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Israel and The United States Are Two Separate Countries

As a resident of a large, heavily Jewish senior condominium, I encounter much commentary about Israel.  All too many of the missives I encounter imply that Israel is part of the United States, or (even worse) the United States is part of Israel. Here is my response.

First, I am an American. True, I am Jewish. But that does not make me Israeli. I believe that the United States has serious problems to resolve and must focus all of its  resources on American problems.

Second, neither Israelis nor Palestinians seem to have either great liking for the United States or much dedication to the need for a political resolution of their differences. Each has had many chances; each has, if you'll excuse my casual language, "blown" opportunities to move toward peace. They seem to take turns rejecting pro-peace advances by the other.

Third, support for Israel does not equal blind adherence to Israeli policy. And, just as the minority Tea Party people here have, in a real sense, hijacked our government, so the ultra-orthodox religious parties in Israel unfairly and unfortunately dominate Israeli policy.

I consider Israel a moderately friendly ally. Nothing more. And I don't much like the company they're keeping - a farrago of right wing zealots whose support for Israel is based on their religion.

I've offered the friend whose letter triggered this response the opportunity to reply to it. If I get a response I will publish it.

Stop Balkanizing Our People!

One of our big problems is the Balkanization of the electorate.

Some of my friends immigrated from Haiti. They have dark skins. Does that make them African Americans. The ones who aren't citizens or working toward citizenship are generally identified with a specific country, which might be an African country, a Caribbean county, ... If they happen to speak Spanish they might even be considered black Hispanics. I have NEVER met anyone who considers himself or herself "African American." With very few exceptions (those few who have dual citizenship) there IS no such thing as an "African American."

Many of my neighbors identify strongly with Israel. Does this make them Israeli Americans? With very few exceptions (those with dual citizenship) it does not.

Get lost in Miami and you had best know some Spanish. You'll have a hard time finding anyone who speaks English. Does this make those folks Spanish Americans? Not even close - I doubt that 5% of them have even visited Spain. Hispanic Americans? Same issue. I had the opportunity once to speak with a few young ladies whose ancestors came from a couple of Spanish-speaking countries. The asked me how "Latinas" could advance. My answer, as you might guess, was a more polite version of

"Forget the word "Latina." Be Americans."

In the interest of transparency, I'll disclose my own ancestry. My father was born in a city that was Austrian at the time; now it's Russian. My mother was born in New York City; both her parents were immigrants from Poland.Both my parents considered themselves Jewish, and by Jewish law they're right. That means that under Israeli law they - and I - have the right to move to Israel and be automatically granted Israeli citizenship even though the only Hebrew word I really know is l'chaim. Until recently my hair was as kinky as anyone's, so it's likely that there is some black blood in my ancestry. Almost anything else might be lurking in my past. So what am I?  ½Austrian-½Russian-Polish-Jewish-maybe black-potentially Israeli American? I can't even say it on one breath.

 I'm an American. My attributes include European ancestry and Jewish heritage, but there's a lot more to me. I'm a scientist, a family man, a software designer and developer, a blogger, ... My brother, a professional artist and translator can go further - he has dual US and Canadian citizenship and could legitimately call himself a Canadian American or an American Canadian. Of course like me, he can also claim to be ½Austrian-½Russian-Polish-Jewish-maybe black-potentially Israeli American.

This business of attaching national labels to people based on their ancestry is childish and meaningless. We must start thinking of people as Americans (possibly with a second citizenship) or non-Americans. Anything else is racism.

An Open Letter To President Obama

Mr. President:

Now that we're past the immediate debt ceiling crisis, take a good look at the people around you.

I'm particularly uncomfortable with Treasury Secretary Geithner. He often struck me as being "the enemy within." As far as I can tell, he does not support you in any way. I may be wrong but I, and many others out here, perceive him that way. His background is a melange of Asian matters, international policy, and involvement with failed Lehman Brothers, "too-big-to-fail" AIG. To me, and to many other voters I know, his continued presence sends a strong signal of weakness.

I'm glad that Secretary Gates resigned. His presence in your cabinet made it very hard to defend your actions in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Guantanamo, and other terrorism-related issues. It's still hard, but not as hard as it would have been with the picture of Secretary Gates pulling your strings.

For the same reasons I wish you had not chosen General Petraeus to head the CIA. To many people General Petraeus symbolizes the very unpopular wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya. This perception may be unfair to the General, but what does fairness have to do with real life?

