GRACEFULLY

  To be graceful is to do something, say something, in an elegant, non-jarring manner. The words or actions used are to be softer in edging, shall we say, reducing abrasiveness and opening a larger portal for further discussion and usage. To be graceful is to be able to be tactful in a tense situation, able to open discussion without holding knives behind one's back. It is to be gentle in delivering unhappy or non-welcome news.  It is to be able to age in an acceptable manner for the public to accept and therein lies a major problem for so many of us going through the aging process and keep in mind, there is only one way out, quite permanent. 

Graceful means being able to control what comes out of one's mouth. However, aging is accompanied with somewhat cranky brakes, and often what is on the mind is out the mouth before the braking takes hold. Actually, I find it quite refreshing and love using the excuse of aging and well, what can you expect? Of course, I will speak my mind; what are you going to do - fire me? Already retired. So there.

Graceful means being able to deliver opinions somewhat abrasive in content or disapproving in manner without burning down the house. Now that can be difficult, particularly when the topic or target of criticism is a touchy one and representative of what is going on out there in that great big confused and confusing world of ours. 

On a personal note, full disclosure, I enjoy that perk of aging, being able to speak plainly, openly, cutting down on some of the overlay of politeness. My time is limited, my doorway marked exit approaching rather rapidly, the days flying by, so I have no time to waste, to pussyfoot around. Perhaps that is something we need to do more often given the political and social climate we have.

Apparently, we appear to have lost that gene of graceful listening, graceful speaking, elegant conversation and the beautiful effects and results of compromise, an outcome of graceful conversation. We presently would rather scream and shout, making outrageous statements, open lies and claims, using falsehoods as a tool for election, and upon being called out, we resort to silence. Not talking. Well, isn't that a great technique! No talk means things settle, gel, harden to a point where a chisel and severe swings of a hammer are necessary to reopen a conduit. No talking, silence or shouting drowning out words of wisdom and compromise, of grace, are inherently inimical to settling differences in a graceful, productive manner.

And here we are, finding ourselves in the midst of a jarring, atonal atmosphere lacking grace. We see - we shout, we demand, we threaten. The only thing we do not is ask to speak quietly to someone, to be allowed to gently voice an opinion, perhaps reach some compromise agreeable to mostly all. But we do not go there. That territory seems to have been labeled the badlands of the day. Oh so much better to trade barbs, pull out newly legalized guns we can sling around in imitation of those gunslingers of yesteryear, and sadly, even use them.

We see, we do not like, we force out. We see, we do not like, we censor, stripping away rights of individuals, censoring and limiting access to ideas, thoughts, art and literature. (Now as a former educator I find that anathema!) We see, we do not like, we simply invent new quasilegal tactics to erase what we do not like or entangle the opposition in years of litigation. And us, the people with the white hats - we see, we do not like, we shrug shoulders and join the crowd. We too stomp on civility, deafen our ears and blind our eyes, all in the name of justice and right. All in the name of rescuing our country from those who would destroy it, in so many ways.

Here is what we are fighting against - fighting for - and perhaps it will be understood, clear, why we aging folks have so little patience anymore. We see our country being denied, twisted, perverted, as supposed leaders openly threaten to take away what is America, what is supposed to always be America. It is to deny that which made America great, not the ridiculous slogans of MAGA or "The Great American Comeback" of fascist DeSantis, who " promises to "destroy leftism in America, and "leave woke ideology" in the "dustbin of "history"

 or the further rantings of the demented way past his sell by date Trump.

" ... on day one, my new term in office, I will sign an executive order making clear to federal agencies that under the correct interpretation of the law, going forward, the future children of illegal aliens will not receive automatic U.S. citizenship,” Trump said 

“It’s things like this that bring millions of people to our country,” he added.

EXACTLY!

And here are the words of the Constitution re these thoughts.

Section 1 of the 14th Amendment states:

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

 The problem is, though, that these people are enemies of the Constitution; thus, we begin from behind, as we treasure law of the right kind, laws of justice, of thankfulness that our ancestors were allowed in to this great country of ours - legally and illegally, folks. Them's the facts! 

That is the Constitution.

That is our true battleground, the one which takes place within the soul of this troubled nation of ours. 

The battle which will determine the future - or lack thereof - for our kids, for the world.

There is only one way to combat this destruction of our nation, of the campaign to deny rights - not only of "the others" but of us - you, me, everyone. Do not try to underestimate the magnitude of the problem. Do not see yourself escaping the consequences of these plans to dismantle America. Just as together is the only way to combat these plans, these fascistic ambitions, together is the way we will all suffer, be affected by the new Amerika, a flavor of the week we definitely will not like. No one escapes hate. No one escapes injustice. Not when it is the immoral but legal laws of the land.

Together is the only way to prevent this from happening. Time is running out. Graceful is a concept growing dimmer by the second. There is no graceful left under repression.

Together we can resist and combat these plans and save our country. 

 Save ourselves. Save our loved ones.

All this can be ours if, and only if we work together. The synergy of togetherness is of great value. Togetherness means recognition of a common core of humanity, all deserving of equal rights, treatment and expectation. To be safe. A better world for all. 

Together. Together. Together.

Only together.

Together.

Together - Together we can achieve it all. 

Together we can

HEAL THE WORLD.

HEAL YITZY!

Yitzchak Elimelech ben Chana Sarah

May he be granted refuah shelaymah bimheyrah beyameinu. 

May he be granted a timely and complete healing.

May Hashem hear all our voices raised in prayer. 

Amen. Amen.

BATHWATER AND BABIES

  We all have been, at one time or another, the target or deliverer of said statement, regarding throwing out the baby along with the bathwater. Simple message - be careful what you discard along the road of life as one can easily throw away that which is good along with the rot that has crept in. Unfortunately, we have lost the impetus of that maxim and in the name of 'philosophies' we have tossed out the good rather than separating and saving it for future use.

