Ghosting God, Ghosting Self
Day 19
Iran, Voting Rights, Freedom of the Press, even Freedom of Religion are being threatened in this moment, as they have been in the past. I am not sure if because it is history those times do not seem as bad as today’s or if it is truly worse in this moment because the fascists, the autocrats, the ego-centricity of the people “leading the charge” today, are more acutely aware of the errors of their ancestors and the errors they made to hold onto power forever. Either way, what is being lost, most of all, in my opinion, is Freedom to BE whom one is and not conform to the societal norms.
We hear a lot about Trump Derangement Disorder, we hear a lot of handwringing about what is going on, and what comes to me are Ann Frank’s words: “ In spite of everything, I still believe people are basically good at heart”. What comes to me are Rabbi Heschel’s words: “The greatest hinderance to knowledge is our adjustment to conventional notions and mental cliches, wonder or radical amazement, the maladjustment to notions and cliches, is, therefore, a prerequisite for an authentic awareness of that which is.” On one hand, we have all the Democrats complaining, speechmaking about the cruelty, the lawlessness and they are dismissed because they HAVEN’T DONE A DAMN THING TO CHANGE ANYTHING. On the other hand, we have the Republicans beating their chests with how powerful, how cruel, how disenfranchising, how racist, how anti-semitic, how islamaphobic they can be while sucking FAT ASS’S private parts and kissing that FAT ASS because they are making money at it. On another hand we have Kushner, Wytkoff, Lutnick, et al making a fortune off of the war with Iran, kissing Putin’s ring so they can make money in Russia-our ‘good white friend’, and pushing the agenda of MBS because he has the spigot open for them. On another hand, we have the examples of Minnesota, Chicago, Los Angeles where We the People took charge, where We the People did not listen to conventional wisdom that ICE was too strong, too pervasive, too popular, that Trump was keeping his promise about the criminal underbelly of illegal immigrants and STOPPED THEM IN THEIR TRACKS, at least for the moment-they are still rounding people up and, just like Westmorland in Vietnam, Stephen Miller and Tom Holman want the numbers-no matter if someone is not a criminal or even here legally, if they are brown-they are fair game.
What is so disgusting about what is going on today is how many Black and brown people, how many Jews voted for Trump going against their self-interests, going against what they knew to be true about him, going against what his words were saying. Even more disgusting and distressing is how people of all stripes and colors went along with the “conventional notion” of the Southern States-‘Blacks, Jews, Hispanics, Asians, are here to serve THE WHITE MAN’ and they have brought to fruition: “The South will rise again”. As I look to the Bible for strength and wisdom, I find that Sarah mistreated Hagar, a slave who became pregnant at Sarah’s request and Abraham was so disinterested in what Sarah was doing, he told her ‘go do what you want to do’, Sarah’s jealousy of Hagar was so great because she was younger, hotter, became pregnant when Sarah couldn’t and her frustration came out so badly, Hagar ran away-only to be brought back by an Angel of God. So too are these ‘good white christian folk’ going against the principles, the ways, the values, the preaching of Jesus, of the prophets, denying the exodus from the narrowness of Egypt. So too are these ‘fine white christian men’ afraid that their women will like Black men better than white men and so many other fears that these ‘fine Christ spouting men and women’ have which they hide in their cruelty. While they spout Christ’s words, they live the exact opposite of what Christ said! While the Kushner’s, Wytkoffs, Lutnicks spout the words of the Bible, they live the opposite as well, the Rabbis who support these assholes, bowing down to the Golden Statue of Trump in Florida by Hasidic leaders and, praising Trump’s Peace efforts by naming a ‘peace park’ for him in ANETEVKA!! What the FUCK, People. I am crazed over this, I hear the prophets in my ears, I hear my ancestors who fled Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Hungary prior to WWII, I hear the cries of the 6 million who the Nazi’s murdered in the name of RACIAL PURITY, get it??!!! And here we are again-it is beyond sad, beyond anger, it is the ultimate betrayal of God, the ultimate betrayal of our Self!
ACTION STEPS:
Make a list of the Freedom’s you have let go of in order to ‘make it in today’s world’!
How has senseless hatred of people who are ‘different’ than you led you to suffer from a “cancer of the soul”?
What are the ways you are like Sarah and/or Abraham-mistreating someone who has given you the gift of how to live well?
How are you fighting the fight of the Prophets against the ‘money-changers’ in the White House and Congress?
GOD BLESS and STOP GHOSTING GOD, GHOSTING SELF, Rabbi Mark