Put Some Ice on that Microaggression and Grow-up

 

Microaggressions and Trigger Warnings placed on books and films and university classes? Who thought up this asinine system which sounds like the acceptance of the adult-child? Trigger warnings on classes because their subject matter might upset somebodies identity or other hang-up is what maturity was supposed to cure. University was the last place that transitory management called life was presumed to get people past their childhood hang-ups. The university should have simply had freshman orientation inform every student as a group that they were about to be treated like adults who had stepped out into the real world. But this all actually makes sense if one carries the protect the child from any harm child-rearing which was started after World War II and first applied in part to the Baby-Boomers. These were the kids whose parents rushed them to the doctor or the Emergency Room at the first sniffle, sneeze or cough. Where did we expect such activity to lead? Where did parents think, if they ever thought about this, that forcing or, at a minimum, pressuring their children to take band and learn a safe oboe or violin instead of Home Economics which exposed their daughters to dangerous items such as sewing machines, stoves, ovens, or Shop Class which exposed their sons to the threatening world of power tools or even manual impact devices and manual torque converters (hammers and screwdrivers) which could put an eye out, would lead to later in life their children feeling inadequate and unable to cope with life for themselves. Their children would never use such items; they would hire others to do such work. Make them learn to cook when they can make reservations on the cook’s night off. Fix a railing using tools was out of the question when the handyman could be paid to take such risks thus saving their sons the challenge and danger. This was some of the psyche of parents in the late 1940’s through the late 1960’s and into the early 1970’s as the Baby-Boomers were brought into adulthood. The excuse always was that they meant well and that repaired the scars, not.

 

Not every parent was like this. But even some of the less protective parents refused to permit their son to play football or other “dangerous” sports where concussions were a potential danger as their child was going to use their head for higher purposes and thus must be guarded from any and all damage. They did not realize the damage they were performing. Then, we Baby Boomers began to have the next generation and now the protection racket went mainstream. Again there were the risk adverse parenting methods and some which prepared their child for the real world. Parents who had more than two, three children at the most were irresponsible and probably would let them risk injury while growing up. How absolutely thoughtless they acted. Some of the Baby-Boomers refused to have even one child as they were overcome by the “me first” complex where any complication that stood between them and complete self-fulfillment was to be avoided, shunned like the monster under their beds as children. They served themselves and no other and would usually pair up to pretend they were a family, a childless family as it even gained terminology. But those who had children, or more often child, were tasked to see them through life free from any trauma. Bicycles were to be ridden with full safety gear including helmet, knee pads, elbow pads, wrist guards, hip pads and whatever could protect their precious little bundle of joy short of wrapping them in bubble wrap. Baseball the batters wore helmets and shin guards and forearm guards in case they were struck by a pitch. Perhaps teaching them to dodge would have been preferable but that required extreme coordination and was less than 100% effective. Better safe than sorry became the parental watchword.

 

Child Decked Out to Ride in Safety

 

With each generation having fewer children than the number of parents is a mathematical proof for eventual extinction. Ask Russia or Europe where birth rates are all well below the 2.1 children per woman replacement rate where zero growth and zero shrinkage is presumed to take place. A healthy population would have that ratio of babies to women closer to 2.5 and often much higher. But keeping junior safe from all those terrible threats and dangers out in the world takes up all their time, who has time for a second or third or heavens forbid, a fourth child. Their children never need worry about the real world as they will go to university for a decade plus and get sufficient degrees such that they will never need use tools other than a pen and paper, they will be professionals, doctors, lawyers and never work with their hands when their brains have been so cultivated. This was raising a psychosis, not actually a child, never ever considered raising their child for anything short of a professional practice and an easy and good life as defined by the child’s parents and their grandparents who would need to be consulted on virtually every choice the actual parents found difficult. The big questions would be, do we expose little junior to life on a farm as there are so many dangerous things like hay forks and tractors with plow blades and junior will definitely never need to farm. Even if junior wished to act like farmer Joe, he would do so with a trowel and raise roses or other respectful things like strawberries or tomatoes, though the latter might be too much of a challenge. Of course the parents chose a safe environment for university and these universities had to please those who wrote the checks that paid for the $100,000.00 per year or more before dorm costs, fraternity or sorority costs plus books and a weekly generous allowance so they could have safe fun and safe everything.

