Stephen Altschuler

thoughts on environment, politics, health, life issues

Archives for September 2020

The Divide

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We have a serious Divide in our country right now, and it concerns me deeply. It seems that regardless of the outcome of this coming election, the Divide will continue, perhaps culminating in violence. This, of course, will deepen the Divide. We have painted ourselves into a proverbial corner, and I see no clear way out. Trump doesn’t help matters much. In fact, he seems to stir the pot of discontent, encouraging the very violence he purports to be against. Lately, six weeks before the election, he rants about not accepting the results, sounding and acting far more like Benedict Arnold than Abraham Lincoln. Biden is better, and I definitely recommend a vote for him and most Democratic candidates, but I don’t think his election will necessarily solve the problem. And he may not have the intestinal strength to do what needs to be done to calm the potentially violent, confrontational atmosphere after his election. White supremacist groups, which include the KKK, neo-Nazis, QAnon, an assortment of white militias, along with ultra-conservative media outlets may seize the opportunity to foment their brand of hatred upon the general public. And extreme leftist groups may resort to violence as well. Police and military forces may overreact as they already have during the George Floyd protests. Countries like Russia, China, Iran, North Korea may use cyber-attacks to widen the Divide, as they have already done to our electoral processes.

Biden who is a good and decent man, far beyond Trump in humanity, consciousness, and empathy will have an overflowing plate of the Trump-worsened pandemic and economy, along with this civil unrest. And I’m not sure how well he can handle this. But it must be him and not Trump who is in charge during this critical time in our country’s history. For Trump is not fit for this job, as concluded by his closest associates, family members, former government officials, and even an increasing number of Republicans.

Our country has been in this predicament before. During the Salem witch trials, there were people [Read more…] about The Divide

The Need for Nuance

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We live in a country that honors free speech, and that is wonderful. But what I’ve noticed is that people get overly judgmental and tend toward one extreme opinion or the other. And so we have great polarity in our country. We’re like two boxers in our respective corners, occasionally coming out to battle each other, then separating and returning to our corners for a time. We talk, but seldom to each other. And even then, we don’t listen to the other’s viewpoint. We react with a preconceived notion. We seldom come to a meeting of minds. We are, then, a divided country, perhaps even several divided countries within these supposedly United States.

We have our opinions, about abortion, about same sex marriage, about our political affiliation, about gun violence, about police brutality, about our religious beliefs, about race and racism, about diet, about sexual orientation, about our next door neighbor’s choice of car. And we build walls around these opinions and beliefs. Solid, high walls, complete with barbed wire on top. A political campaign begins and we know who we’ll vote for right from the start. And nothing will convince us otherwise. From politicians down to the trash collector, we ignore nuance. We become rigid in our thinking, because it’s safest to do so. It’s safest because we don’t have to [Read more…] about The Need for Nuance

Why Jews, and really everyone, should not vote for Donald Trump or any of his Republican enablers

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As an older secular Jewish man, I believe I’m in a good position to judge a politician’s attitude towards Jews. And one’s attitude and behavior towards Jews does not necessarily coincide with one’s opinion towards Israel and their governmental policies. That’s a very complicated snake pit that involves religious, territorial, nationalistic, historical, and cultural considerations. But one’s attitude and opinion of Jews is more visceral. Put the word Jew before any Western person and ask for their first impression and you will discover their basic attitudes and inclinations, especially if the responses are confidential and discreet.  Because of historic racism and prejudice towards Jews in the Middle East and Western worlds, I suspect those responses will be mostly negative and derogatory, depending on geographical, educational, economic, and religious factors.

I’m not a professional historian, but it is commonly accepted that the first Crusaders, around the year 1096, on their way to liberate the Holy Land from Islamic rule, invaded Jewish villages along the way, and massacred most of their inhabitants. The Crusades, after all, were church-sanctioned genocidal escapades to combat paganism and heresy. Jews were lumped in with Moslems in that regard. And to solidify the hatred, a conspiracy theory started in the Middle Ages, called blood libel, was spread by word of mouth, accusing Jews of murdering Christian children in order to use their blood as part of religious rituals. These claims—alongside those of well-poisoning and host desecration—have been major themes of the persecution of Jews in Europe. And Europeans brought such vicious falsehoods to America when they colonized this territory.

Believe it or not, this conspiracy theory still survives [Read more…] about Why Jews, and really everyone, should not vote for Donald Trump or any of his Republican enablers

If Jesus Came Back Today

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To those who believe in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, and millions around the world do, have you considered what he would say as he preached his first homily? I have, and I’m not even a Christian. But I am someone who, though does not believe Jesus was the only son of God, does consider him a great teacher and sage. I greatly value what he said and how he lived his life. At the heart of his teaching is the Golden Rule. Do you know it? I’m sure you do. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. That about covers every human to human and human to fauna and human to flora interaction with all living things. And since the planet itself is a living thing–the generally accepted Gaia Principle–the Golden Rule would apply to the entire planet as well.

So there he is, Jesus returned, resurrected, if you will, standing, perhaps, on the summit of Mt. Everest, delivering his homily for all of us to hear. A Sermon on the Highest Mount. I humbly submit, it might go something like this:

Dear Ones,

First, I want to clarify a misconception. I am not [Read more…] about If Jesus Came Back Today

We Should be Thanking Antifa

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Armaggedon, the prophetic war between the forces of good against the forces of evil has already started in America. It’s been coming to this for a number of years now, the start of which was the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. This triggered the internal conflicts of the 60s which spawned radical groups on the right and the left. The groups on the left kind of fizzled out over the next few decades, but the groups on the right organized, weaponized, and bided their time recruiting and training until they rejoiced and expanded as a result of something quite unexpected: the internet and the World Wide Web. As a result of the social media phenomenon which took root in the 90s and greatly metastasized up to 2016 when the mainstream population gifted them with the election of Donald J. Trump as President of the United States, perhaps the most powerful position in the world. This was the green light extreme right wing groups including white supremacists, nationalists, and militias were waiting for in order to fatten their coffers with funds, troops, and more sophisticated weaponry. It also allowed them to infiltrate key elements of society including the military, local police departments, and political institutions.

The extreme left was caught off guard as it watched fascism spill into the viscera of our country like a flash flood. Small groups of dedicated soldiers like Antifa formed and opposed the boisterous rallies of the radical right, but with Trump’s tweets casting aspersions on the group, he’s had some success branding them as villains and white supremacists the victims. But then the battlefield got much more intense and complicated when a police officer in Minneapolis put his knee to George Floyd’s neck, murdering a man they had just handcuffed and arrested. This touched off a firestorm of protest not only in this country but, amazingly, around the world. And the movement Black Lives Matter (BLM) was birthed and trained to walk/protest as quickly as a newborn foal.

This and the coronavirus pandemic caught Trump and the right wing extremists off guard, particularly seeing many white people supporting BLM and joining in their peaceful protests against police brutality targeting Black folk. So, Trump, panicking and seeing his popularity drop in the polls upped the ante and [Read more…] about We Should be Thanking Antifa