The term "woke" has now been 'gifted' with a new meaning. Apparently, for those who oppose it, it means an unfair rebalancing of society, with the results unfair to many. Are these accusations true? Possibly, probably, at times as in correcting we often go too far the other way, before we find a good balance and approach the middle. That is called compromise - another word that has apparently gone out of favor among the extreme viewpoints of extremists and those who follow their troubled way of thinking.

I wake up, with G-d's permission, every morning. I wake up to minor and major concerns, personal and otherwise, concerned about the inequities of society, the returning ugliness which never seems to disappear. I am apparently, 'woke' up about certain things or concepts which bother others who then fight back against these ideas, discarding the good along with that which is not. 

I believe in conservation - saving, treasuring, keeping, living, learning from that which has been, and progressiveness, that which encourages us, impels us, to seek to improve, to be better, always. To keep the used bathwater which has refreshed and cleansed our baby, our society, and use it for another purpose. That is called 'gray water' and in times of drought, a good way to insure proper use and careful evaluation.

Like it or not, humanity has always displayed an unjust attitude or behavior or both. When enough people 'wake' up to the issue and have time and resources to devote to repairing that defect, society moves on and up. At times, in that state of fluctuation, changes in outlooks, there are those who go too far, too fast, and instead of harmony, we often hear atonal harsh tones which interfere with the pleasing music. The trick is to retain the pleasing sounds of harmonic music and discard the harsh unpleasantness which abuses our ears.

It is not easy to change oneself, let alone society. Habits, the favoring of one type of music over another, or the refusal to allow any change in the sounds of preferential music, or the imposition of one music upon and into the ears of others - all can lead to trouble. The orchestra dissolves, losing its role as a unifier, as its conductors lose control of their batons and wands. Ears ringing, headaches pounding away we throw out the bathwater of that disharmonic orchestra, carelessly, thoughtlessly discarding the sweet sounds of the baby as well. 

As a woman, I have seen discrimination in the workplace, be it in having to talk over those who would not hear you, or receive less remuneration than a male equivalent. As a Jew, well, simply read the report of the huge increase in violent hate crimes here and round the world. Open ugly demonization of Jews, along with the strong trend to minimize and downplay antisemitism, refusal to recognize its difference from other biases.  As a person who favors equality, I am at times offended by some paths society has chosen in attempts to right the wrong, creating an ugliness which should not be there. And there goes the baby with the used water.

Our presumed leaders and those who would be leaders if given their way, are not good at their jobs. There are no great, inspirational leaders today. Big mouths, vitriolic spewers of discord, shout, defame, and appeal to the basest of human feelings and motivations. There is such violence, such loud jagged music that there is no longer much, if any, pretense to save that baby. We simply are discarding all that the term America implies.

More and more of the seekers of high and higher office are buying into this ugliness. Venom is the taste of the day, crime and rampant untruthful, openly selfish, biased judges and politicians have escaped the asylum and have wrought havoc. Unease rules the land. 'Anti-Wokers' are already changing curriculums, interfering with teaching, to the point of rewriting history, downplaying, even denying that which displeases them.

 Slavery was, is, awful. Period. It existed, and White and Black people, tribes in Africa, made profits from it. Prejudice has existed here since time immemorial, along with the opportunity to advance, defeat that prejudice and improve society concurrently. There has also been prejudice re any large groups of immigrants, especially those with different customs, strange names, different looks. The Holocaust is real. It happened and no amount of denial will change that ugly fact.

 It is imperative to educate our kids as to the evil of such hate, on whatever base - any fallacy of hate such as racial, religious, gender, lifestyle, ethnicity, skin color.  Not to do so only leads to a society bereft of any future, certainly any fair, encouraging society which treasures all within. And welcomes those who would help build it, reinforce it, enrich it. Inclusion rather than exclusion.

Is this being "woke"? Is this wrong? Not if we follow the threads of thought and actions today, the growth and increase of those who would see us different, living in a gray world, the baby discarded, and the bathwater kept.

That is why I rail against those of the same ilk as DeSantis who has set himself up as the next political Messiah. So not!! So dangerous. Finally, there are those who have the insight and the courage to speak it aloud. The likes of Trump were awful enough; DeSantis is worse. Here are the words of a GOP member, once a Representative from Florida, quickly becoming the parent state for fascist America.

Ron DeSantis I believe actually in his ethos, is a cultural warrior who wants to take us back 100 years and believes he can use the Constitution to that, to that end, and ultimately has a very dark vision of what America will be. ... a very dark figure on the political landscape, far more dangerous ..."

It will take strength to resist the surface appeal of this false music. It will take a desire and strength to see clearly through the obfuscation, the lies. It will take care, and strength to ensure libraries, schools, universities, ideas, find fertile ground and freedom to think as one wishes.

All within the bounds of safety of all.  Advocating, instigating, exhorting, to violence and hate are to be illegal and prosecuted. Safe, nonviolent transfer of power via proper, safe, elections to be the rule of the day. Treason, attempts to overthrow the legitimate government shall be prosecuted.

All this can be ours if, and only if we work together. The synergy of togetherness is of great value. Togetherness means recognition of a common core of humanity, all deserving of equal rights, treatment and expectation. To be safe. A better world for all. 

Woke? Maybe. Should be. Together the goals can be achieved. Together. 

Together. Together. Together.

Only together.

Together.

Together - Together we can achieve it all. 

Together we can

HEAL THE WORLD.

HEAL YITZY!

Yitzchak Elimelech ben Chana Sarah

May he be granted refuah shelaymah bimheyrah beyameinu. 

May he be granted a timely and complete healing.

May Hashem hear all our voices raised in prayer. 

Amen. Amen.

WHAT?