 

Universities became more about coddling precious and gentle, all so innocent and unaware adult-children over education. They had mandatory classes to explain how dangerous and injurious certain words and phrases could be and that the university would not couch the use of such language from its staff or students. Students were to respect their fellow students above all else so all could have a safe university experience. Life became all about safe experiences which never challenged the protected child. Nobody ever thought to simply tell a child struck by an errant pitch to simply, “Put some ice on it and take your base.” Instead an instant diagnosis was performed like triage and both batter and pitcher, the victim and the abuser were made to shake hands and make up for their acts which potentially harmed another child. This way each wears a scar, one having what we used to call a bruise but now parents refer to such injury as a contusion as none of these parents would call such a bruise as that would be so low-life talk that is totally unacceptable in their circle. It all becomes about appearance and a contest over whose child will be the most successful. There will be arguments where they decide if a lawyer supersedes a family practice or general practitioner or does a heart surgeon supersede the lawyer; then they arrange for the child to leave to seek the greatest career. Not until they are safely through receiving their law degree or training as an intern can parents relax knowing they completed the task of raising a perfect child.

 

These perfect children still have not been exposed to reality. Imagine an intern assigned one Saturday night, though it could be any night, to work in the Emergency Room in a large and prestigious hospital in a now less than desirable neighborhood. Are they prepared for the cursing and swearing they will hear? This is such a stark introduction to the world of colorful language they are likely to receive. Imagine a man comes in with a severe knife wound and there is already another man with a gunshot wound. Does anyone believe life thus far had prepared them for the language and possible actions should these two patients see one another? The level of animosity which will be displayed by both these fine and upstanding belligerents will only be outshone by the brilliant repertoire of language which will be used. If an elderly physician witnesses this confrontation he would likely have something witty and condescending to one or both men as he would quite likely tell one to, “Put a sock in it,” and the other to, “Put some ice on it and I’ll get to you when you act like a man.” Neither swears one iota but both said firmly and resolutely could have the effect of shutting down the conversation. The existence of a number of the city’s finest and security on location assists with the physician’s demands. The young adult-child intern is likely completely unprepared for such a scenario and would run to their safe space away from the noise.

 

One cannot honestly believe that parents are shelling over such gross amounts of money to have their offspring protected from reality by the very institution which is presumed to be preparing them for life in the corporate jungle. These ill prepared adult-children will get eaten alive by anybody raised spending any amount of time on what we call the mean streets. The streets educate a child into an adult with great alacrity providing a wide range of experiences. First and most obvious is the colorful language. Nothing is merely gnarly, a word possibly within the adult-child’s vernacular, but is more probably f&#$ing gnarly or bodaciously gnarly sh^t or other equally colorful adjectives used. An injured person’s language who was in the knife against a gun fight and was shot or stabbed and deeply injured and cut to the bone will use language that might be truly shocking to a Marine, though no Marine worth their salt would show shock or surprise, and life threatening to the sheltered adult-child. Emergency Rooms come as trigger warning free zones and sans safe spaces. They are reality in its most raw form with people attempting to fake injuries so that a physician will write them some prescription for some pharmaceutical drugs, most likely pain killers but sometimes pep pills. Tell the one in a muscle shirt in Detroit in February that he does not need the medication he is demanding and that a Tylenol would be just as suitable as what he demanded for his pain. Listen to the language as the physician tells the gentleman that he is being discharged and recommended to take two Tylenol every three hours as necessary for pain. The next experience comes without warning and with nowhere to run as there are no safe zones and the threats of physical violence are such that the adult-child never even knew could pass from a civilized person’s lips, welcome to the real imperfections in the real world. These youths are not being served any good purpose protecting them from contrary ideas or the more colorful side of language along with threats of violence made by real people in real situations in the real world. Things are far from antiseptic in reality but perhaps that will change and everybody will be more civilized and the world will see the dawning of the “Age of Aquarius” and we can all live as John Lennon had dreamed to “Imagine” and all will then have no need of trigger warnings and everywhere will be a safe zone. I, for one, dread such a day as there would be no free thought or further development as it is the rough and tumble of our world which necessitates change and that agitation is required to make those changes and discoveries, Rock On!.

 

 

 

Beyond the Cusp

 

France Excursion Again Into Folly

 

