Whether pleased or distressed by the outcomes, we should celebrate the incredible privilege we enjoy of being able to participate fully in our democracy. We know as Jews that this has generally not been the case throughout our history.

Being a part of a loving, egalitarian community built on empathy and mutual respect leads one to behave in more compassionate ways with others whom one encounters in the broader world.

After what we’ve been through together, after everything we’ve seen, one would hope that we’d finally learned our lesson, that we’d figured out how to get along, to embrace and even celebrate our differences so that we might love one another fully. 

Imagine the pain of the families who had traveled a great distance for this sacred moment only to see it ruined.

On this Independence Day, let’s celebrate that ideal, and rededicate ourselves to reaching it.

It is easy to forget that each of these lives represents an entire world, each face a family broken.

With all the talk about that dramatic moment at the Oscars, much of the world ignored a more important story, one about true courage and what it really means to come to someone’s defense.