My Blog

Without subtext

sharna: what do you think?
Abe Marcus: Democrats are going to tank this country.
Abe Marcus: They could have passed the bill but wouldn’t.
sharna: what?
Abe Marcus: check the stock market
sharna: but republicans
sharna: are the people who didn’t sign the bill
sharna: it was just a few democrats
sharna: explain your logic
Abe Marcus: they didn’t need the republicans to pass it. The got it changed to meet their wants and then they tank it.
Abe Marcus: sad day for the Democrats
sharna: why didn’t the republicans vote for their president’s bill?
Abe Marcus: the market crashes and the Democrats will be the cause
sharna: that logic is silly
sharna: but funny
Abe Marcus: Bush was being too liberal and sucked up to the democrats. the conservatives didn’t like the bill as he changed it to accommodate the Dems
Abe Marcus: BUT the Dems could have passed it
sharna: interesting
Abe Marcus: Bye I’m going to watch the Sox game.
sharna: bye
Abe Marcus: I still love you
sharna: i love you too
Abe Marcus: L’Shana Tovah
sharna: happy new year!

…………..
With subtext
sharna: what do you think? (is your money ok?)
Abe Marcus: Democrats are going to tank this country. (I hate Barack Obama)
Abe Marcus: They could have passed the bill but wouldn’t. (There is nothing you can do to convince me to vote for him. Especially that stupid Sarah Silverman video)
sharna: what? (here we go)
Abe Marcus: check the stock market (don’t worry about me, you’re the one who works for a not for profit)
sharna: but republicans (which I still can’t believe I’m related to one)
sharna: are the people who didn’t sign the bill (and you’re not one socially, thank God)
sharna: it was just a few democrats (and wtf is wrong with them?)
sharna: explain your logic (You’re the smartest person I know, so I’m going to give you a chance.)
Abe Marcus: they didn’t need the republicans to pass it. The got it changed to meet their wants and then they tank it. (inept liberals)
Abe Marcus: sad day for the Democrats (hahahaha)
sharna: why didn’t the republicans vote for their president’s bill? (I hate President Bush)
Abe Marcus: the market crashes and the Democrats will be the cause (told you so)
sharna: that logic is silly (interesting)
sharna: but funny (still not buying it)
Abe Marcus: Bush was being too liberal and sucked up to the democrats. the conservatives didn’t like the bill as he changed it to accommodate the Dems (I hate President Bush too)
Abe Marcus: BUT the Dems could have passed it (inept liberals)
sharna: interesting
Abe Marcus: Bye I’m going to watch the Sox game. (I’m a Cubs fan, but hoping for a crosstown series)
sharna: bye (I want to watch the Sox game)
Abe Marcus: I still love you (even though you are a Democrat, voting for Obama, and not coming home for Rosh Hashanah)
sharna: i love you too (unconditionally)
Abe Marcus: L’Shana Tovah (Maybe you’ll get married so your mother will get off my back about it)
sharna: happy new year! (make sure you watch your weight so you stay healthy. And Unlikely.)

And then life went on.

Six months later, I experienced a broken engagement. While my close friends and immediate family were amazing, most people were extremely uncomfortable - understandably I guess. Not Mrs. Fox. She called to check in, not in a nosy intrusive way, but just out of concern, and then invited me to her home for Shabbat lunch.

“Any time,” she said. “And please call me Bev.”

And then life went on.

Until today. Until Mrs. Fox passed away.

Mrs. Fox has touched the lives of many. As a wife, a mother, educator and community member she was loved and respected by all who knew her. She had a bounce to her step and an infinite amount of energy. And, when I did finally go to her house, for Sukkot lunch, I learned she was a fabulous cook – rivaled by her daughter Renana’s gift for baking

Whenever someone that I admire passes away, I think about how I can honor their memory. When my Bubbie died, I honored her by hosting meals for friends to celebrate Shabbat. When my Zadie died, I promised to be as generous as he was, giving charity to the homeless asking for a dollar because, as he used to say, “you never know who is the righteous one.”

I promise to honor Mrs. Fox by refusing to ignore injustice even when it would be easier to continue walking. I promise to make uncomfortable phone calls when someone has suffered: be it a break up or the loss of a loved one. I will comfort those in need to the best of my ability.

I have been lucky to know many amazing people who [hope to] influence change through politics, activism, volunteerism, teaching and preaching. However, what I learned from Mrs. Fox is that you change the world not through [only] addressing the meta issues, but by how you care for individuals in distress and need. I can’t help but think if every person in the world cared for one another the way that Mrs. Fox cared for the people she came into contact with, the global problems would work themselves out. Think about how many other people witnessed my scolding or knew about the broken engagement. They were all good people, but perhaps they were uncomfortable, perhaps they felt awkward, perhaps they didn’t have time. Mrs. Fox prioritized my well being, a virtual stranger, but nevertheless a stranger in need.

With the passing of Mrs. Fox, there is a little less benevolence in the world.

Unless.

Unless we transmit her recipes of kindness through our own selfless acts so that she lives on - not just in all of our hearts but the hearts of others who never knew her.

May her memory be for a blessing.

When John McCain chose Sarah Palin as his running mate, I, like many around the world, googled her and read the brimming news coverage featuring scattered details about her biography. I admit that even though she is a Republican, I couldn’t help but give kudos to John McCain for making such a “maverick” move. [How ridiculous is it that choosing a woman is seen as unusual given women make up more than half of the population, but regardless it was bold given that only one other woman has ever been nominated.]

And then her speech! I found myself enjoying her jabs at Barack Obama. Yeah, small town people are awesome. Yeah, she probably does know a thing or two being governor so it’s fine that she is a heart beat away from the presidency. Yeah, come to think of it, pit bulls are like hockey moms.

But Sarah Palin, with all her charisma and rhetoric prowess is most definitely dangerous. And I believe that Americans will see beyond the superficiality and recognize that the prospect of a McCain-Palin presidency will not lead to a safer America, but a more perilous one. Their legacy could include unsafe abortions, an increase in teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, continued environmental damage, a retraction of basic freedoms, a continuance of the health care crisis, and more failed foreign policy degrading the United States’ reputation as a world leader.

McCain, no matter how independent minded he was at some point, has recently switched his stance on a woman’s right to choose. He has always been “Pro Life” but until recently he was opposed to overturning Roe v. Wade. If he is elected president, and pressured to appoint conservative judges, there is a real possibility that women’s lives will be in danger if forced to perform unsafe abortions.

You would think that the “Pro Life” crew would want women not to have unplanned pregnancies in the first place. Sarah Palin supports abstinence only sex education. Again, this is dangerous for our young people. Putting aside teen pregnancy, an abstinence only curriculum does not provide young people with the information that they need to prevent contracting sexually transmitted diseases.

Besides STDs, expect more kids to develop asthma due to Republican disregard of environmental protections. Watch wildlife and sea creatures die if Republicans expand drilling.

Freedom will suffer from a terminal illness as the Patriot Act is renewed under a Republican presidency.

Horrible diseases will continue to kill as progress is stunted without federal funds for stem cell research.

And those who contract those diseases will not be able to afford healthcare because the Republicans are not committed to providing affordable health insurance to all Americans, just as they are not committed to improving public education (with vouchers reducing fund for schools).

With joblessness rising, the subprime mortgage mess, instability in Georgia, Pakistan, Iraq and Afghanistan, the security of our country both domestically and abroad cannot be left to a senator who has compromised his values to appease the Republican Right and a governor who has the hubris to think that God supports her policies.

While both Palin and McCain are likeable and even worth admiring, if elected their policies will make America a worse place four years from now.