The New Normal Isn't Just About Covid

Well, I managed to survive Ziggy's yahrzeit week, capping it all off with the 568th anniversary of the fall of Constantinople to the Turks, and the 68th anniversary of the arrival of Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay  at the summit of Mt. Everest. Young Sir insisted we put candles on the cake, we did, and we all sang Happy Birthday to Saba. We'd never done that one before, but the kids sang with great gusto. Happy birthday, dear Saba. Truth be told, I was rather pissed at Ziggy for not being there. It never ceases to piss me off that he isn't here for his grandkids, that they will never know him except through stories and photos. That they will never hear the squeaky noise or the nose be-boop from his lips. And even though both the Senior Son and the Junior Son are able to replicate those noises, it's just different enough to my ears that my heart hurts just a little. So it goes.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...tomorrow morning minyan will be live and in person at shul. There will still be masks and social distancing, but we will be back in the chapel on one day a week as we begin the process of reclaiming some semblance of normal. There are still concerns about Mondays and Thursdays when people cluster around the amud (lectern) for Torah reading. I think it's a proximity thing. Plus there are people with children too young to be vaccinated yet, so caution prevails. Which is fine. Meanwhile, we will still use zoom because our minyan now regularly includes people from a bunch of other states as well as Canada. Morning minyan has become a rather robust group and we're not about to deprive anyone of the ability to daven (pray) with us. If someone wants to attend, we are there for them...but we had this discussion a couple of weeks ago.

At the same time, we are acutely aware that the uptick of antisemitism cannot be ignored. The store selling yellow stars to people who think vaccinating is the same as gassing people needs to be recognized for what it is: a symptom of a very sick segment of society. Even though the proprietor of the store in Nashville, hatwrksnashville "apologized" on Instagram, the sentiment lacks a signature or other identification leaving, at least in this writer's eye, room to doubt the sincerity of the apology:

Let's go back to symptom for a moment. 

Symptom: a physical or mental feature which is regarded as indicating a condition of disease, particularly such a feature that is apparent to the patient.

When one has symptoms, one can either ignore it in hopes whatever ails one will go away, or one can go to the doctor to find out if it's a problem in need of attention. There are times if one ignores a symptom, it can kill you. When Jews in 1930s Germany thought Hitler was nothing more than a temporary aberration instead of a symptom of something bigger, over 6 million Jews and other minority groups ended up dying. 

The increase in violence toward Asians is yet another symptom of our nation's sickness. 

The daily reports of mass shootings is yet another symptom of our nation's sickness. 

The refusal to accept the results of a well-examined national election is yet another symptom of our nation's sickness. 

And the refusal of Republican senators to permit a bi-partisan investigation of the events of January 6th is yet another symptom of our nation's sickness. 

We, the People, can continue to keep our collective heads in the sand, refusing to recognize that this is one seriously sick nation while we prepare for the new American order. SCOTUS will hear cases on abortion rights, voting rights, LGBT civil rights, and immigration rights. With the current conservative majority, it is very possible that precedent will be ignored and laws will be overturned reflecting not the voices of We, the People, but the opinions of a narrow, religiously conservative band who would return us to a previous century. Once upon a time, this was unthinkable. Not so much now.

If one wants to narrow the scope to examine the results of our shift toward conservative/right wing government, one needs only to look at Texas, their legislature, and Governor Abbott.

May 5th: From the Texas Tribune  - America's racist history

Mirroring moves by other red-state legislatures across the country, Texas Republicans are attempting to reach into classrooms and limit what public school students are taught about the nation's historical subjugation of people of color.

Two bills moving through the Texas Legislature would bar the teaching of critical race theory, an academic discipline that views race as a social construct and examines how racism has shaped legal and social systems. 

Decrying critical race theory has emerged as a common refrain among conservative Republicans nationwide, but the Texas legislation would go further by discouraging Texas students from discussing current events or controversial public policy issues. 

May 19th, 2021:  From the Washington Post  limiting abortions

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) on Wednesday signed legislation banning abortions in the state as early as six weeks into a pregnancy, a measure slammed by critics as one of the strictest and most extreme measures in the nation and hailed by antiabortion supporters as a landmark achievement.

The Texas bill known as S.B. 8, described as a “heartbeat ban” abortion measure, prohibits the procedure the moment a fetal heartbeat has been detected. By banning abortion after the six-week mark, many women in Texas who are not even aware they are pregnant will not be allowed to get the procedure done in the state. The bill, which goes into effect Sept. 1, does not include exceptions for women impregnated as a result of rape or incest, but offers a provision for medical emergencies.

May 25th, 2021: From the New York Times  open carry gun laws 

Now, within days, Gov. Greg Abbott is expected to sign a wide-ranging law that will throw much of that regulation out the window, allowing virtually anyone over the age of 21 to carry a handgun, no permit required. The landmark bill would make Texas — which has three of the nation’s 10 biggest cities — the largest among 20 other states to adopt a “constitutional carry” law that basically eliminates most restrictions on the ability to carry handguns. 

May 29th, 2021:  From the New York Times   voting restriction

[Update: the bill was defeated  on Monday with the GOP promising to revamp it for passage] 

The Republican-controlled Texas State Senate passed a bill early Sunday that would impose a raft of new voting restrictions in the state, moving a step closer to the expected full passage of what would be among the most far-reaching laws in Republicans’ nationwide drive to overhaul elections systems and limit voting.

 

The bill would tighten what are already some of the country’s strictest voting laws, and it would specifically target balloting methods that were employed for the first time last year by Harris County, home to Houston.

 

In addition to banning drive-through voting and 24-hour voting, which were used by nearly 140,000 voters in Harris County during the 2020 election, the bill would prohibit election officials from sending absentee ballots to all voters, regardless of whether they had requested them; ban using tents, garages, mobile units or any temporary structure as a polling location; further limit who could vote absentee; and add new identification requirements for voting by mail.

 

Partisan poll watchers would also have more access and autonomy under the bill’s provisions, and election officials could be more harshly punished if they make mistakes or otherwise run afoul of election codes and laws.

 

 

These are but four examples of what is moving through the legislature in Texas. You will find similar bills moving through Republican controlled legislatures across the country. Even in Minnesota, the GOP led chamber is attempting to mirror some of these laws. 

It's interesting to note that 59% of Texans are against the new gun law, but that seems not to be of import to either the legislature or the governor. After all, Texas does have a fine history of mass shootings...including one that was planned for a Walmart today. Maybe more people firing at each other is a good thing. But one must ask if the folks of Texas will rise up against that flagrant disregard of the voice of the people? Probably not since most of the state seems to think Feckless Loser won the election. 

In other words, things are moving back to normal...that place where We, the People really don't count for much. 

There is no accounting for this level of collective irresponsibility. There isn't. But like any good symptom of a disease, if ignored, it will spread and fester. Just like it did in Germany, Austria, Poland.....

There is no vaccine against hate. There is no Pfizer or Moderna shot to be given that will stop senseless brutality. Human nature has time and time again proven that we are a warlike species, motivated by hatred of the other coupled with a desire to kill. Don't believe me?  Look at Yemen. Look at China. Look at Myanmar. Ethnic cleansing is alive and well in those places. 

Funny thing about those places....no one protests about the treatment of those people. I guess there are no Jews to blame there. Just a thought. 

The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Day
Not a great Bill Maher fan here, but last Friday, he won my vote.

Do yourself a favor...watch the whole thing. 
"You can't learn history from Instagram."