 Every morning, usually very early morning, I sit down to peruse the events of the day, read articles, and await inspiration. What to write? On what to concentrate? Local, national, international? Personal or neutral? Or simply go with the flow, whatever the fingers type - so be it. Will people read it, think about it? Will I hear again that I need to cut the length or tone down words of more than one syllable? I truly resent that suggestion for it insinuates that most readers are intellectually challenged, a pretty nasty assumption.

However, come to think about it, perhaps there has been a deterioration in audiences round the world as listening to serious discussions and presentations has lost its appeal. People seem to prefer buying into the mass approach - chant along with a catchy slogan and you are willy nilly anonymous. Your individual responsibility in consequences, such as violence or instigation appears to be negated, subsumed into the persona of the "mob".

 That is a most dangerous turn of events, for page through a history book and you can see the mob philosophy at work - not pretty at all. Huge, unthinking, individuals morphing into that amorphous blob, chanting, walking, excited, unthinking, acting - and then regretting, quite often. But the harm is done. Not so easily undone.

Are there crowds, mass protests that can be good? Of course, but the original prompting motivation must be a good one, preferably pure, unselfish, and not to be used by those who would take advantage of it to parlay it into a support system for themselves. For an example of that, check out Marc Antony's speech at the funeral of Julius Caesar. One of the most powerful and successful exhortations of a crowd as it transformed into an unthinking, mob chanting, go with the flow emotionally driven and impelled.

We unfortunately have too much of the mob behavior these days, challenging our democracy, making a bad, dangerous joke of the thinking power and rationality of ordinary people. Supposed leaders appeal to the basest emotions, the basest, most challenged people, even convincing those who know better, yet go along with it. It is difficult to resist or oppose groups of people, as people become frightened or give in to the urge to subsume their individuality into that of the mob, being one of many, eliminating personal responsibility. Even as they buy into a philosophy which they would ordinarily abhor and avoid.

What can be said then re this mob philosophy? First, avoid that shift from crowd into mob. Maintain your standards, your beliefs, argue against perversive behavior. Avoid the mesmerizing chant of the unthinking, unhinging mob. Know what you are about, what the protest is about, what the issue is, and more, most important, what it is not. Mob behavior of shouting and jeering can be tempting, momentarily emotionally cathartic, but leads nowhere other than no good.

Unfortunately, in today's world of mass media availability, its use as mob instigators is powerful, as the mobs can be aimed at individuals, even as they form a media mob in philosophy. Mass thinking grows. Mob behavior grows. Those interviewed vie with their words to speak strongly, buy into that mob, to be part of a movement, to belong. All the misinformation, the dissemination of disinformation, is bought into, enhancing that comfortable feeling of being part of something, a sense of togetherness that quiets the unease, the uncertainty of what is happening. 

People buy into and support, believe in that which they previously opposed, stomp on former standards. Alleged and indicted, convicted leaders are supported, their malignancy paved over, sent into the Nacht und Nebel, the dangerous, frightening fascist night and fog. Suddenly the mob is gone, the individuals are arrested, and what once was a democracy, a generally caring, progressive democracy, joins the world of pitiful, broken, nations whose populations are oppressed, left to shift for themselves, deprived, bereft of hope.

The mob consisting of those deluded, caught up in the emotions of the moment, subsumed into the mob persona is not a good unity. It is a false unity cruelly used by those who would see themselves as the controlling elite. It is not a togetherness, but rather a massing, unthinking nonbeneficial and certainly most often harmful political tactic.

The togetherness we need, desperately, is a good one, with powerful, positive, caring, unselfish motivation at its core. Those characteristics are applicable on every level of togetherness as it should be. It is a togetherness which benefits individuals and groups. It seeks to aid, to bring about positive change. It brings a Brittney Griner home and continued efforts to redeem and repatriate our other political prisoners in Russia and elsewhere. It is a togetherness which opposes mobs and the harm they intend and/or achieve.

This is the 'what' I write of today. Always.

Only when, only if, we unite and acknowledge the truth of the matter, that it is up to us to defend our country, to keep it out of the hands of those who would destroy it, only then can we anticipate a victory. 

Only if we do it together- all Americans. All defenders of democracy, and equality, in human rights, of justice. 

Together. Then.

 Look what we have done. Together. Always.

 The drum beat of together.

Together. Together. Together.

Only together.

Together.

Together - Together we can achieve it all. 

Together we can

HEAL THE WORLD.

HEAL YITZY!

Yitzchak Elimelech ben Chana Sarah

May he be granted refuah shelaymah bimheyrah beyameinu. 

May he be granted a timely and complete healing.

May Hashem hear all our voices raised in prayer. 

Amen. Amen.

DEAR OLD FRIEND

 This posting is addressed to old friends, new friends, acquaintances, and even 'enemies' who either disagree with my opinions or resent the freedom with which I express them, or simply for any and all who do me the honor of reading my postings. These blogs or opinion pieces are mine and reflect on no one else. They are mine to write because, at least as of yet, we have the freedom to write freely, to disagree, to state why, to annoy those who are opposed and to satisfy those who agree with or are sympatico with them.

We are not free, however, to write words encouraging, instigating violence. While I am desperately afraid about the growth of White Power and indeed, the hate emanating from the extreme left, I am not free to advocate violence against them. However, when they imbibe of an empowering and intoxicating tactic of hate words, of hate violence, well, then they cross the line and are or should be subject to laws of consequence. Yes, the fire and crowded theater event is tired and trite today, but the analogy continues to work. Loudly shouting fire and even lighting one by their behavior and rhetoric, it has finally been acknowledged openly, via court, that those who participated in or planned or did anything at all to  force, violently, via insurrection and planned mayhem and violence, to the point of a successful rollback of the 2020 election, is and always will be guilty of sedition, conspiracy to overthrow the legal government of this nation, elected freely, and need to be thought of as traitors. Our own modern day Benedict Arnolds, homegrown Quislings. J6 was attempted rebellion. Period.

