Democracy, Autocracy, and the Threat to Reason in the 21st Century,
What could possibly go wrong with a speech meant to discuss and present the topics of the title? After all, this is America, the land of the free, the home of the brave, a free country, as we always so proudly boasted. No one was to be the 'boss of me' other than our inner Angel who would work the brakes and the gas pedals and keep us out of uh oh situations. Abrasive mouths and words emanating from them were to be silenced or designated useless and unimportant.
However, the reality is otherwise. Angels seem to have abandoned their posts. The small red clothed devils of malicious intent sport evil grins on their faces. Their pride at the chaos, the hate they generate, the depths of the thefts and perversion of positive traits of humanity are grievous in number, vast and growing. The consequences for humanity are awful, particularly as we turn backwards to times of fewer restraints and an acceptance, even a valuing of the worst of humankind.
Those who waged war, who fought on the battlefields were rewarded with free reign over the civilians. To rampage and slaughter, to harm, to rape, to enslave as they would. Basically, to lay waste to the civilian population, into their very homes. This savage brutal behavior came to brutal life in the actions of Hamas and allies on October7. No, unfortunately, this behavior remains alive. And too well. Too warmly welcomed by the devils within us, the ones welcomed so warmly by the planners of Hamas and those who jumped on the bandwagon. To the fields and homes, to a dance festival, on a double holy day for Jews, to wreak havoc and bloodshed upon civilians.
When the civilian population happens to be Jewish, the world shuts up. In fact, it is encouraged. Celebrated, candy distributed to children taught to hate, by the ululations of victory and bloodlust of the women. This is what happened on October 7. In fact, this is what has happened. and is continuing to happen in Israel on a continual basis. No end is in sight. Yet the media of the world carries naught about these attacks, the harm, the deaths, they inflict. It is only Jews, so, not such a big deal. The hundreds of thousands of evacuated, embattled civilians of Israel go unmentioned, discounted, as are the deaths of civilians by the missiles of Hezbollah and the complicity of the UN forces and the Lebanese government. No words of condemnation. None. Nothing. Nada. Ef-ess. Zero. Zip. Israel is at war. In its entirety. Once again.
What do we do now? Well, we try to reason. We try to appeal to the better elements of humanity, to the little sparks of decency which might still remain, flickering dimly. Jamie Raskin tries to give his speech of sanity and rationality. What happens? No reason. No intent to listen. No attempt to converse. No attempt to negotiate. No attempt to mediate. No attempt to meet each other somewhere in the general vicinity of middle. No grounds for anything positive. The only grounds that remain are the grounds of. violence and raucous shouting down anyone who thinks other than the murderous beliefs of Hamas and pro-Palestinian enmity. The administrators of the universities which should be front and center in the fight to maintain the gestalt of the title of the intended speech by Jamie Raskin, are the very ones who are complicit and implicit in the encouragement of this kind of behavior, of the hate behavior of mobs as they say Tsk, tsk, babble re 'context' and enable violence.
Where do we go from here? Where can we go from here? Is there, in fact and reality, any path which leads in positive manner into the future? More and more my doubts grow larger and ever darker. A huge cavalcade of cars of pro-Palestinian, pro slaughter of Jews parade in Teaneck, a Jewish area. Calculated to send out vibes of hate and peril. Get the hell out of this country. We don't want you. A continuation of the eternal sentiment or attitude towards Jews. No. you can't live there. You can't live here. In fact, we don't want you living anywhere. It is the embodiment of the most vicious tropes of antisemitism throughout the millennia.
I cannot begin to explain the intensity of concern in the present situation. There is a siege waged upon me and my people. The world does not remember nor wish to understand that hate extends its boundaries as it attempts to sate its unsatiable appetite. This is the world we have chosen to bequeath to our children. Is hate always to be a constant, not a variable, in the makeup of human beings? We are doing quite well in generating the causes of our own destruction, the consequences of our behavior, or rather misbehavior. Time, and again, we have managed to cover over the brightest. moments of humanity with the ugliness of the worst moments of humanity. The dross of humanity, the slag of its values, gain the upper hands and repair has become a Sisyphean task.
Where do we go from here? Is there any way to go? Unfortunately, I and, more and more, people, have a deep within our core feeling that there is no 'here' from anywhere. The "heres' of safety are overrun by the hordes hacking away at the foundations of decency and humanity. The echoes and vibrations of their tools of destruction are now constant. This feeling of unease and insecurity of the Jewish people are to be found in every nation of residence. Our countries do not want us. They do not want us here. They do not want us there. They certainly do not want us in Israel or its environs. They do not wish to acknowledge the right of the Jewish people to have a nation amongst other nations of the world.
What has happened? Why are we beginning to relive the initial steps of the civilization of Hitler. Why are Jews, their supporters, their backers, those who stand for the best of humanity under constant attack? How to fully explain this hatred which arises time and time again from the swamps and bogs of hate, time and time again to wreak havoc and bloodshed upon the land.
The veneer of civilization is very thin and is cracked easily. JewHatred is a great tool of deflection. Even here, in America. where the Tempest tossed were to be welcomed, well, that America is gone. Words of damage and use of violence are now the norm. Every Jamie Raskin will continue to be shut down. The evil synergy of the extreme right and the extreme left will continue to grow apace, swallowing all in its path. Reason. Understanding. Civility. Education. Shared humanity. Disappearing. By the hour. By the minute, by the second.
Can we stop this? Is there any realistic possibility? At this moment I am extremely pessimistic. When the world forgets the hostages, so many already dead in their brutal captivity, well, where is safety? Where is the 'here' of safety and refuge? Where do we go from here? From all the 'heres' of the world? Nowhere? Where do we go from here? Are any left? I don't know. I myself am seeking a here. Increasingly, that here is not America. Perhaps Israel. It has always been our refuge, our constant theme of return and the promise of the One Above to keep His people safe. I think I will place my trust in the refuge of His hands. Is there any other choice? -------------------------------------------
Yitzy - this is such an ugly, filthy world at present. So much so that your purity, your inner and outer beauty were under constant siege. And so, G-d took you home. Leaving behind your memory. Your inspirations. Your grieving family and friends. The pain is still sharp. The wound still bleeding. But we know you are safe. Remain so.
We love you.
Always and forever. Always and forever.
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