I think that we’re witnessing something of a selection effect here, that is to say, environment and culture probably have a lot more to do with it than does religious affiliation. My Jewish relatives are die-hard liberals (you could even call them leftists, or even Marxists depending on what mood they’re in that day), but it seems to me that it goes a lot farther than that.
We live in PA and we own guns. We enjoy shooting them.
They live in Essex County, NJ, and can’t stand it when we talk about guns. When they’re visiting, they visibly shy away when a member of our family shows off a new pistol, even though we’ve made it painfully clear that it’s **unloaded**.
We save our wages for retirement. We save like *fiends* and avoid debt like the plague. For example, our philosophy is to keep our vehicles until (1) we die, (2) the vehicle dies beyond any ability to repair it, (3) driving it requires a tetanus shot, or (4) another driver destroys it beyond any hope of repair.
They spend their wages about as fast as they earn them. In the decades that I’ve known them, they’ve *never* had a car more than three years old. They go from one lease to another, go on extravagant vacations, etc., etc. And then they pontificate about how they *need* the government to take care of them when they decide to retire.
We go to gun shows and car shows.
They go to art exhibits and artist gatherings in NYC.
We live in a slightly more spread out area, yet they were “shocked” to see how “rural” our area was (WTF? We live 7 miles from Philly — it’s nowhere near “rural”!) Maybe it’s because we have roads that are wider than one lane, and every few miles someone actually owns a horse. I guess horses=rural to someone from Essex County, NJ.
They live in a dense suburban area where all the decent jobs are in NYC. Open space? Fughedaboutit.
Maybe reform Judaism has a little to do with it, but if so I think it’s just the cherry on the top of the sundae, not the whole thing. They’re New York urban libs, and we aren’t. So they’re “sophisticated” with their exposure to NYC’s art scene, and we’re backward hicks.
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Never mind that we hold Ph.D’s and multiple Master’s degrees in hard sciences, engineering, and mathematics, and they don’t. Their culture is “superior”.
(now excuse me while I throw up)
Agree with what you said about environment. My personal experience is that there is a huge difference between Jews in the middle of the country and Jews on the coasts. Too bad the latter are more numerous. Flyover Jews support Israel, have strong family values and vote conservatively.
Where I live now there are very few Jewish people and the only ones I am around are visitors. They tend to be from cities and have swallowed (hook, line and sinker) all the MSM crap about Palin without questioning it and therefore can’t stand her.