So yes, I will write loud and strong re these inherent dangers to our nation, and to me personally, as a woman, as a Jew, as an American, as a humanist who believes, difficult as it is right now, that yes, there are those who are good at heart, those, inspired by the writing of Anne Frank, who will "light a small fire in a dark room". 

I wish the fire I would light have the power to awaken the darkened souls of so many who refuse to see the truth, who make up stories and excuses for behavior which they would not tolerate from their own children. Who follow those who would extinguish the lights already lit. Cancel all humanistic advances, return to days of old with gun toting justice and evil canards which refused to die. Too many of the world live this way already or are resisting the imposition of it upon their nation. Resisting those who would smother the fires of humanity and would banish all goodness, all shared similarities from the face of this earth. 

That is called fascism, whatever name is thrown at it as a coverup. The behavior and strategy is the same. Shout loud and violently, point out defects in the present structure, promise better lives, appeal to the baser elements within us all, within society, use technology to enhance the lies, use AI to create false, oh so realistic images and videos, swear lies to the heavens, convince all that G-d is on your side, that only your religion, a perverted twisted Christian nationalism, should be the religion of the land and part and parcel of the educational system of the country. 

Now begin the process. Gain power via the system. Grow that power. Enact laws that restrict the rights of all, demean women, create old outlier criminalized segments of society, repeat  Stonewall behavior and events. Censor books, all forms of media. Criminalize protests. Pass laws via emasculated legislatures cancelling constitutional rights. Then, move on from the required registration of all writers, ban them, their books, articles, all such 'nefarious' words of protest and humanity, and then move on. Gather those who would delight in the roles and positions of power over others, delight in rolling in the mud of a perverted fallen humanity, become the new concentration camp guards, the new SS, the new Gestapo. Then, advance from burning books to burning people. 

Ban books. Burn books. 

 The rest is history.

Unfortunately, all that I have been so worried about, eating away at my feeling at home, welcomed in America, is coming true, emerging from the obfuscating darkness, growing that darkness of soul and body. Unfortunately, most of the perpetrators and instigators and growers of this awfulness, come from the once upon a time GOP. Oh, they use the name but the contents are definitely not the same. All moderates have flown the coop, voluntarily or forced out. The present GOP vie to outdo others in vitriolic, false, violent language. The apparent leaders are paradigms of insanity and megalomania, of repressors of a free society, be it a demented Trump or a very dangerous DeSantis. Greene, Boebert,  Jordan,  Josh Hawley, Matt Gaetz, Scalise, a criminal arrogant partisan Supreme Court, the list is almost endless. How - why - are they part of the structure of this nation when in normal times they would be receiving aid for mental disease or imprisoned, and we would find and follow true leaders. No, the Democratic Party is not immune to narcissistic haters. Witness Bowman, Tlaib, Omar, Presley, but they are so much fewer in number and are still considered outliers in the Party rather than the very heart and soul of it, contrary to the situation within the GOP.

Do I automatically hate all GOP or Republican advocates. NO, of course not. Do I know that some people like them - Yes. The real question is why? Why have they not followed the threads of their proposals. Why have they not seen the similarities of the present to a dangerous past. Why. Why. Why.

The weather warns us that there are dangerous storms rolling through the nation. As in Nature so goes the World of Man. We had better be aware and prepared to live through those storms.  Only by working together, to understand the danger, and the power of the united to combat that shared peril can we rescue ourselves. It is not the time to take a step back.  The danger is eminently clear, poised on the brink of a horrified realty. 

In the meanwhile, please continue the beautiful unity of praying for, pulling for Yitzy. There has been good news from the doctors re progress fighting that tumor. He even went cherry picking one off day. So, please,  all who pray for him - Jew, Christian, Moslem, Hindu, atheist or agnostic, Christian or Pagan - I could care less. Only the good wishes count. Only the unity counts. As it should be.

Old friend, I hope we are still friends.

Only when, only if, we unite and acknowledge the truth of the matter, that it is up to us to defend our country, to keep it out of the hands of those who would destroy it, only then can we anticipate a victory. 

Only if we do it together- all Americans. All defenders of democracy, and equality, in human rights, of justice. 

Together. Then.

 Look what we have done. Together. Always.

 The drum beat of together.

Together. Together. Together.

Only together.

Together.

Together - Together we can achieve it all. 

Together we can

HEAL THE WORLD.

HEAL YITZY!

Yitzchak Elimelech ben Chana Sarah

May he be granted refuah shelaymah bimheyrah beyameinu. 

May he be granted a timely and complete healing.

May Hashem hear all our voices raised in prayer. 

Amen. Amen.

SO WHAT IS THE ANSWER - OR IS THERE NONE?

  We all do things that we ought not to have done and then there is a telling dichotomy. There are those who take responsibility and display either pride or shame and those who refuse to admit wrongdoing, dredging up every excuse under the sun and then some. Some of the excuses are worthy of a Tony while others astound delivered with outright lies or bizarre reasoning and justification, having no connection to morality or actuality. 

First up-anger. A great one. The guy who actively engaged in the violent coup attempt says, "I was angry." Then claims he actually did nothing wrong. Uh huh. And the earth is flat. Oh, whoops, sorry 'bout that, folks, but approximately 1/3 of the population of Lake Worth, Fl. believe the earth truly is flat - as flat as their brain waves are!

But what else can one expect of so many who live here in the state which will have the rather dubious distinction of being the first official Fascist state in America and is presently well on its way to attaining that singular achievement, followed closely behind by other benighted Southern states along with the traditional Western states who provide lovely homes for the extremist White Power groups. Ah, the glory of America.

So what are the benchmarks of a good old boy fascist American state? Well, DeSantis provides an excellent roadmap.

- Banning abortions after six weeks - when most women do not even know they are pregnant. But then again why believe in any brain power of women.