In short, you have a really tough re-election battle ahead. Your image has taken a beating. I don't know the reasons behind the way you have  conducted yourself recently. but you don't seem to be the leader I voted for.

Even I, one of your strongest supporters in an area where the electorate would have much preferred Hillary Clinton, am having some serious concerns about my ability to speak effectively on your behalf. You could help me and your other supporters by sending some clear signals that show your fundamental dedication to the historic principles of the Democratic Party, and your willingness to fight strongly for them.

Mr. President, I don't know who you are or what you stand for. In 2008 I had hope, Now I have only a wish ... a wish for the strong progressive leader our country so desperately needs. If that's you, please "Be what you are and be it in style"❶. If you're someone else, please show us who you are.

❶ A phrase often  written by Robert Heinlein for his "Lazarus Long" character.

Dogs Are Wise, and We Would Be Wise To Heed Them

This post is nothing like my usual ones, but it does fit the "Common Sense" theme. I hope you enjoy it.

I subscribe to ArcaMax Jokes Ezine to ensure that there's always a light moment in my morning. But once in a while they publish something that may not be as funny as their usual offering but contains some folk wisdom worth pondering. I'm quoting one of today's items uncut, but with some commentary. Their words are in blue, my comments in green, and wisecracks by my grand-dog, Sparky, are in brown.

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Sparky Love Sandler

 

Sparky weighs about 20 lb, but his long hair makes him look much bigger. He's a "rescue dog" saved from the Humane Society by my daughter's neighbor, and then given to my daughter when the neighbor found she had to be away too much to give him proper attention. We think he's two or three years old, and a terrier mix, (mostly border terrier and Australian terrier.) He is smart and good-natured.

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The Wisdom of Canines

1) The reason a dog has so many friends is that he wags his tail instead of his tongue. -Anonymous

Have you noticed that dogs don't use their tongues when they bark?

2) Don't accept your dog's admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful. -Ann Landers

But my grandpa and my grandma and my mommy are wonderful.

He's right about his mommy and his grandma. No comment about his grandpa the blogger.

3) If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went. -Will Rogers

4) There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face. -Ben Williams

I would be a great therapy dog. I love to lick my peoples' faces.

5) A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself. -Josh Billings

6) We give dogs time we can spare, space we can spare and love we can spare. And in return, dogs give us their all. It's the best deal man has ever made. -M. Acklam

7) Dogs love their friends and bite their enemies, quite unlike people, who are incapable of pure love and always have to mix love and hate. -Sigmund Freud

8) I wonder if other dogs think poodles are members of a weird religious cult. -Rita Rudner

9) A dog teaches a boy fidelity, perseverance, and to turn around three times before lying down. -Robert Benchley

10) Dogs need to sniff the ground; it's how they keep abreast of current events. The ground is a giant dog newspaper, containing all kinds of late-breaking dog news items, which, if they are especially urgent, are often continued in the next yard. -Dave Barry

11) Anybody who doesn't know what soap tastes like never washed a dog. -Franklin P. Jones

12) If your dog is fat, you aren't getting enough exercise. -Unknown

13) My dog is worried about the economy because Alpo is up to $3.00 a can. That's almost $21.00 in dog money. -Joe Weinstein

14) Ever consider what our dogs must think of us? I mean, here we come back from a grocery store with the most amazing haul -- chicken, pork, half a cow. They must think we're the greatest hunters on earth! -Anne Tyler

Right. And some of it even comes in cans.

15) Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea. -Robert A. Heinlein

Heinlein got that one right for sure!

16) Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read. -Groucho Marx

How would he know? Was he ever inside a dog?

Official White House portrait of the First Dog

 17) Speak softly and own a big, mean Doberman. -Dave Miliman

Hmmmm. Maybe a big, mean Doberman should be one of the perks of the Presidency. Bo is cute but sometimes a President should have a junkyard dog.

18) If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you; that is the principal difference between a dog and a man. -Mark Twain

19) Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole. -Roger Caras

That's what I try to do.

20) If you think dogs can't count, try putting three dog biscuits in your pocket and then giving Fido only two of them. -Phil Pastoret

21) My goal in life is to be as good a person as my dog already thinks I am. -- an OleHoss 

I try,

but only the people around me

will ever know

 whether I succeed.