finally, we have chosen the wrong leaders, the worst we could have done These are leaders with no moral values, who usurp the workings of government for themselves and their own selfish purposes. These leaders encourage the worst in us, bring out the worst in the world, and the very worst thing is that they have driven us to the point of accepting their behavior, of shrugging it off and then going along to imitate it,for why not?
     Yes, there are good people around, people who gather together to change the world, to make it a better and more caring place But there are too few, working with too limited resources and backup, and too little time for us to change the world and our fate. Or can we?
      So as we enter this Jewish New Year, let us hope and pray for a better one, for our personal lives and for the lives of all else and for the life of our planet. We can do it, if we but try, truly try.
     May we all have a sweet and productive year. May we look back at this year as the turning point to better things. Better lives for all.