-Making no exceptions in any realistic manner for rape, incest, danger to mother, unviable fetus.

-"Don't Say Gay" bill and attitudes more related to the Middle Ages and the great unwashed intellectually challenged as to reality and humanity. Making Florida extremely hostile to any and all LGBTQ+ issues, dehumanizing them, such a necessary and proud step for a blossoming fascist. 

-Dehumanizing groups of people, a great distraction tool used so well by Fascist wannbes.

-Censorship Such an excellent tool employed by those favoring complete control over all. First, we ban books, ripping them from library shelves and stores and then burn them and well, according to well-traveled ruts in the history of mankind, we then progress or retrogress to burning people. Been there, have done that - so why return there!!

-Death penalty 'reform'?

-Increasing adherence to statements and policies of "Christian Nationalism" 

- ah, the glory and privilege of maps - as the beat goes on.

The Navy uses the term "loss of confidence" when it dismisses officers and enlisted from a position of leadership or responsibility. It " will hold leaders accountable when those standards are not met,”                                 Why then can we not do the same with our present leaders who are egregiously so not actually the leaders we need, or is it that they are the leaders we deserve? Quite probably yes through our enabling of  a grossly incompetent, delusion riddled biased, retrograde cadre of false leaders who delighted in leading the country to perdition. Via action or inaction - of no import, for the outcome is the same. Much to our detriment - (and my regret).

In fact, the whole world has taken a wrong turn back to the past for a grimly foreseen future. It is a world which allows a long-time antisemite, Roger Waters, of Pink Floyd, to blatantly, brazenly, advance his ugly sentiment by wearing a Nazi uniform in Berlin in his concert, by equating Anne Frank to a journalist shot doing her job, a sadly not unusual fate for journalists who place themselves in positions of danger in performing their perceived jobs.

 The lack of shame, the brazenness of antisemites, the insidious bias seen throughout the layers of world societies bode no good for anyone and everyone. This negativity of humanity has arisen because we forgot that together, as one, is the only way we can fight these purveyors of hate, of war and violence, of an indifference to bloodshed and cruelty. Perhaps even a predilection to the spilling of blood as a positive sign. Certainly, too many have regrettably bought into this school of thought and deed. Furthermore, much to our shame, religion has been of no help here; in fact, has often, too often, come down on the side of retrogression, of hate, of a return to a time when religion ruled the world, and torture and repression reigned supreme - along with desperate fear.

Only together can we defeat the nefarious forces which bode no good for advanced, humanistic societies, for a world working together, harnessing together, the brainpower of the people, their capabilities, to fix this damaged world of ours. In fact, it is a mandate from Above to 'repair the world'. 

Sadly, we have not done so.

Let us rethink our current plight and find the way home. Together. The only way. United in our dreams and goals. Tina Turner gave it a push - a woman who rescued herself from the deepest depths of despair - reminding us that "Simply the Best" is what we must be, must aspire to - and we can do it - together.

Only when, only if, we unite and acknowledge the truth of the matter, that it is up to us to defend our country, to keep it out of the hands of those who would destroy it, only then can we anticipate a victory. 

Only if we do it together- all Americans. All defenders of democracy, and equality, in human rights, of justice. 

Together. Then.

 Look what we have done. Together. Always.

 The drum beat of together.

Together. Together. Together.

Only together.

Together.

Together - Together we can achieve it all. 

Together we can

HEAL THE WORLD.

HEAL YITZY!

Yitzchak Elimelech ben Chana Sarah

May he be granted refuah shelaymah bimheyrah beyameinu. 

May he be granted a timely and complete healing.

May Hashem hear all our voices raised in prayer. 

Amen. Amen.

Please note that due to a holiday there will be no post tomorrow morning, I will return on Sunday. Please take the time to read bloggings you might have missed.

Be safe.

JUST LOOK - IT IS RIGHT THERE

  All we need do is look and see it clearly. Peer through the fog. Look deep into the words of hate, of anger and there you will find the hidden truth. Seek. Find. Trust. But soon. There is only a limited time for the truth to surface, to beat back and defeat the efforts of those who would deny our country, who would cancel all that displeases them, all that remains of our battered democracy. 

What is frightening is the clear devolvement of that coin of two sides, with each side beginning to echo and mirror each other. Both sides are spouting anathema, and will eventually reach the same ugly point. The coin will melt and meld itself into a new, ugly one-sided coin - that of dictatorship, call it what you will. Truth is as truth does.

Where is the hope, the breath of fresh air that sustains us and will hopefully continue to do so until such time as we wake up and smell the disaster awaiting us, staring at us, drooling all the while at its anticipated victory. It is within if we truly seek it. It is within if we remember that opinions can change, friendship and trust can be restored, and the best of us can reemerge and shine in the sunlight.

Here is one place of hope. Brittney Griner played ball. Not a fantastic, unusual event, correct? Wrong. She played the first professional game since 2021. Her 'vacation'? False impressment into the Russian prison system, used as a pawn in a political game of chess, left hopeless and bereft of all she had known, all she loved. And now she is back, exclaimed joyously by Brittney as she shouted "I'm back!" after a three pointer and an emotional half game hugging with the opponents. But only on the court, as the entire league of athletes fought hard for her freedom. Me too. The little I was able to do to keep her alive in and on my blog, to wear her shirt, well, I am proud of that.

There she stood proud and tall at the singing of the national anthem, a manifestation of the truth hidden, the truth that can be uncovered and resuscitated. "One of the good things about this country is you have the right to protest. You have the right to speech, to be able to speak, to be able to speak out, question challenge and do all those things. And you know what I went through, and everything just means a little bit more to me now."

