Posted on 03/20/2016 10:12:23 AM PDT by EinNYC
Today we will join 20,000 fellow Jews in Washington, D.C. for the annual AIPAC policy conference. And this year, as in prior election years, the leading presidential candidates — Donald Trump among them — will take the stage to address pro-Israel advocates from across the country.
So what makes this year different from all other years?
This year, we’ve seen politics turn ugly. Hateful rhetoric cascades through the airwaves, inciting violence and bigotry. The unprecedented tone of the election cycle should give us pause. The Jewish people knows all too well the horrors of individuals using hate as a political platform and deploying language, implicit and explicit, that tears society apart.
As students of Judaism, we often turn to religious texts and our people’s long historical experience for guidance. They provide four lessons that Jews and non-Jews alike ignore at our peril.
First, when political leaders speak in the language of demagogues, take their words seriously. That is all the more true when they shun eloquence and clarity in favor of calculated ambiguity used to send a message that breaks with accepted moral and societal codes.
We would not have believed until a couple of weeks ago that any legitimate candidate for the American presidency, on live television, would make blatant sexual references or characterize women and minorities with derogatory epithets that no moral society should tolerate. We expect the public to reject signals that, at this late date in modern history, we know are sent to give permission for bigotry and violence.
Second, a social compact binds leaders and their followers to shared ideals. We all recognize that it takes enormous ambition and self-confidence to run for or hold public office. That has always been true. We give leaders a lot of slack in this regard. Whether a Biblical king who suffers rebuke from prophets and populace alike, or an elected official who rises and falls on fickle public opinion, one has to be immensely sure of one’s own abilities to lead, and thick-skinned enough to bear the inevitable criticism.
But it also takes humility to lead. Every Israelite king recognized-or was forcibly reminded-that he was placed on the throne to serve the “King of Kings.” American presidents pledge allegiance to our republic, under God, with liberty and justice for all. And so we watch, dumbfounded, as supporters at a political rally in Florida pledge allegiance to a candidate and not a country.
Third — an iron rule of history — politicians who attack one minority will soon go after others. If you don’t stand up to them at the start, they will eventually turn their fire on you. It may start with Mexican immigrants or Muslims, but eventually all minorities will be imperiled. Some Jews, ignoring history, will no doubt take comfort in the fact that a candidate has Jews in his family or inner circle. We do not. It has never worked out that way.
Bigotry, like hot air, expands.
Fourth — a particular message to Jews at Purim, a holiday that celebrates the triumph over a plot to exterminate the Jews of ancient Persia. The story of Purim warns us against those who assume the worst can’t happen, just because they don’t want it to. Good people can be conned, and not everyone is good; the very tolerance and open-mindedness that is sometimes ridiculed by politicians should not blind us to the fact that our democracy may be in jeopardy.
History teaches that those who are outnumbered — whether because of their religion, race, or sexual orientation — need to unite to protect their interests. State power is easily abused. Survival often depends on a combination of hard political work and unbending fidelity to high ideals. It has always been thus and always shall be. Our hope is that the American people, of all backgrounds and political persuasions, will rally to the cause.
These are Jews of a liberal stripe. They have no ability to lead anything except their own hysterical hatred.
Jewish homes in the Jewish homeland are ten million times more legitimate than an Islamonazi foreign agent in the American White House.
I, too, had a neighbor who experienced Hitler’s camps.
She was Belgian, married to a neighbor in California. My mother had noticed the woman’s tatoo on her arm, and Mama explained why she had that mark. I was seven years old at the time but it has stuck with me.
Trump is interested in having the “best” work for him, no matter the circumstances of their birth. What you or someone else does with the freedom endowed by this nation is basically your own business.
If the election were held today, who would be your first choice for President of the United States?Who would be your first choice for Donald Trump's running mate? |
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Thank you. I agree.
Based on their titles, they are highly influential.
Ping
He gets overly-hyped and stimulated when he's in front of larger groups and crowds....and halfway through his words begin to speed and tumble out of his mouth before his brain is in gear, lol.
This speech will be gone over by the finest-toothed combs by attackers looking for nits to hit.
Praying for a good speech.
Leni
If you'd like to be on or off, please FR mail me.
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One more thing makes it different. Despite being in the nation's capital you might not be able to leave, or enter. And not because of the evil Trump, but by a culture of anarchy and hate.
AIPAC attendees ‘trapped inside’ due to pro-Palestinian rally
Is there a schedule that show speaker times?
Yes, the “Trump is Hitler” vultures will be waiting.
I agree with everything you said except the comment about singing Christmas carols.
Search the Torah. You will find the answer.
BTTT!
Thanks for clarifying.
If you'd like to be on or off, please FR mail me.
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