If alive, these honored souls might agree with you.
Posted on 01/26/2003 8:17:12 AM PST by yonif
Really? If Jews, like me, are ~2.5% of the electorate, I'd say it is GENTILES voting for SOCIALISTS who are "creating suspicion of jews ".
If more Jews would leave the Democrats, where there seems to be real anti-semitism tolerated when its source is African-Americans and/or leftists, there would not be this outlook.
A strong proponent of this view (that anti-Semitism is a bogeyman) has been voiced by Dennis Prager, a Jewish conservative on syndicated radio, as well as a writer (and one of the greatest influences on my thinking).
Sadly, quite sadly, the jewish people are creating suspicion of jews in America by tolerating anti-American jews including Chuck Schumer, Henry Waxman, Barbara Boxer and Diane Feinstein. As these and others mount assault after assault on American rights, American laws and the American culture, well-meaning jews stand by not realizing that it is their duty to vote these people out of office and erase the stigma they have created. Anyone who does not do this is the same as they are: anti-American.The same could be said about other ethnic groups as well. Or for that matter women. The key to ending all sorts of discrimination is to start looking at people as individuals first instead of as members of groups.
The biggest blockage to this concept is the Democratic Party, which fosters this kind of "identity politics" because it suits its vote-buying strategy.
-Eric
If alive, these honored souls might agree with you.
I believe this to be pretty reasonable, since various Arab leaders have stated as much. Doesn't Arafat still wear a shoulder patch, showing a palestinian state whose borders include all of Israel?
I agree with the premise of this article that anti semitism is one of the great fears of American Jewry. IMO, Jews, with their leftist traditions, tend to automatically think that giving greater power to a central government can protect them from it. Of course that is akin to the socialist thinking that corporations can be controlled by nationalising them. What really happens, though, is that you get corporations with the power to make law, ust as giving government power to make arbitrary decisions, gives government the power to institutionalize anti semitism.
Not to mention the National Council of Churches, which seems to be a very leftist organization.
The other side of that coin is that there are groups whose members identify themselves as group members much more strongly than they identify themselves as Americans.
Is a Jewish-American a Jew first or an American first?
Is an African-American an African first or an American first?
Is a Mexican-American a Mexican first or an American first?
Many times the way people look at us is the way we define ourselves. Do we define ourselves a certain way because others look at us a certain way or do others look at us a certain way because we have defined ourselves certain way? Perhaps, both are true.
I can confirm the truth of this, from personal experience.
Given geographic/demographic patterns, most US Jews interact rarely with "conservative Christians". Not too many of the latter in/near Jewish enclaves around NYC, that's for sure!
And given history, current events in Europe/Israel, and the unending drumbeat of stupidity from Pravda (aka the New York Times) many Jews remain fearful.
The cure is time and the passing of generations. Think Moses in the desert.
Is a Christian-American a Christian first or an American first?
Is a Christian-American a Christian first or an American first?
Not the same thing and you know it! The context was Americans who have loyalities or ties to other countries. However, as you well know, most Jews have a loyality to Israel. The question is "Is their loyality to Israel greater than there loyality to America?"
It is, however, the same type of question that was asked about JFK and his loyality to the papal state and the pope.
As for Christian-Americans, of which I am one, since "Christian" is about the spiritual plane and "American" is about the secular plane, there is no conflicting loyalities (again, as you well know).
Of course not. It's just the JOOOOOS!
Your reply:
Of course not. It's just the JOOOOOS!
Thank you so much for the illustration of paranoia that surrounds the issue of anti-Semitism. Unless both sides can discuss openly and rationally an issue, that issue will always present an obstacle to trust.
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