Yes, America continues to shine despite all the efforts to infuse her very soul with the rusting and destructive qualities of hatred and denial of rights. Kamala Harris, spoke to the players and reminded them of the inspiration of Brittney. I can only second the motion and hope that this new fresh appreciation of our country does some good thing to us, for us, for America. I was at that game in spirit- as we all should have been.

The other event which stuck a positive note appears to be minor, but it is not. Every time I watched "American Tail" I wondered where the Jew went. This was a Jewish family escaping the horrid world of the Pale of Settlement in Russia, seeking freedom and air and room for hope. This truth of the Jewish world became hidden under a neutering of the "Jew" ingredient and became a portrait of all the immigrant groups who ventured bravely on a trek into hope and a better world. 

All well and good, and you would be right. However, this is the usual minimization of the woes of the Jewish people seemingly forever. It is the lumping together of the Holocaust with other dreadful moments of horror, but so not the same. It is the clumping together of bias whereas the bias of Jewish hatred has gone on for so long and has resurfaced in our nation, viciously, homicidal, and ever growing. Deborah Lipstadt, the ambassador to the world to combat and monitor antisemitism, states that yes, it is world wide but now, now she must pay serious attention to the domestic antisemites. 

An American Tail is revived in a theater with all the Jewish overtones and acknowledgements - and along with it goes the experiences of all the "poor huddled masses yearning to breathe free". We can salute, acknowledge and grow faster, better, achieve more with honesty. The sooner we know that deep in our souls, the sooner we can improve our country, defeat the purveyors of hatred and violence. Prove to the world that the Lady of the Harbor indeed remains strong and proud and stands for, behind, and upfront re the words carved into her and her lamp remains high and bright, a light unto the world of democracy, justice, and caring.

Only when, only if, we unite and acknowledge the truth of the matter, that it is up to us to defend our country, to keep it out of the hands of those who would destroy it, only then can we anticipate a victory. 

Only if we do it together- all Americans. All defenders of democracy, and equality, in human rights, of justice. 

Together. Then.

 Look what we have done. Together. Always.

 The drum beat of together.

Together. Together. Together.

Only together.

Together.

Together - Together we can achieve it all. 

Together we can

HEAL THE WORLD.

HEAL YITZY!

Yitzchak Elimelech ben Chana Sarah

May he be granted refuah shelaymah bimheyrah beyameinu. 

May he be granted a timely and complete healing.

May Hashem hear all our voices raised in prayer. 

Amen. Amen.

RUN RUN RUN

 Run to finish packing.

Run to catch a plane.

Run to catch another plane in the most annoying Atlanta airport.

Run to meet the luggage and send up a last minute prayer that all arrived safely.

Run to wait for pickup.

Run to fall into bed at least for a  while - and then - unpacking.

And then, all over again the other way - but a treat in between - time spent with daughter and granddaughter.

No time today to write a piece but check back for sure late in the day and certainly tomorrow morning.

Have a great day, folks, and do not run too much.

And remember, always, always, pray for the good of those who need those prayers.

Pray for my Yitzy, valiantly, and hopefully successfully battling a nasty cancer.

Pray for the world - and do something nice for someone today.

And now - gotta' run!!

BEAUTIFUL SUICIDES AND BISON SKULLS

I have just finished reading and perusing fifty iconic pictures and commentary and have found it amazing as to subject matter included and those not. Why is a picture of three idiots doing dangerous acrobatics on top of the Empire State Building more iconic than a picture of piles of skeletal bodies of once "living" Jewish victims of Nazi oppression and persecution? Why is the inhumanity of man considered of lesser concern and import than a picture of a woman's landing on a car, body intact, after a jump from the same Empire State Building? As we look back, we also see forward, 'see' an eerie foretelling of a future time when so many will also jump from a major building, out of desperation, from burning floors of the Twin Towers. Beautiful it was not.

It amazes me at the truth of an unfortunate statement by Hannah Arendt as she witnessed and reported on the trial of Eichmann, a war criminal, an oh so efficient oiled wheel of the Final Solution anticipated, planned and ruthlessly carried out by Nazi Germany. Abetted and enabled by active collaborators of occupied lands and the silence of standbyers of the world who said nothing, did nothing to stop the brutal inhumane slaughter, and cared even less. Evil is not banal.

We gape at an enormous triangular carefully built pile of bison skulls prior to being crushed into fertilizer. Interesting, but really, did no one at the time understand the implications of the photo? Behind that enormous slaughter of the bison which once roamed the Great Plains of America, providing for so much of the lives of Native Americans and the early settlers who learned from them, hides a policy of early 'gentrification' at its worst, another foretelling of a future planned and way too successful extermination program? Nothing comes from nothing. Evil has too often been early forerunners of most egregious future violations of a code of humanity more honored in the breech than in the keep.

It seems that we never learn from our errors, from our callous and/or foolish plunges into actions that had been better not taken. We do not follow the threads of our behavior and thoughts, follow them to inevitable conclusions and permanent harm, treasuring the temporary now for the permanent ominous future. We refuse to accept the wisdom, hard earned, of the past and incorporate it into our present and future behavior. In short, we fulfill the prescient comment of a major character of Shakespeare, who states, "Lord, what fools these mortals be." From then, till now, nothing really has changed, at all, other than to multiply the toxic effects tenfold and more.

Read the following and follow the threads. Some have played out, others lead unfortunately healthy threads, whilst we entangle and enmesh too many other harmful threads into our home knit garments.

Around six million Polish citizens perished during World War II. Only half of them were Jewish.

" ...  recorded standing on a ledge in front of a broken window on the U.S. Capitol Building’s West Terrace, adorned in a Louis Vuitton sweater and Chanel boots. “We the people are not going to take it anymore. You are not going to take away our Trumpy Bear!” (Dangnabbit! why not?!)

“It’s in the air, it’s everywhere, it’s amazing,” ... “It’s between neighbors, it’s when you go to restaurants, when you go to schools. You’re on one side or the other, and people know it.” (So sad, so true.)

