Ghosting God, Ghosting Self
Day 33
“Indifference to the sublime wonder of living is the root of sin” according to Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel. Yesterday, in a zoom study, we were speaking about the lost “art of wonder”. We the People have taken so much for granted and find ourselves heading back to the last century, to the 1800’s, and beyond in history. With the racism and antisemitism coming from both the right and the left, it seems overwhelming to many of us. In his book, The Secret War against Hate, Steven J. Ross lays out how the indifference to hate, our indifference to what was happening since the end of World War II has brought us to this moment, when our caring and concern, our “surprise” and fear of being taken hostage by the autocracy in charge right now is in full bloom and on full display in many circles-both in 60’s liberal circles and 60’s conservative ones.
Yesterday I asked “What happened to us” and this is the major reason America and Israel for the domestic turmoil both countries are in-indifference going far back in both of our histories. For Israel it is a repeat of the errors dating back to the times of the prophets and 70 ad, for America, according to Professor Ross, it is what happened upon the soldiers returning from World War II. He posits that the returning soldiers came back to an America that was different. After fighting to “keep our country safe”, they now had to deal with a new reality back home: women working, Jews and Blacks getting the same jobs they held, these non-Christians did not know their place! And the lies of Henry Ford, Father Coughlin, Lindbergh, took root, again, and issued in a new “Jim Crow” era. These returning soldiers were from the North and the South, the East and the West, they brought together the simmering hatred, the fear of ‘the other’, the belief that White Christian men were the privileged ones and the ONLY people that should be running things!
While this was met with indifference by the government of Dwight D. Eisenhower, their anger, their cruelty, their ‘who do these n-word and kikes thing they are grew exponentially! The Brown v Board of Education ruling was largely ignored in the South and in the North, it took Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat on a bus and the subsequent bus boycott of 381 days to get Montgomery, Alabama to say “Uncle” and end the segregation on buses! Not the segregation everywhere else, however-and most of America remained indifferent! The Jews were treated the same with quotas for admission to the colleges, being told to change their names to get ‘good’ jobs, still being under suspicion as not “real Americans” because they cared more about Israel and one another to care for “our White Christian Country”. Are you starting to understand the evil that indifference allows, supports, brings about?
The Republicans in Congress remain “indifferent” to the plight of the average American-giving power to the rich, to their allies here and abroad, kissing the ass of Putin and AIPAC, Xi and Saudi Arabia, wanting to annihilate Iran and kill millions of innocents while not putting American Soldiers on the ground-how ridiculous!! AOC, Bernie, and their gang-who are as thuggish as Trump’s and the Republican’s, also are indifferent to the plight of anyone they deem not poor enough, not discriminated enough, not enough of an underdog to warrant their concern-hence they can support the terrorists of Hamas and, by extension, the terrorism promoted by Iran; they can inhibit the “free speech” of the centrists by name-calling, not being willing to make incremental changes because that’s what’s available; having their noses turned up and disdain for anyone who disagrees with them-using name calling and shaming as much as Trump, et al.
“What happened to us”, is we the people became indifferent to “we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal”, we all have “certain unalienable rights”, “among these are life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness”. NO WHERE DOES IT SAY CHRISTIAN WHITE MEN ONLY! The Supreme Court has become “indifferent” to these words and the Bill of Rights as well. The course correction is crucial, We the People are being called by God, by one another, to take these demands of the Bible, of the Declaration of Independence, of the Constitution seriously and take these
ACTION STEPS:
Do a daily inventory of the things you have been indifferent to this day and in previous days
Write on the reasons you have stayed indifferent and how you rationalize this way of being
Make a list of those you have harmed beginning with self, God, family and the people most in need of your help
Say HELLO to people, ask how they are and how you can help with sincerity and eagerness to be of service and joy at the opportunity.
List your talents and find places to offer them to those in need
GOD BLESS, STOP GHOSTING GOD, GHOSTING SELF, Rabbi Mark