The summer is over and the election period in America has ended. President-Elect Obama and the democrats have severed the head of the failed policies of the republican administration. The forces of good and evil are gathering their energies for a possible final struggle for the heart of mankind. This is not black and white. In fact both forces have within them tendencies toward drawing each other to its cause. The choice we must consider is whether we can support and believe, that which appears to be good is in fact just that. Change is more then just words. In the past, words driven by ego, as demonstrated by our political and religious leaders, have failed us as false prophets and have led mankind into the rungs of hell and deceit. The legions of evil have cast a dark shadow over most of the world today.
Democratic countries have been going through internal gyrations in their efforts to thwart the possibility of another world war on their territory. The US has had the blessing in the modern era of avoiding a horrendous war on its soil. This has resulted in its efforts to be the spearhead of confronting evil on its doorstep as 2001 demonstrated. Europe however has been left with lasting impressions of recent wars that has led it to deny at all cost that Muslim radicalism threatens the world as we know it.
Can Obama’s mantra of Change and “yes we can” be translated into a real bi-partisan agreement? I refer not to the multi-cultural concept of truth and the multi-perceptions of reality that often forces us not to act or at the least, impairs our good judgment. The forces of evil are lining up for their final fling with the attempt at destroying everything in its path. All for the simple desire to fulfill the skewed perspective of a failed and harsh radical philosophy that has only created suffering and the decline of equality of spirit.
It may be politically incorrect but all religions have lent themselves to this attempt to destroy everything that appears to undermine their ideology and to diminish the influence of the male power brokers. God is on their side. No amount of words will change their perspective. Only with our determined strength to uphold the dignity of men and women will we have a chance at survival.
I pray that Obama will see reason over ideology, thought over emotion, freedom over political enslavement, and love over entrapment as liberal and conservative forces will attempt to fight for their agendas. Israel is part of that battle. My country by choice, my love of this place (makom) is a pivotal force in understanding and experiencing the forces of evil as it rears its ugly head with each rocket and bomb that lands on our soil. Jews have been targets through out the millennium as a scapegoat for the unwillingness of the rest of the world to take responsibility for their terrible decisions that have had disastrous results for all of mankind.
We have much to fix and change in our country. There are many things both cultural and political that piss me off. The disrespect that we have for each other in the way we drive our cars, act politically and the attempt to destroy our society by the leadership from all parties whose only interests are self-serving through power and monetary reward.
I honor the efforts at helping the foreigner in our midst. Workers from all over the world that have come here by boat, plane and on foot through the desert just to be able to work and take care of their families in a country that has accepted them in spite of the drain to the social welfare system.
We have been called a “stiff-necked people” unable to move the upper body easily in order to see the world around us. We must unload the yolk that bounds us into submission by denying the dark forces that make their claim in the name of faith and religion. Our tradition is rich and rewarding. The clarity of human nature is ensconced throughout the entire Torah/Bible. Between the words and the letters are the mystical indications that an enlightened leadership is capable instilling in us the qualities that expand our understanding and love for ourselves and for each other.
We must make all efforts at peace and take determined steps to maintain our security against the forces of evil from within and from without. A daunting task but very familiar to us having had the experience of living in other peoples lands for generations.
Our journey of “tikkun olam” the repairing of the world, is a part of our being Jewish. It is inseparable from us as a nation of Jews and the dream of an enlightened population. We have much work ahead of us in the areas of Jewish and Arab trust. But there are signs within our society that lend itself to optimism. There are good and solid citizens that have dedicated themselves to this repairing process that ultimately benefits all mankind.