One might reason that after the terror attack last November 13, 2015, which claimed one-hundred-thirty lives and wounded, many horrifically, another three-hundred-fifty-two others from across all sectors of Paris that France would choose to have nothing to do with Arabs, yet this is exactly what they are planning to do. After combinations of suicide bombers and assault teams with automatic fire assault rifles striking numerous locations where Parisians gathered at various events such as the Bataclan Theatre, Café Bonne Bière, La Casa Nostra, La Belle Équipe, Stade de France among other locations would have been sufficient for France to wash their hands of all conflicts between the Arabs and the rest of the world and taken a low profile, but not a chance. The French are planning on launching an offensive to drag the Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas back to negotiations with Israel and Prime Minister Netanyahu. They have set the date as May 30, 2016, for a Paris meeting of Foreign Ministers from twenty countries as a preliminary planning session to bring the peace process back to life, according to Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault. Why not simply paste a bullseye on the meeting location inviting the Islamic State to strike here. Foreign Minister Ayrault spoke to four newspapers, including Israel’s Haaretz and the pan-Arab daily Al Quds Al-Arabi, where he specified Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) would not be invited to the meeting in Paris. Well, thanks to Hashem for little favors as this removes the necessity for Israel to decline the invitation. Ayrault did recognize that, “The two sides are further apart than ever,” but unfortunately further stated, “We cannot do nothing. We have to act before it’s too late.” Ayrault was not finished as he continued, “In Israel, the government is more and more ambiguous on the issue of a two-state solution and the Palestinians are more and more divided. We have to explain to the Israelis that settlement activity is a dangerous process and that it puts their own security in danger.” Please stop, you’re killing me here. What? You have more. Fine, what is it? “I am not naive,” Foreign Minister Ayrault added further exclaiming, “I am perfectly sincere. There is no alternative; the other option is fatalism and I reject that.” One can only guess what French President Francois Hollande is reacting to this. Oh no, you’re joking. No, you’re not, see below? This may be more than we can bear at such a time.

 

 

French President Francois Hollande and PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas

 

 

The one bright spot is one we reported on earlier in our article Presidents Barack Hussein Obama and François Hollande Next Cooperative where the new French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault backtracked on the threat last month, saying France would not “automatically” recognize a Palestinian state if its initiative fails. Israeli Prime Minister along with numerous other Ministers both from his Cabinet and the Knesset all rejected the original plan by former French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, whose full support of all things Palestinian is well known, who had officially insisted that had the negotiations failed the French were ready to recognize the State of Palestine with its borders along the Green Line and all of East Jerusalem as their Capital City. Such a move would have placed over three-quarters of a million Israeli Jews, Arabs and others at the mercies of the PA, as if there were such a thing. Anyone who had followed issues in the Middle East, especially regarding the PA and Hamas as well as the Islamic State realized that without the IDF to protect both these Israeli citizens and even the rulers of the PA, all would end up murdered including Mahmoud Abbas as either Hamas or Islamic State would assuredly immediately move in and enact a violent and hostile coup to remove the PA and place the entire area under the most severe form of Sharia murdering any from the PA who they perceived not in agreement with their rule as well as any non-Muslim residing in the areas. This would include the few Arab Christians largely residing in Bethlehem and Jerusalem. That plan would have proven unworkable, unenforceable and hopefully rejected by all concerned but cool heads and common sense are not things expected in large quantities when it comes to addressing the Arab-Israeli conflict.

 

French Foreign Minister Ayrault has reportedly declared that the discussions being sought would be based on the 2002 Saudi peace initiative, a proposal which has been approved by the Arab League but has not been accepted by Israel as it exchanges promises to discuss peace in the future for complete concessions to the Arab League and Saudi Arabian idea of a final solution of the Green Line and East Jerusalem being the interim recognized border acceded before any actual peace agreement. Such a solution would simply be a reset to the borders of 1967 before the June Six Day War setting up the opportunity for another go round and renewed open hostilities and terror war brought once again to the heart of Jerusalem where Arab marksmen would sit atop the walls of the Old City or any high structure and shoot Israelis when they were presented as a potential target making much of western Jerusalem a “no man’s land” where crossing the street in daylight hours was suicide and now with night scopes even the night becomes a potentially fateful choice to cross a street. Additionally, it would place Israeli areas in range of even the most rudimentary Hamas rockets not to mention what the more powerful and accurate Iranian missiles could strike as depicted on the map below. This would become completely untenable within days as all Israeli business, production, distribution and life would grind to a halt with the entirety of the nation outside the IDF would be forced into the underground shelters as any above ground shelter would be instantly vulnerable and only ten feet or more of earth would be capable of withstanding more than three days of strikes. The map highlights the main area where well over three-quarters of Israeli power structures, residences, manufacturing and a number of nuclear power generating plants and the area under direct line-of-sight threat which would allow for spotters to give corrective instructions from well concealed positions would include everything up to and including Haifa, possibly even to Akko. Ramat David Airbase, Ben Gurion International Airport, Hatzerim Airbase, Nevatim Airbase, Dimona Nuclear Research Center, Beer Sheva and much of the Negev Desert with additional spotting which could be provided with good binoculars to assist the aiming of rockets fired from Gaza, which would readily cover the remainder of southern Israel leaving only the smallest of areas outside line-of-sight by those occupying the Judean Ridges overlooking central Israel, potentially assured of relative safety. That would leave areas such as Nahariya, Safed, Ma’alot, Karmiel and other areas in the Northern and Western Galilee.

