Tag Archives: anti-Semitism

The Summer of the Rising Tides, Day 36: Courage and Chaos

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, Family, Historical, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

July 6, 2020-

The day started early, with the rise and shine spirits getting me out of bed at 5:30. The heat of summer is a pretty strong cue. There was also some inspiration for what I have been asked to do. I have thought to myself that, even if this is coming from a less than honest person, I will not be divulging any personal information, as I am a document preparer and little more. So, I cranked out the preliminary report and sent it to him for review, by 10:30.

Most of the day, again, was spent on Harmonic Convergence, which today addressed the topic, “Facing the Shadow”. How apropos for this time! Each of us is facing the shadow of opposition to our own views; the shadow of demands upon our time, energy and, if we’re not careful, our money; the shadow of self-doubt; the shadow of gaslighting of our experiences.

The greatest of these shadows, and one which could face us all, is the shadow of chaos. Christians identify this force as Satan, or Lucifer, the chaos of ego run amok and of opposition to the Divine.

Only courage, literally coeurage, the strength of the heart, can face down this conniving, but listless, absence of light and lack of conviction. Courage can, and will, bring caution those who seek to instill excess in the wake of true justice-as those who demand that figures of the past must adhere to the standards of the present, in order to be honoured in the least manner are attempting to do. Following the rightful retirement, of those who fought against our country, from public honour, it is wise to hit the pause button on destruction of honours given to those whose life stories are more mixed. Who among US has a sterling record?

There is much to tidy, to cleanse, from our national story, without tearing down more broadly-based monuments and without forbidding study of the dark chapters of our country’s treatment of people of African descent, whether free or enslaved; of those who are our continent’s First Nations, including, by extension, Native Hawaiians; of those who come to this country from our southern neighbours; of those who come from all parts of the Asian continent and from the southern islands of the Pacific.

White people have been mistreated, too, and by the same forces who profited from enslavement of Black people and slaughter of Native peoples. Nicola Tesla and Preston Tucker were threatened, marginalized and ultimately banished from pursuing technological advances that put the wealthy, the powerful and the mass media at risk of financial loss, even though that loss would have been short term. Each newly arrived ethnic group from Europe faced discrimination from those who came before them. Women faced a long, and often tortuous, fight for equality with men before the law, and it’s not over yet. Jews, and their distant cousins, the Arabs, face blame for anything that may discomfit European-Americans.

Courage faces all these, and if triage is necessary to stanch the bleeding of African-Americans, indigenous people or children who are at risk of separation from their parents, along our southern border-then triage it is. It will not mean amnesia, with regard to the legitimate claims of Whites, or of conservatives who happen to be Black or Hispanic. It will mean, as any parent with several children knows, that the greatest need gets addressed first; that the most vulnerable are made secure, first.

Courage is not fazed by criticism, rage or ridicule. Courage does what it does, because it is, along with truth and love, a basic element of Justice.

The Price of Cancellation

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Posted by on in Community, distraction issues, Historical, impediments, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

August 17, 2019-

I read, this morning, about Sarah Silverman’s having had a role canceled, by a director who was furious that she had done a Blackface skit-sometime in the 1990’s.  It turns out that the skit was a parody of someone else doing Blackface, and that it was intended as a cautionary message to people, not to do likewise.  Undeterred, the Red Queen of a director maintained the ‘majesty’ of that decision.

We have run amok, with the notion that an offense, however real or imagined, is sufficient to remove a person from one’s social circle, employment or from society itself, for that matter.  Criticizing a move by the Israeli government, apparently makes one an anti-Semite (never mind that Arabs, who usually end up wearing that label, are themselves Semites, as are, of course, Jews).  Having a discourse with one’s political or philosophical opposites makes one “dangerous to society” (I’ve seen this behaviour from both the political Right and Left.)  Now, comes the film-making community, with the search, flashlight in hand, for ANYTHING in a performer’s past that violates a narrow code of acceptable conduct.

People, rightfully, note signs and behaviours of late, that remind them of pre-World War II Germany and Italy.  These do need to be called out.  Case in point: A person driving a truck into a crowd of protesters is NOT exercising his rights, under the law.  At the very least, he is acting as a vigilante,  At worst, he is committing an act of domestic terror.

Dismissing those, with whom we disagree, from the realm of existence, though. is a slippery slope.  We have a prime example of this:  The French Revolution.  It was a far more complicated mess, of course, but the dehumanization of those who are of opposite persuasions  almost always ends with the opposite of what was originally intended.

So, I think of my present life.  There are two people who have verbally threatened me, over the past three years.  I have taken steps to ensure they are of no further consequence in my life- but they are certainly free to live their own lives, without my hectoring or interference.  I disagree, strongly, with several people on certain issues.  To carry on and try to deprive them of  life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness would be ludicrous.

We go on, and hopefully will do two things:  1. Carefully review and verify any report of a public outrage (i.e. the false report of people dousing a reporter with quick-drying cement, in Portland, several weeks ago).  2. Remind self that, in a world created by a Higher Power, one’s own likes and dislikes do not necessarily need to be indulged by the Universe.

Cancellation is always an option, and it comes with a price.