By David Smigel, Staff Writer
As Americans flocked together to follow the presidential race on election night, all waiting in eager anticipation to learn who would take the mantle as leader of the United States for the next four years, I found myself alone in my room, worrying about something else entirely.
Over the past year, we’ve seen the great power that unity holds for the Jewish people. Too quickly, however, we forget that this lesson was preceded by one on the crippling effects of division. Over the course of this election season, seeing how quickly we turn against each other over things as petty as American politics, I couldn’t help but stress.
It’s no secret that the United States has stood in an incredibly polarized position for quite some time. In a system where, realistically, there are only two parties to vote for, the country has devolved into an unending conflict between two sides which claim they can do no wrong. With flames only fueled further by media outlets which profiteer off of anger and unrest, the American reality is one in which “the other side” must always be completely wrong and “my side” must always be completely right.
Because of the binary affiliations Americans are locked into, they are deluded into focusing on nothing but the direction a policy or person may lean toward. Political labels are adopted as parts of a person’s personality and drive their decisions and opinions. Free thought is not encouraged in this system for fear of being ostracized and not fitting the mold expected of you.
This ideology has destroyed the concept of thoughtful debate and discussion. With everyone aimed only at being vindicated through triumph over the “enemy,” conversations have deteriorated to mindless insults and mudslinging directed broadly at “them” over the other side’s incompetence. Hope for bipartisan harmony and teamwork has never been further, nuance is rarely sought out and, rather than speaking in good faith, people wait only for their next opening to deliver a snide remark to invalidate the opposition. The impact this has had on the American psyche, in creating a black-and-white reality, sacrifices any sway or power words are capable of holding. Political “dialogue” these days hardly achieves anything but further pushing the two sides away from one another.
Though this has come to be expected of general American society, I am shocked to see that the American Jewish community has also fallen prey to this phenomenon. In favor of arbitrary alignments which in no way represent our shared values, Jews have allowed the cracks of division to invade our culture. Though we may disagree on how to address them, we all face the same collective issues. Fighting and speaking in manners which damage our brothers and sisters accomplishes nothing and places our community in a position of danger.
I’ve heard people claiming their candidate represents “Torah values” and I’ve seen Jews sweepingly dismiss any views which slightly deviate from their assigned party lines. What’s most frightening, though, is the absolute trust and dependence people have expressed for their sole candidate and affiliated political figures. The thought that we will find a champion of the Jewish people on the ballot, that the United States and its parties care about us as opposed to our votes, is a startling indication of the undue comfort many have come to feel in the diaspora. When we wholly commit ourselves to the ideologies of these groups as opposed to our people, we not only sacrifice our voices, but also our bonds.
While it may seem obvious to many that they are on the true and right side of the story, in reality they are opting for an easy, guiltless perspective at the expense of a complex one. When we bring that prideful attitude into the walls of our community, we close ourselves off from one another and create a toxic, uncomfortable environment for safe discussion. Losing ourselves in our pursuit of righteousness, we have become accustomed to targeting the person rather than the injustice. For Jews fighting for our representation and safety within this country and worldwide, we have turned to tearing into the very people we seek to protect under the guise of piety.
We must ask ourselves if we truly have each other in mind.
We often joke that arguing is one of the oldest Jewish traditions. However, the reason that this functions is due to our commitment to cooperation and mutual respect. Among our chief values are, and have always been, ahavat yisrael and achdut. When we dismiss each other offhand, we deny those involved their due respect and we deny ourselves the opportunity to think critically and widen our horizons.
If an opinion is truly worth holding, we should have no problem testing its foundations against criticism. Now, one can seldom criticize a leader or figure without being branded as a conspirator. Rather than standing rigidly by the banners of those who use us, we should be working together and focusing directly on the issues which affect us and the best paths to remediating them. Politics has become a sport with the sole objective of winning, we have become tools of the system rather than, as was intended, utilizing the system as a tool to enact change.
Victories do not mean that our fight is over, or that they are as monumental as we might have thought. Parties aren’t meant to represent us in our entirety. It is nonsensical that we expect such a thing and adopt their views rather than treating them as unavoidable baggage. Our celebrations over political progress must be muted and cautionary, we must never become complacent and expect things to suddenly change for the better in a single bound. The pattern of two thousand years has not changed in a way that we can now suddenly and wholeheartedly entrust our wellbeing to what is ultimately a foreign power.
To function productively, we must be able to explain ourselves, strategize together and execute coherent plans. When a blatantly antisemitic candidate made his way on the ballot of my district’s primary this summer, my community recognized the mutual threat. Shuls and institutions across my county reached across the aisle and respectfully came together to address the need. Through effective partnership, community members worked to vote, campaign and raise awareness that antisemitism was on the ballot. As a result of our success, he lost his seat.
I’ve seen mass email campaigns which reach out to politicians and institutions when they fail to stand up to antisemitism. As a result, we’ve witnessed the cancellation of harmful events, the resignation of many hateful figures and we’ve pushed back against the misinformation which pervades our society today. Our advocacy never stops. When we rally together we can excel. When we struggle for each other rather than against each other, we strengthen our communal voice and influence a far bigger impact than we ever could alone.
We are Jewish Americans, with “Jewish” coming first. We are not defined by parties which loosely express fractions of our views. We cannot lose sight of what we are fighting for. Our loyalties must lie in our people.
Photo Caption: American flags wave as President Bush departs for Camp David
Photo Credit: Gillian Whelan / Flickr