 

 

The Real Truth About Israel in Stark Relief and Graphically Displayed

 

 

When questioned about what steps France would take if and when these talks fail to materialize or fail to reach an acceptable agreement, Ayrault stated, “To speak now about what France will do or not do in the case of failure would not be productive. In the case of failure, France will act according to its responsibility.” As is usual, this initiative was meant to placate the PA and mitigate the necessity of Mahmoud Abbas presenting ultimatums at the United Nations (UN) and especially having Arab States file motions with the Security Council as any items brought before the Security Council require votes and more often than not receive a veto from a minimum of one of the five permanent member, Britain, France, Russia, China and the United States. The French initiative also allowed for the PA to appear reasonable as PA Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki announced their retraction of plans to file papers for an UN resolution demanding an end to “Israeli settlement expansion” placing such a move on hold in order to focus instead on the upcoming French proposal for a peace conference. Al-Malki further stated “We should really sail smoothly in a way that the French initiative will continue.” He further postulated the position that the Palestinians would decide on formally presenting the draft text at a later time. The most interesting uncontested but unconfirmed rumor claimed that France, Egypt and Saudi Arabia had discouraged the Palestinians from moving ahead with the proposed measure as that would have put pressure on the United States to once again use their veto, even though there were reports United States President Barack Obama would buck longstanding policy and allow it to pass which could have placed the pressure on the French and/or British to use their veto to kill the measure, something they would not be overly joyful but would have done that which was necessary.

 

The fact is that Israel has not added so much as a single brick or erected as much as an awning, let alone built or expanded the “settlements,” which are all within Area C where Israel is permitted full rights and control both militarily and civilly while the PA is presumably forbidden to build in the area. Despite that ban, European government, especially Sweden, the Netherlands, France and others along with the European Union (EU), have been purchasing land and constructing housing and shops and then gifting them to PA Arab in order to prevent any Israeli claims to these lands. These efforts have been carefully aimed at the E-1 area where the EU threatened UN sanctions should Israel have built as planned and did so after the land was graded to allow erecting structures which could have linked the major Israeli cities in Judea with Jerusalem and now these cities will be separated from Israeli lands and thus allow for the PA to claim them with full European backing. These “Arab Settlements” also ring the outside of East Jerusalem which the EU and European governments demand be made the Capital City of any Palestinian state refusing to recognize Israeli annexation and granting citizenship with a path to full Israeli rights and already permitting their voting in local and city elections, a right they already availed themselves of in the last citywide elections. The EU and European governments wish to strip these Arabs of their Israeli citizenship and place them back under the PA, a move not discussed with the residents of East Jerusalem by the Ministers of the EU, the numerous members meeting in Paris, their Arab League leaders and especially France who may be viewed as the leading Islamist state explaining why they are taking the lead, because had they been approached they just might have informed even the French that many of them have made plans to flee into Western Jerusalem and further into the rest of Israel before allowing themselves to be placed back under PA rule. They likely would even not wish to see the Eifel Tower and its newest lighting arrangement.

 

 

Eiffel Tower from the Past to the Future?

 

 

Now allow for us to give predictions of the outcome resulting from this grand show of futility. The first stipulation will be a longwinded press release, hopefully we will only need to read a transcript as who desires listening to another Foreign Minister with long faced and austere looking men crowded in behind the speaker most holding their hands politely before them or clutching a folder for the record and appearance. The statement will begin congratulating all assembled for their efforts for peace and for giving this initiative the best chance of not completely falling on its face. Then there will be grand and eloquent words about the desirability for peace and how great efforts and compromise will be required. With any luck he will bite the bullet and even claim that these sacrifices must come from both sides. Be all that as it may; there will be a special desire for a grand and sweeping measure undertaken in order to initiate dialogue which the world so desperately realizes is the necessary first step to a solution. Then they lower the boom, a demand that Israel release Marwan Barghouti as he is the popular Palestinian people’s choice to succeed Mahmoud Abbas and they demand that he be permitted to take the next in line position and start to work with Abbas as Mahmoud Abbas had understudied Yasser Arafat. There will be no reference as to why he is currently in an Israeli detention facility (these are too close to a club med vacation than a prison as they have picnics with their families, conjugal visits, and so many other privileges that there have been cases of PA citizens walking calmly up to a checkpoint and pulling out a knife and politely asking to be arrested as they cannot find work in Nablus or wherever and they want to go live in jail as that would be a step up for them and at least they will eat three meals a day). There will be more demanded as an initial investment for peace and Israel will be pressed to additionally release anywhere from one-thousand to five-thousand and even empty their prisons of all PA, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, ISIS, Hezballah, al-Qaeda and other terrorists. Never mind how many Israelis they may have murdered and maimed for life, some horrifically. With Marwan Barghouti his sentencing to five life terms to be served sequentially, not all at once such that if he was ever granted release on the current prison term there would be four more waiting and he would remain incarcerated, or at least that was the plan. Allow us to quote directly from the “American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise” (AICE) on their Jewish Virtual Library entries on Marwan Barghouti.

