In my last blog, March 3, I expressed my own fears and insecurity as a Jew in this country. It has called on me to identify as a child of Holocaust survivors, first and foremost, despite all the other parts of who I am. Then Friday morning I realized I am not the only potential target of hatred and destructive acts. The murders of 49 people with 20 injured in New Zealand, mainly men deep in prayer, clearly reminded me that Muslims are targets too. Identified as non-white, dressed in their customary garb, they are as vulnerable as Jews, perhaps even more so, since their visible attire marks them as standing out from the crowd and part of our president’s identified enemies list. His vile language and immigrant bashing has created a vulnerable target for those who feel being white is superior and entitles them to decide who shall live and who shall die.
It sickens me to think of these innocent people, just like the Jews in Pittsburgh, deep in conversation or meditation with their G-d forced to take their last breath. I have found myself seriously afraid that this country is on the brink of another horrific moment in history, not unlike that of the division that existed over slavery. There were those white supremacists of the 19th century determined to maintain the black wo/man under their control, depriving them of their freedom and independence. They were willing to fight to hold on to their inhuman lifestyle. Each side, unmoved in their opinions, was willing to go to war where over 600,000 soldiers died in multiple battles.
When Donald Trump threatens all of us in this country by calling out his supporters – police, military, and bikers, he’s threatening violence upon all of us, casually saying, “it will be really bad, really bad.”
I’m frightened, I’m angry, and I’m deeply pained by the suffering of innocent people, men, women, and children, who hunger for peace, for comfort, for a safe home and community; “for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” that the Declaration of Independence quotes, that we, who live in this country, are entitled to have. Men fought in the American Revolution so that we would be independent and free from the bigotry and control of tyrants. They were inspired by our very own story of freedom, which we will celebrate in a few weeks. We hear it resounding in the musical Hamilton when he says, “…foes oppose us; we take an honest stand.
We roll like Moses claiming our promised land. Rise up, rise up.” The Exodus is the model for all peoples in all nations that slavery, control, and bigotry is inhuman and ungodly. I pray we can find a way to make room for the other, to welcome the stranger, and “V’ahavta L’rei-a-cha Kamocha,” “Love Your Neighbor As Yourself.” (Leviticus 19:18)
