...things were clearer. perhaps simplified, but the division lines were clear. Either you were a 'good guy' or a 'bad guy'. A bad guy generally was killed off, justice done, but at times did survive, a changed man. A hitherto dormant spark of the good was ignited, usually by a 'good' woman who knew there was a spark of goodness within that bad soul and by end of movie, the bad dudes were dead or in prison, the reformed bad man shelved his guns and took up the good and proper life. Clear choices, clear lines, no confusion. One was a good or bad guy, with most choosing the hero over the villain. Toy guns and rifles aplenty, cap guns a prized possession and that was where guns stayed. In play.
The eternal war of Good vs Evil, Good always triumphing. That was what we believed. That was what we were taught. If adults did not always do as they said, well, we also knew this was a failing of adults; however, when we became adults, we would be better. We would remain true to childhood maxims and would reignite dormant sparks of Good. Society would improve, and sunshine and happiness would reign.
Then ugly reality struck, punching holes in our understanding of life. Lines were not so clear any longer. Good and bad mixed, too often toxicity resulting. The Vietnam War entered our homes via that ever-growing usage of TV, and we ingested darkness, confusion right along with our dinners or evening down time. Our soldiers were good guys, heroes, so why were we spitting on them? Why were they standing opposite, guns locked and loaded? Why were so many of our peers leaving home, ditching school, turning on and tuning out? The lines blurred and society began its great downslide. Apparently, we have now reached its nadir. And shame on us.
Tectonic plates of society have crashed and crunched, setting off aftershocks that remain and resound. We try to patch things up, ameliorate pressures, ease plate tensions, reignite sparks, but too often, in the fixing, we took missteps, went sideways when we should have gone straight ahead. We made excuses where there really were none justified, placed faith where it so clearly did not belong and our government, our morality fell into a deep chasm. Those able to remain on the surface gazed too deeply, too long, into the demonic eyes of the monster who lived within the resultant abyss, and we took on too many of the traits of that monster. Indeed, too many of us devolved, shape shifted and became monsters ourselves.
Today we are living with the rotten crop we have so carelessly sown. Our children, the hope of the future, have lost their way, collectively and individually, with many taking on traits of rabid dogs, attacking without care or clear thought. Conflating opposites, condoning violence in the name of progress. Losing, denying their own selves, seeking in the wrong places to redefine, recalculate, relight dormant, grown cold sparks.
Unfortunately, those sparks relit have deteriorated after a long submerging within fetid waters, reeking of hatred, of moral ambiguity, of impatience and intolerance. Their sparks and flames foster negativity, anger, faulty thinking, damaged premises, and a deep inability to hear the other side. Differences are highlighted and ears and eyes lose their properties. They have unfortunately taken deep quaffs of what they have seen and added garnishes which make their paths darker, more difficult to exit. They have become morally challenged adults with childish behavior and patterns of thought - or lack thereof, certainly with precious little of thinking it through. Turned off and disgusted by a lack of morality in supposed leaders of society, they actually begin to emulate them in their determination to not be so, to be better. To be 'progressive' even as that term actually has become its antithesis- regressive.
We have fed them moral ambiguity. We have fed them arrogance. We have fed them intellectual elitism and snobbery. We have allowed them to internalize faulty patterns of thought and evaluation. We have allowed them to deny evil, even as they nourish it.
We are shocked, indignant, oh so righteous, yet who taught these kids, role modeled for them? What and where and how were values and goals inculcated, taught? Were these values given lip service rather than deed service? More important, what are we planning to do about this mess? How do we shore up the good kids, the true builders, the ones who are truly progressive without the arrogance and negativity now attached to it?
We had better come up with a plan and soon, and a Plan B as well.
Now for important information re Yitzy.
From the parents of Yitzy:
Hello everyone. Thank you so much for saying tehillim (Psalms)and davening (praying) for Yitzy. We know it is helping. The last two weeks have been an absolute emotional roller coaster. Scares, conflicting doctors, waiting for results…. Without going into too much detail, tomorrow, Yitzy will be going for a long, sedated MRI and possible other scans. He is at the end of his front line- 42 weeks of treatment and it’s been a bumpy ending. If we can ask, please say tehillim and daven for Yitzy over the next day.
we can’t thank you enough. (I will put on the chat what time the MRI actually starts as soon as I know).
I also wanted to share with everyone a beautiful idea Yitzy told me a few months ago walking to shul. He said that in the second beracha (blessing) of maariv (evening prayer) we say in the present tense Ohev Amo Yisroel.(He loves his nation, Yisroel) Yitzy pointed out that Hashem’s love is constant and always with us every second of every day, even when things are challenging, We are His Amo,His nation, and He loves us. Yitzy is so unbelievably special, we love him, and we know Hashem loves him. BEH (with G-d's help) we will have good news to share.
amen, amen
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