 

 

Marwan Barghouti Wall Painting Demanding
His Freedom from Israeli Incarceration

 

 

Marwan Barghouti is a Palestinian terrorist currently in jail for murdering Israelis. He is one of the most popular figures of the Palestinian uprising and has been repeatedly called on to run for Palestinian leadership position, despite his current jailing.
Barghouti is a senior Fatah leader in the West Bank. Schooled in Hebrew during his time in Israeli jails, Barghouti was a field Fatah leader during the first intifada of 1987, when he was deported by Israel. Barghouti, 42, has struck a chord with ordinary Palestinians. The son of a West Bank farmer, he has appeared frequently at demonstrations, funerals and in the Arab press. Israel asked that the Palestinian Authority extradite Barghouti for questioning in connection with a number of West Bank shootings, but the PA refused. Israel arrested him in 2002 and put him on trial for his role in terrorist attacks against Israelis.
On May 20, 2004, the Tel Aviv District Court convicted Barghouti of three terror attacks in which five Israelis were murdered, and also of attempted murder, membership in a terror organization and conspiring to commit a crime. He was acquitted of 33 other murders with which he was charged, because of a lack of evidence. On June 6, 2004, Barghouti was sentenced to five consecutive life terms and 40 years.
The court said in its verdict that “Barghouti was responsible for providing the field units with money and arms….” The judges said that the attacks were sometimes “based on instructions” from Yasser Arafat.
The court found Barghouti responsible for a June 2001 attack in Maale Adumim, in which a Greek monk was murdered, a January 2002 terror attack on a gas station in Givat Ze’ev, a March 2002 attack at Tel Aviv’s Seafood Market restaurant, in which three people were murdered, and a car bomb attack in Jerusalem.
David Saranga, a spokesman for Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said, “The five people who were killed in these attacks that he ordered will not return to life. The widows and orphans will not get their loved ones back. But at least justice was done.

 

They list their source material in their Page on Marwan Barghouti. Their description of the crimes he was associated with as providing materials, transportation, weapons, explosive devices including bomb-belts for a number of suicidal-homicide-bombers, technical planning and other support for deadly attacks. He has also carried out what are termed cleansing operations within the PA controlled areas against Arabs who were suspected of dealing with Israelis such as passing information or even simple selling a small patch of land to an Israeli which is punishable by death. He carried out such sentences which never really required a trial and some cleansings later were seen to have been the method for settling differences of opinions and such personal issues. Of course Marwan Barghouti will be presented as the victim of Israeli mean-spiritedness as they will with the other terrorists which the French and twenty friends will demand Israel release for the grandest of all commitments from Mahmoud Abbas, he will allow a photo-op where he is shaking Prime Minister Netanyahu’s hand and after that the negotiations will go south and end with Israel being blamed by the Europeans and their friends in the Arab League and the UN and various aligned Human Rights Groups and NGOs. We have all seen this movie before and it will end with the majority of those released returning to their trade of murdering Jews as that is what they do. A select few will be given high ranking positions in the PA protective services where they will be given a machinegun and be responsible for training new recruits and planning their attacks. Marwan Barghouti would be given the desired position and as soon as it appeared that he might be ready to replace Abbas and work with Hamas, ISIS or Iran, he will end up back in Israeli custody set up for the fall if he is fortunate or otherwise he will turn up dead, shot multiple times and the IDF will be blamed, or should we say credited. It will not prove to be the IDF and the PA will never submit or allow any real investigation; he will just be dead and no threat to Abbas. If we are all lucky the French will awaken from their stupor and figure out that two plus two is four and not five.