'In its application, the program states that the purpose of the program is "to prepare students of color and Native Americans for graduate school."               (Two wrongs do not make it right.) One would think that if a student had reached that level, they need no more specialized focused attention and aid.

“I had never before seen a whole stadium being racist,"  ( And someone did not pay attention in history class.)

" ... offers a disturbing contrast with the narration — a busy school that served as a torture center, a cozy apartment where a Jewish family was discovered and sent to a camp, people ice-skating on frozen canals where the bodies of those who died in hiding were dumped and  many committed suicide.:

" ...  sometimes it’s interesting to see past and present colliding.”
(Interesting? Interesting choice of word.'

" ... we will rain down our precision missiles and all the weapons at our disposal," senior Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine said ...

Does it ever end.

How does one combat this willful blindness to the truth, to the lessons of history.

Why do we continue apace, even outdo ourselves, as we buy wholeheartedly into the errors of the past, the hatreds which consume humanity in a never-ending flood of brutality and bloodshed, the very air we breathe burning us rather than providing us with needed oxygen?

Why do we persist in walking the paths of loneliness, of solitude and distrust? 

Why do we continue to value the deleterious influence of sick, but powerful individuals rather than unite, join together, create, together, a better world?

Again, for always, until we can say lesson learned.

 Look what we have done. Together. Always.

 The drum beat of together.

Together. Together. Together.

Only together.

Together.

Together - Together we can achieve it all. 

Together we can

HEAL THE WORLD.

HEAL YITZY!

Yitzchak Elimelech ben Chana Sarah

May he be granted refuah shelaymah bimheyrah beyameinu. 

May he be granted a timely and complete healing.

May Hashem hear all our voices raised in prayer. 

Amen. Amen.

TRULY. IT AIN'T SO SIMPLE

 I forget exactly who it was who stated that "the truth is simple." It is so not so. Truth, for many, to many, seems almost impossible to understand or accept, creating their own versions of truths which are egregious lies. Worst of all, is that these lies, many outrageous, are fed to those who buy into them. Do this often enough and we get what we have got right now: a split, shuddering, wracked society whose cracks within threaten its continued existence. 

These cracks are like the potholes in our road. Crowds of workers stand around doing nothing, just staring, finally doing some imitation of repaving, and we continue to stand and watch as once again, the pothole emerges, bigger than ever. When we throw in the towel re repaving, we walk away from the possibilities of that road, its destinations available to the traveler, and we close off yet more options for reform, more chances to do the right thing and yet another attempt to out the truth.

Along with perverted truths and truth denial comes hypocrisy. We can say one thing and do the polar opposite. As long as the false words spew forth, people buy into them and the lies and hypocrisy take on self generating lives for themselves. Ugly.

A man was choked to death on a train. Immediately, without quiet investigation, the memes and tropes were galloping through the airwaves. He was harmless. No, he was frightening. He was physically imposing. He was obviously struggling with issues. The man who jumped in was a hero. No, he was a killer. He should have minded his own business. The person who was the eventual target of this disturbed individual would just have to deal with it. Luck of the draw.

 What is the truth? The third side of the story, the one without partisan bias. It attempts to understand a tragic happening. Why, how and what to do to increase prevention and avoid repetition. However, as usual, the big mouths opened up and out came the usual tripe. The truth, the lesson to be learned?

Buried beneath layers of hypocrisy. All those hundreds of 'mourners' who showed up at the man's funeral. Oh, how they cried and mourned, sent forth accusations heaping blame on all other than themselves. Yes. The taking of life is not a good thing. However, in tough situations which demand instantaneous decisions, things can go awry. Where were all these mourners when Jordan Neely needed help? Where was his family? Where weas his community? Where were his 'brothers' who now shout his name with threats of violence and demand for punishment.

Our society today leaves much to be desired in the realm of the social safety net. We have made some very bad decisions re care for those struggling with mental disease, unable to heal through no fault of their own. We turn away, focus our eyes elsewhere, whisper as we pass them by, tsk, tsk, emerges, but true help - individual efforts, group efforts? Few and far between. The individuals and organizations trying to provide aid struggle to raise funds and volunteers to deal with a huge, overwhelming problem requiring reeducation and strong governmental determination with programs that actually work and lead to eventual improvement.

This hypocrisy, this refusal to know and accept the truth and build upon it, is detrimental to society. It threatens its solidity, functionality, and viability. It encompasses so many aspects of life as we choose the momentary easier choice, even as it sets up problems for the future. It will all hit the fan - and we hope not in our time, but then again, the timing is not always to our liking, is it?

Are we all a bunch of mealy-mouthed uncaring people, enmeshed deeply in the corruption of our souls, of the filth choked roadways we walk upon? Are none of us worth something, contributing to some degree to the betterment of the world? Are we all worthless? The answer is - no; there is good among and within us, even as there is that wrong in us as well. We all have that seed of laziness, of selfishness, of ennui and apathy, a fear of tackling a Sisyphean task with little gratitude forthcoming and even less to show for all the effort given to it.

This is a fight we all must enter. It is a fight for our lives, at the very least as we hope them to be, as we envision for our descendants. It is not upon us to dare to think we can finish it all, but we must take the first steps, the middle steps, or the final steps will never be taken. Nor can we take those steps in and only in individual manner. They must be taken in unison, together. Let the sound of these feet echo deep within society, waking up the great mass of us, challenging their refusal to realize we are all as one. The truth of that statement - no man is an island. Nor should one wish to be, as we see the truth of the fate of islands - to be washed over by the sea or to disappear into its depths as the weight of society proves to be too much to withstand. 

People are people. Their needs are the same. Their hopes are the same. Their good points are the same. Their bad, weak, points are the same. We are together in this mess of our own creation and together is the only way we can get out of it. It is the only way to avoid scary looking people who might mean no harm, but very likely can inflict harm. Why? Because our safety net has huge holes in its mesh, and they require mending. Now. 

