UNMOORED

  That is a word used to describe the current state, increasing almost daily, of the former president, Trump. Increasingly agitated, worried, he rants and raves, sends out his ridiculously capitalized harangues to various people and grows increasingly frustrated over his lack of power to stop the Jan. 6 Committee dead in its tracks. Well, Hallelujah and Amen to that. About time.

Be that as it may, there are other 'unmoorings' these days. Joe Manchin has completely lost sight of the big picture and, perhaps, in silence and the privacy of his own home, is imagining himself as the newly, self-appointed shepherd of this country. He has grown an ego that is competitive in size with that of Trump's and believes he can run and rule this country via his neither Democratic nor Republican personas. He, now, singlehandedly, is ruining, blocking, the path to salvation of this country. Personally, I believe he had better check his own moorings, for his ship that appears so well equipped for the political seas of this country can quickly develop major leaks and go down with the tide. Taking the Captain along with it? Only time will tell, but we have seen great examples these days of how people are finding themselves adrift, no power, no sails, no motors, nothing to keep them safe in a world gone frequently unmoored itself.

There is more, unfortunately, to the story of 'unmoorings' around the country. We are increasingly hearing of inane, yet dangerous, steps that should be taken to 'overcome' the inequities of the past. Apparently, these inequities can be atoned for only via new inequities visited upon others. Tit for tat philosophy, a continuation of the schoolyard behavior of people today.  Ridiculous, yet in the frenetic bizarre temperament of the world today, nothing appears out of bounds. Nothing at all.

Here is the latest one I read about. The contents of this article were absurd, yet posed, simultaneously, a substantial impediment to any further progress and, in fact, could lead to a country caught in the throes of dangerous ideas and actions. How can it be that the inequities of others, of the past need to be visited upon others? Yet that is the gist of a school newspaper on the Oberlin campus. 

 The writer suggested that too many 'Whites' were attending campus concerts, infringing on the rights of Black people to attend, even those concerts that somehow had a special 'attraction' for Black people. Not my words, folks, but there they are. The 'cure' to this 'concertgate' is thus: 'Whites" should not buy tickets or be limited in purchase. Furthermore, at these concerts or any event, if a Black person enters and takes a seat in the rear, for that is open, or wishes to sit there, that person needs to be given the seat of a White person sitting closer to the front! Apologetically proper in the act. I kid you not.

What the heck is this? A reverse "Negroes to the back of the bus" policy? These outlandish suggestions further exacerbate the situation and allow leeway for bigots to gain adherents and converts to their own perverted causes. What is the matter with us today? Have we all become unmoored from reality? Have we all lost the moorings that connect us to sanity, to positive steps, to mutual benefits? 

Are we all to apologize for the complexion of our skins and if it comes to that, well, let's get real. White. Black. Brown. Shades of these colors. Do we now institute a list of "purity' according to shading? How does that differ in any way, shape, manner or form from the philosophies of fascism? Why is it even acceptable to publish this blueprint for further flames of racism? As for me, personally, and for all Jews, there are many bigots in this world who consider Jews to be residents of the same world as the "mud people". But what about the Jews of varying ethnicities, for we come in all colors, do we not? Absurdity, yet there it is. 

I will not apologize for being born a Jew. I will not apologize for having a skin tone closer to white than another color, though actually, the only truly 'white' people are albinos! No one need apologize for being born any color, or shade. We are not 'colors' but are people, individuals, good, bad and indifferent. We need to be proud of our heritage though not discriminatory to others. Are parts of that heritage not so praiseworthy, then act accordingly. Improve on that, but do not take it out on others. Simple as that.

Remember the song "I Need a Hero"?

I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night
He's gotta be strong
And he's gotta be fast
And he's gotta be fresh from the fight

We need to be our own heroes.

We can be those heroes. But no one is a hero on the backs of others. No one. To suggest otherwise is to join the camp of the unmoored and the ignorant, the vendors of hate and chaos.

That is not who we are. That is not who we are to be. Let us all be our own heroes, setting examples of a properly moored society, of a population that is harmonious, rather than fractured, adrift on a sea of hate and blood. That blood, by the way, for the ignorant to know, is all red. Period.