 

Beyond the Cusp

 

Remaining American Jews and Israel

 

There was a time when being an American Jew also meant being supportive of Israel. Now such feelings are almost exclusively held by Jews well above fifty. For the millennials and later the best Israel can hope for is neutrality based on complete apathy with their concerns being for relatives who they more often than not make offers to assist them moving to the United States even arranging for employment and housing and then being confused when their parents, uncles, aunts, grandparents and occasionally brothers and sisters refuse. Yes, there are still remnants of Zionists, mostly religious Zionists, who are making their plans currently to make Aliyah and others who are caring for elderly parents or grandparents and will make Aliyah when their care is no longer required. The vast majority of Synagogues have little if any pro-Israel programs and one is far more likely to find Evangelical Christians having events supportive of Israel than the average synagogue. In some Reform Synagogues and leftist liberal Jewish organizations one is far more likely to find programs petitioning against Israel, support for the BDS movement and actual Jewish organizations such as Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) that largely favor complete boycotts of everything Israeli and support the ‘Right of Return’ for five million Arabs who claim to be refugees from 1948 war of annihilation started by at least a half dozen Arab armies the morning that Israel became a nation. They see no need for Israel to remain Jewish and believe that Israel as a multicultural nation just like the United States would be preferable to the continuation of what they view as a fascist and oppressive Jewish supremacist state. There was an Israel Channel 2 News in-depth report this past weekend featuring anchorman and reporter Danny Kushmaro examining the Jews from JVP and their animosities and reasons for turning against Israel with such feelings vilifying the Jewish State and my summation was they see Israel as being too Jewish and not sufficiently politically correct and fully supportive of leftist causes. Embedded below is this report which lasts about fifteen minutes and is filled with interviews and information revealing their feelings and what they view as Israel’s shortcomings and failures.

 

http://www.mako.co.il/AjaxPage?jspName=embedHTML5video.jsp&galleryChannelId=990df63642d9e410VgnVCM100000290c10acRCRD&videoChannelId=e0c90203f684e410VgnVCM100000290c10acRCRD&vcmid=683af63642d9e410VgnVCM100000290c10acRCRD
if i-frames fails please use the link above or this link below:
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/198333#.Va4Cc_n8PgZ

 

Having made my Aliyah after a long discussion with aged parents who assured me they preferred I make Aliyah while I was ‘still young enough’ to enjoy Israel and as such I may hold some insights which I can share from my life often spent in a transient nature constantly moving across the width and breadth of the United States and meeting Jews either in or from virtually every state at some point and having spent time with numerous and varied synagogues. The following are my experiences and should not be taken as typical without also asking other Olim from the United States as most of my life was spent in towns and small cities with limited Jewish population, some where I was the first Jew to reside in certain really small places. The odd thing is even in these places I found there were, what I like to refer to as, stealth Jews who approached me privately and pleaded I keep their confidence. In their assessments, which were accurate, they figured that I would not be remaining very long as I seemed to be a restless spirit. They were correct and the reason was as simple as it was accurate; I seemed to be seeking a place where the Jewish community was of a similar attitude as myself. The truth I can refer to is that such did not exist in my travels as, almost to a ‘T,’ the congregations all had their few who were pro-Israel amongst a sea of at best apathy and at the worst animosity, placed Israel as one of their most dear and important issues, and who still remembered and strongly believed the lamentations of Psalm 137, also called the “Song of Babylon”, in particular the more benign but heartfelt first six lines which read:

 

137:1 By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.

137:2 Upon the willows in the midst thereof we hanged up our harps.

137:3 For there they that led us captive asked of us words of song, and our tormentors asked of us mirth: ‘Sing us one of the songs of Zion.’

137:4 How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?

137:5 If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.

137:6 Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, if I remember thee not; if I set not Jerusalem above my chiefest joy.

 

I usually had to look far and wide to find fellow Jews who believed in being capable of taking responsibility of their own defense and not relying on the state, enlightened Jews who knew about Ze’ev Jabotinsky and had learned the lesson that no matter how egalitarian, how initially accepting, how incorporated into the various professions throughout the society, how assimilated the Jews had become, and how much they believed that, “It can’t happen here,” such was the large mistake the German Jews and the other Jews of Europe in the mid-1930s made and their refusal to believe things were heading south when the lists of registered firearms from the Weimar Republic were referenced by the Nazis for early use by the government to confiscate weapons, initially from Jews and other minorities and political groups they opposed and finding out far too late that those who had warned of the coming eclipse of life, as they had known was a definitive signal that the end was approaching. Even amongst the small minority of Jews who would seek me out at functions or services and confess their conservative views and even their membership in the Republican Party, a faux pas extraordinaire in virtually every non-Orthodox Synagogue which are all one can find in all too many locations outside the major cities, east and west coast states, as well as Ohio and Illinois. In the majority of congregations which I either joined or visited for a period of time before the differences became too uncomfortable for all, had there been Jews who wished to have the Rabbi perform a same-sex marriage there would have been little if any problems and such would be viewed as acceptable to hold such in the Synagogue using the same main hall where services were held on those occasions when sufficient numbers were expected such as weddings, Bar and Bat Mitzvah services and the High Holidays as the congregation was accommodating and would be shocked should anybody find such use of the synagogue to be beyond acceptable accommodations. Where I have absolutely no problem with somebody with such proclivities as long as they remained Torah observant and did not act on their sexual urges, just as all Jews must guard against overindulgences and other forbidden sexual territories, but a same-sex marriage was taking acceptance too far though I held my tongue and simply skipped any services held that day.