Thus, again, the drum beat of together.

Together. Together. Together.

Only together.

Together.

Together - Together we can achieve it all. 

Together we can

HEAL THE WORLD.

HEAL YITZY!

Yitzchak Elimelech ben Chana Sarah

May he be granted refuah shelaymah bimheyrah beyameinu. 

May he be granted a timely and complete healing.

May Hashem hear all our voices raised in prayer. 

Amen. Amen.

OMDOTE HAYU RAGLAYNU

 Not typos but the Hebrew for "our legs were standing" and the verse continues with "in your gates, the gates of Jerusalem". For millennia this phrase, in prayer or song at gatherings, at festive occasions, spoke to the heart of a Jewish longing. A return to Jerusalem, Yerushalayim, the eternal heart of a beating entity - the Jewish people. In synagogues around the world, in a secret one in the depraved depths of Terezin, in the hearts and souls of millions as they stumbled and were pushed and gassed and burned and tortured and worked to death. 

Why? Because the return to Jerusalem meant a return to the heart and soul of Judaism. It is where Abraham was instructed and then prevented from sacrificing Isaac, and for the forbidding of human sacrifice evermore, often a sacrifice of the oldest son to the greedy bloodstained mouth of an idol. Unfortunately, ironically, it seems too many Arabs never caught on to this idea, to the ending of human sacrifice. Where the Jewish religion preached 'living' via the commandments, introduced formal presentations of social justice and morality in all spheres of life. Unfortunately, these values are being opposed by those on the Arab side, those who continue to buy into hate and evil. As Elie Wiesel said, " We have always been hated."  

How does one combat this backwards, vicious, blood seeking imperative? How does one stop a wholesale campaign of hate and bloodshed, of the waste of human lives, of the breaking of society and destroying all the positive outcomes of a fair peace. An acceptance of the Jewish State of Israel, alive and well, legitimate, contributing to the world, rather than that continuous screeching how they, the Arabs, wish to declare the area Judenrein, and repopulate with their own. Feet squishing in the blood of the murdered - men, women, children, old and young.

Only days ago, a mother and her two daughters were rammed to the side of the road and then brutally shot at point blank range, shot to a violent death with multiple strikes of bullets. The father and the rest of the family saw this happen in full technicolor, helpless to do otherwise, only to scream in anguish, await medical care, and wonder why yet another Jewish family has been shattered, sacrificed to hate, to incited brutally manifested and implemented hatred. Why has there been no answer here, only anguish.

The family is murdered yet again, as Christine Amanpour declares on her show that these women died in a "shootout", a gun battle between two equally armed opponents. How ugly a statement! How can she buy into that outrageous lie. There was no shootout, only brutal race hatred and slaughter. The Dees family had no weapons. There was no shootout, but the Arab world continues to manufacture its litany of bald faced, brazen lies, akin to the litany of lies of the GOP and extremists of the right, and of the awful Tlaib whose one utterance contains more lies, more hate, more incitement to bloodshed than others do in a lifetime.

The bereaved father wanted to try to understand the unfathomable, why this ugliness took place, the motivations and wishes of the perpetrators and their families. Read and compare the words of both.

Rabbi Leo Dee lost his wife and two daughters last month to cold-blooded murderers. He spoke recently about his desire to understand their killers. “I want to meet the parents and siblings of the terrorists and ask them two questions: What did they think they would accomplish with what they did and what is their vision for the future — what do they want for their grandchildren?

The mother of one of the terrorists gave her answer in a televised interview. “Praise be to Allah for granting him [martyrdom]. We should fight them with our children, with our money, with our families, with our fingernails. We should devour the Jews with our teeth.”

 Now understand the title, the deep, eternal longing for Jerusalem, so understandable, so necessary to survival of a besieged people only seeking what all seek - the living of a life in peace, if not with love, then certainly with an absence of hate. "We know what it means to be devoured." Tormented and expelled, slaughtered in every vicious way imaginable.  Yerushalayim represents the fulfillment of that longing, of that so desired peace. To be left alone to live their lives in an ancient homeland.

On June 6, 1967, my legs were standing in Jerusalem. My heart was in Yerushalayim. My soul was on the Temple Mount, the site of our Temples, the site of many events in Jewish history. Yes, physically I was in Brooklyn, NY, but viscerally, emotionally, I was 6,000 miles away. In 1969, we added the physicality of the moment to the spiritual, as we visited Israel, as we sat on the cold stone floor before the remnant, the Wall, the Western Wall, the Wailing Wall, the Wall of Iron and Blood, the Wall which held within the prayers of thousands of years, millions of hearts.

At that moment, of liberation and of freedom to approach, to worship in its shadows, to return home - there was a unity, a togetherness, of the Jewish communities round the world, secular and religious. It was joined by fellow peace seekers and justice seekers. It was joined by those who understood the meaning of it all. 

That togetherness is missing these days and we are all the poorer, the worse off for that absence. We have lost our way, forgotten the truth in our seeking something else, something infinitely worse, and certainly not beneficial to humanity. Our disunity causes delays in facing crucial existential challenges. It shatters our humanity and buoys hate and violence.

That missing, damaged togetherness is what we must seek. For reasons I make clear every single day.

Would that we remember that clearly. Would that we internalize it, deep within our very makeup, every atom, every soul, every iota of what being a human being means, and entails, its demands.

Together. Together. Together.

Only together.

Together.

Together - Together we can achieve it all. 

Together we can

HEAL THE WORLD.

HEAL YITZY!

Yitzchak Elimelech ben Chana Sarah

May he be granted refuah shelaymah bimheyrah beyameinu. 

May he be granted a timely and complete healing.

May Hashem hear all our voices raised in prayer. 

Amen. Amen.