HEAR OUR VOICES

     Today there is a growing feeling that we are often spitting into the wind, useless, even as it intensifies. I believe that feeling is wrong and going along with it, saying things like "it will never change" or "what can you expect" is the wrong way to go. 
     I know, believe me, I know, the temptation to give up, the feeling of frustration, of annoyance, of deep anger, when it appears that things really will not change. But that is falling into the arms of the negative people, the people who would trade off many rights as long as they feel they got something in return. That something could be nebulous and usually for the worse in the long run, but there  you have it.
     Yesterday, though, I watched a production from the Museum of Jewish Heritage, made with a long list of cosponsoring organizations and many, many members of the entertainment world contributing songs, words, readings, and inspiration. It was entitled: We Are Here. Instead of celebrating negativity, or pointing out all the sore spots of the world, it focused on Reconciliation, Resilience, and Hope. I wish I could beam it into the homes of the world, perhaps inspiring so many that need that inspiration, who need to see the connection between all the peoples of the earth. We are one. No matter the color, the beliefs, the practices, the anything. We all live, want to live, but a good life, with room for hope, with cooperating fellow members of the human race.
     Of the many points made, a most serious one was the accusation of standing by, doing nothing, as neighbors are removed forcibly from home and hearth, robbed of all they own, families destroyed, murder the accepted way of the day. Elie Wiesel warned us of the enmity to civilization of indifference, of shrugging the shoulders and thinking not me, so what the hell do I care or should I even care at all.
     The world has stood by too many times and continues to do so. We ignore the glaring fact that we are one. We are one with all those who are discriminated against, on the receiving end of hatred in too many ways to count. We forget that this prejudice hits us all  and ignoring it, to our detriment, our own peril, we separate our own selves into competing groups, forgetting the cooperation that led to advancement and progress. We let our anger win the day - or rather lose it for us.
     From the bittersweet lullabies of Jewish mothers to their children, warning them of the dangers they will face, but go to sleep now in my arms, to the songs of the Deep South as the victims of slavery sang longingly of freedom, to the Inquisition in Spanish and Portuguese territories, the brutal auto da fe, the burning at the stake of so called heretics - and the madness and greed that perpetuated this for so many years, and the arms folded, the silence of those who stood by, watched, and even cheered. The lists of "Jews Killed - 1841 in so many places, or List of Jews killed Kishinev 1941. It never stops, does it? The vicious itch from within to destroy the 'other'; to show the world that indeed, we are not the lowest for there are those beneath us, and we are one of the regular guys.
     But it all backfires as the bitter tastes of such a life overcome the sweetness. The hope? We must remember the resilience of people, their determination to survive, to resist the death sentence imposed on them and their people. We must remember the resistance of people to those who would tyrannize the world, kill all who oppose. They refuse, and even as the world crumbles around their ears, they fight on, be it in the Warsaw ghetto, in the fields of the South as slaves fled, took their chances, or in any country where people within their border are persecuted.
     And there is always hope. The partisans of the forests of Europe, hungry, poorly armed, chased from pillar to post, had hope. They shouted, with feet stamping, - We Are Here. The Rev. King spoke of his dream. The Tutsis ran in the hope of living on, despite the insane rampages of the Hutus. Yet the slaughter of one people by another continues, so what do we do? Will the resistance, the resilience, the hopes be enough?
       There were two answers, or rather two parts of the same answer. A haunting version of an ancient and pleading prayer of the Jewish nation sings to our Father in Heaven, our King. Avinu Malkenu, rendered so beautifully by singers, such as Barbra Streisand, pleads with G-d to help, to remember He is the King and the Father of us all, so please consider showing mercy and forgiveness to us even as we render our apologies, sorrows, and promises to reform, to be better children to him. Shema Kolenu - hear our voices and while doing so, we hope that G-d hears our hearts and souls as well.
      The second part? That was the phrase sung, spoken, repeated, by personality after another, by plain people, sitting in their homes, quarantining, all saying, with fervor, with hope, with a smile, with a prayer - We Are Here. The unspoken- we will always be here. Hence, the hope, the resilience, the remembrance and resistance to a continuation of the negative, the hatred, the murders, the worst, the bestial side of mankind.
     The message? We are better than we have shown so far. We have within us the capabilities to do better, to live up to our positive possibilities. We have within us the traits of the children of G-d - as long as we remember that we ALL are these children, believers or not.
     We ALL can be well, stay safe, and can make it so. It is within us. We need to have the fortitude, the inner strength to fight the evil that rears its ugly head. We need to remember that we truly are one people of the earth, the human race, with all the different paintings and colors of the One Above. Nor is it upon us to determine who is better! We Are Here, all of us. WE.