 

The standing mitzvah which was the highest observance was their interpretation of Tikkun Olam which largely was interpreted as fighting global warming, fighting perceived persistent racial discrimination, healing society from and wiping out all vestiges of white privilege, amending social class differences, and above all else, voting for Democrats with blind and dedicated obedience. Nothing has brought their disregard not only for Israel, but also for the United States and perhaps the entirety of the free world with their inability to watch the unfolding events in the world or even in their own nation. The problem actually goes beyond any description or understanding. It almost appears as when it comes to voting many in the population vote for their party no matter whom the candidate is or who the opposing candidate is and when it comes to other than either of the two main parties it is as if the others do not even exist. Much of the blame goes to the media and particularly to the mainstream media as they are totally in the box for the Democrats and if not the Democrats, then for the Republicans. It is understandable how and why the United States breaks down to a two party system which is a direct result of their choosing the President basically in a direct vote and the requirement that they gain greater than fifty percent of the electorate rather than simply a plurality. This has worked just as much due to the requirement that the winner must attain fifty percent plus one of the Electoral College votes and not just a plurality of the electoral votes. This problem was brought to the fore when Ross Perot took a fairly large percentage of the voting and still had minimal impact on the Electoral College though Perot may have influenced the result in some states causing them to go from one of the major parties to the other party. There will be debates for another decade when this subject is discussed by the relative few who are informed and knowledgeable but when compared to the entirety of the eligible voters, but then barely over half even bother to vote, these so informed are but a small and impotent of voters due to their lacking numbers but that may be changing. George Washington, the United States first President and second elder spokesperson after Benjamin Franklin, warned about the evils and machinations of political parties in his farewell address (which can be read here)which was delivered to the media and leaders of the day on September 19, 1796. The most quoted of lines from this dissertation are, “The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge natural to party dissention, which in different ages & countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism. The disorders & miseries, which result, gradually incline the minds of men to seek security & repose in the absolute power of an Individual: and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction more able or more fortunate than his competitors turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of Public Liberty.”

 

There was a time before the great world wars and possibly even after where the public was not only knowledgeable on the every discussions and issues of their day and now the average voter honestly, whether they are aware of it or not, vote exclusively along party lines and in many cases are voting for the values the party might have arguable held decades before and had long since moved on in their trip to whichever end they favor as long as it is to an ever increasingly invasive governing of our daily lives with slightly different results and endgame. In Europe, despite there being dozens upon dozens of parties, the differences from the two extremes would not even test the bounds of one of the American political parties, both extremes in Europe are just reminders to Americans of where their party has transgressed on its inevitable end vision of government and their role in serving and controlling, an emphasis on controlling as both parties support any legislation which places ever greater control and monitoring of individual’s actions and approved views. Truth is you can harbor any thoughts you desire as long as you never act upon them.

 

Try to challenge the status quo and see how fast the government inspectors are snooping around your property and giving you ten days’ notice to have this repaired, painted, replaced, cleaned or whatever they can dream up. Before long you start to desire moving someplace where your name is far more anonymous. Successfully gain ballot access for Federal United States House of Representatives and win a number of points in meet the candidates functions in Churches, Synagogues, recreation centers and any other rally where an informal debate is held and you end up being refused place on the televised debates ten days before the election and when you get a hearing in court you walk in and the judge rules that your chosen representative may not address the hearing and the panels siting at the other tables, one for each major party, there are seated a representation of the State’s Attorney General’s office lawyers to bring witness against you and you get a real sinking feeling that if you had gained more traction they would have buried you, quite literally. With the onslaught of inspectors one has basically two choices, one is accept every summons stating you have anywhere from ten working days to as much as a month to rectify the problem the inspector claims to have found, and some of the “repairs” would require hiring a contractor to make actual physical changes to one’s residence, which gets even trickier if you are renting, or one can actually face them down by first walking them back off of your property and onto the sidewalk or street which demarks your property line and then require that they show you the exact particular problem and as they take that first authoritative, now I have the initiative back, step onto your property you stop them dead with an immediate verbal demand that they, “Please remove yourself from my property.” Should they ignore your request repeat it and ask if this will require the State Sheriff’s Office or will they comply with your demand to vacate your property immediately. Once they are back on the sidewalk or wherever you then repeat that they show you the problem and no matter how obvious the situation you just continue to not see what it is they are complaining about. When they try to gain entry to your property again you politely ask if they have a warrant. They will not have such so you simply hold to your Constitutional rights to keep your property inviolate without proper warrant. Any signed piece of paper other than a warrant is simply a useless piece of paper and warrants are most often accompanied by a police officer to enforce compliance. After the elections, unless you are a real glutton for punishment or have a real drive to buck the system and prove you’re actually the answer to the two party system, and especially if there is a family crisis requiring you to be elsewhere, moving is definitely the easiest solution to stop the inspectors because once they have your address they will never lose it and be back right on que every year, especially if a large puddle of water follows every rainstorm in your front yard, they will be right there to threaten to write you up for a potential wetlands hearing. Fortunately the parade of the heartache ends soon after the election either way, if you lose they go back to ignoring you unless they get a real hard dislike to you and if you win, they desire keeping their job and you have such power to affect that status when you win.

 

Running for Federal office can and will give you insights to the political system and the first item you will learn, if you present a solid and appealing presentation of ideas, is that the two parties are actually so cooperative and often same sides of a coin and may even take up both sides of that coin such that the election is mostly meaningless. The only way the system will change is if more people run as third party, meaning no party which is best if you can manage that plus was the desire of George Washington who warned of the inherent evils of political parties, and the electorate begins to take notice and the political landscape returns to having an attentive and informed electorate which turns out to vote in numbers approaching or exceeding seventy-five to eighty percent in off-year elections and the public knows, understands and have debates amongst themselves and vote their minds, their hearts if necessary, and never settle for a candidate who does not agree with at the least sixty percent of the issues and completely on your three or four most important and meaningful particulars at the very least. Unfortunately such an electorate will require forty-years-wandering-the-dessert until all of the offending generation, with a few notable exceptions such as the two spies, Caleb and Joshua, who brought back optimistic and supportive reports out of the twelve spies, one from each tribe, went and gave witness to the Promised Land while the other ten told about a land full and bountiful but also included cities with towering walls manned by giant men of formidable strength who would be unbeatable by the Hebrews. They ignored the promise that Hashem would give them the lands if only they made the effort. For the sin of not believing and for allowing the rumors and timorous reports of the few to sap their will and faith in Hashem to fulfill His promises, they spent forty-years wandering the desert until only the next generation born outside of slavery was ready to take possession of the Promised Lands.

 

Meanwhile, the approximately three-quarters of Jews who voted for President Obama twice, both in 2008 and again in 2012, have either no knowledge of or are completely comfortable with a President who refuses to be seen with the leader of Israel in front of the media, insists the Prime Minister of Israel enter the White House for their first meeting by a side delivery entrance, and who goes to every extreme to place Israel in a compromised position, makes a statement which he knows is a lie to AIPAC and then within eighteen hours makes a retraction calling an impromptu press conference just to make completely sure that everybody knows he “misspoke” and did not mean what he said in his speech about Jerusalem and who has taken the Arab Palestinian side in-toto as his position on negotiations over disputed lands claiming Israel has no claim to these lands. President Obama’s statement and complete backing in heart even if not in vote as the United States Ambassador to the United Nations after vetoing a resolution against Israel and recognizing the Palestinian undisputed right to all of Judea and Samaria and sixty-percent of Jerusalem held a press conference where she announced that she, and implying the administration, actually agreed completely with the resolution but political pressures prevented their supporting it in the Security Council as a Chapter Seven binding resolution but would work towards the stated end in that resolution through actions taken in the Middle East. It could reasonably be believed that well over fifty-five percent of Jews would vote for President Obama again if he could legally run. The Jews in the United States as a whole care little to nothing for Israel and believe Israel should become a multicultural haven just like the United States and when informed that such would result in it becoming an Arab run state where the Jews would be persecuted, forced to leave, or murdered; they claim that would be a better result than allowing Israel to remain a, and I quote from the video above, “A Jewish supremacist State.” This is completely the opposite of the views of the Jews in 1967 when Jews dropped everything and watched the unfolding of the Six Day War in amazement and with pride that this was their people, this was Eretz Yisroel, their promised lands. I guess I was amongst the last of those Jews who I did finally find; they were all here in Israel.

 

Beyond the Cusp