The other day, I read a quote from a MAGOP operative. He described the party’s Religious Right as “Christian warriors willing to accept Trump with flaws.” I thought, what an eloquent-sounding way to twist reality into knots in order to obfuscate what otherwise would undercut the reality of evangelicals pretending they're even remotely concerned with the Bible. After all, how noble the concept of “Christian warriors” appears to be, as if meaning they would go to battle and risk everything for the teachings of Jesus. And how humane and loving they sound by embracing those who are imperfect, just as Jesus would do. It’s all so beatific. But then you take just a step back. And just open your eyes as the real world does all the work and spreads itself out before you. No, evangelicals are not willing to accept Trump with flaws. They are willing to accept that Trump has close to no connection at all to Christianity, other than using it as a theatrical prop. They are willing to accept, by their own supposedly-devout standards -- the strict religious standards they cry as being Christian warriors -- that Trump is a heathen, but still want him to lead them. They are willing to accept in Trump what they not only denounce in most anyone else, especially those not Republican, but decry as evil, berate as being from the devil, reprimand as Satan's spawn. But Trump? Thumbs up, it’s just “flaws”. Which they’re kindly willing to accept, even despite being “Christian warriors”. This isn’t a case of Trump having “flaws.” This is not “Forgive me, o Lord, for stumbling, and thank you for catching me in my faults and setting me on the path to righteousness.” This is a case of Trump not only having so many flaws that they’re spilling out of his ears and other orifices, ruining the carpet that covers society, but that he doesn’t even think he has any flaws and literally has said he has nothing to ask forgiveness for! And by “literally,” I literally mean literally. In 2015, when running for president, Trump did an interview with Anderson Cooper who wondered if “asking for forgiveness” was central to his personal faith. "I try not make mistakes where I have to ask forgiveness," Trump replied. Unable to admit human mistakes. And further, when Cooper followed up about repentance, Trump answered "I think repenting is terrific." But then added, “Why do I have to repent or ask for forgiveness, if I am not making mistakes? I work hard, I'm an honorable person." So, yes, literally. Putting aside that "honorable" is not a quality one hears ever attached to Trump, this is a man who says he literally doesn’t make mistakes. And says therefore that if you don’t make mistakes, there’s no reason to repent or ask forgiveness. It borders on impossible for evangelicals to justify the concept of accepting Trump for his flaws when he himself doesn’t even say he makes mistakes. But then, it’s also near-impossible to justify actions as mere “flaws” when they include being found liable for the equivalence of rape. And being convicted of a felony as part of having sex with a porn actress after his wife had just given birth to his child. And being found liable twice for defamation. And found guilty of business fraud. And having his charity foundation shut down for a "shocking pattern of illegality.” And creating a policy to take children from their parents and cage them. And not feeling you have anything to repent or ask forgiveness for doing so. Because those aren't mistakes since you don't make mistakes. And that doesn’t touch on such “flaws” that Christian warriors are willing to blissfully accept in Trump as he is unable thus far to name a single Bible verse that means something to him. Unable to name just one, even knowing he will keep getting asked this (asked because he says he “loves the evangelicals”) and could just have a junior staffer come up with something, any verse he could write down on a card and keep in his wallet until needed. Even Scripture as basic as “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” Or not even be able to explain (as happened two weeks ago) what his relationship is with God, but only kept repeating how much the evangelicals love him. Or go into a church to give a speech (as he did the other week) with families and little children in attendance and swear up a storm in their House of God. All this and much more is supposedly “Christian warriors willing to accept Trump with flaws.” No, this has zero to do with Christianity or accepting flaws. This is sanctimonious, empty vessels, so lost and tortured inside that they'll embrace the loudest con man to tell them what to do, closing their self-proclaimed devout eyes and minds to the teachings of God they need to insist drives them, all so that they can break not only one of the Ten Commandments, but the very first one (!!), and willfully follow a false idol. And no, that is not hyperbole, since news reports and social media are full of stories with evangelicals carrying signs about Trump being from God and pictures of Trump that come as close to being like Jesus as Artificial Intelligence can figure out without burning in Hell. The only thing that surprises me is that the Religious Right hasn't tried to say (yet) that the "J" in "Donald J. Trump" actually stands for Jes...oh, you know. There have been many ways that have tried to describe this reality. But ultimately, it really doesn't matter if this is a religious cult or a sect of Whirling Dervishes or just a self-deluded, venal and frightened pitchfork-carrying mob that believes snake charmers and anonymous hucksters who can make money off them by telling them what they desperately need to hear: that it's "the others" -- other for any reason, every reason, just different, it doesn't matter why, being different is enough -- who (because they're different) are therefore wrong and wicked about everything. Which comfortingly explains why they themselves haven't succeeded enough or at all, even if such hatred for others conflicts with what they insist is the faith they believe. And then proclaiming themselves “Christian warriors” because it sounds like they’re on a Crusade to vanquish the infidels. When all it is…is putting a dirty, used band-aid on a broken arm, while a cancer is rotting them from within. There are none so blind as they who will not see. Of course, if they truly want to vanquish the infidels, they really don’t have to travel as far as they think, and can make a huge dent in pagans by getting rid of the guy leading their Crusade.
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There was a headline on RawStory yesterday: "'Evil will be shaken down': Gleeful evangelicals warn God is vengeful after Trump trial" There is a parable you may have heard. But even if so, it's such a good one that it stands out even on repeating. There was a massive flood, and a man was caught in his home. A police car drove by, and the officer yelled out to the man to get in quick and save himself. "No," the man replied, "God is good. I believe in God. God will save me." And the car drove off. The storm was so great that the streets soon became flooded, and eventually a rowboat came by. The rower yelled out to the man to get in and save himself. "No," the man called back, "God is good. I believe in God. God will save me." And the boat rowed off. The flood grew so torrential that the waters soon filled his home, and the man had to crawl onto his roof. As the rain poured down, a helicopter hovered overhead. The pilot lowered a rope ladder and shouted down to the man for him to climb up and save himself. "No," the man hollered back through the tempest, "God is good. I believe in God. God will save me." And the helicopter flew off. Eventually, the storm became so great that the man fell off into the raging water and drowned. When he reached heaven, the man was distraught and coming upon God, he and angrily said to Him, "God, You are good. I believe in you. I was certain You would save me. Why did you let me drown?" And God said to the man, "Let you drown? I sent you a police car, a rowboat and a helicopter. What are you doing here?!!" What these evangelicals miss in their self-induced, blind glee is the likelihood that Trump's trial convicting him of a felony -- AND his trial finding him liable for rape AND his trial finding him guilty of business fraud...are, through their unrelenting repetition and ever-increasing finding of guilt, God's vengeance. First, Trump lost in court to E. Jean Carroll and was fined three million dollars. Then, he lost again to her and this time was fined an additional $85 million. Then, he was convicted at yet another trial and fined a massive $454 million. And just now, Trump was convicted of a felony -- and actually risks jail. Apparently, evangelicals -- who believe in their deepest souls the infallibility of God -- seem to think that God has screwed up and not only failed to get Trump off each time, but also failed to reek vengeance after the first trial loss...and second trial loss...and third trial loss...and fourth trial loss. One would like, for an evangelical, they would assume God did know what He was doing, and increasing the penalties each time was His way of showing it. His way of showing his vengeance against Trump. His way of sending a police car. Rowboat. And helicopter. To show that this was His way to protect and save society. And if evangelicals want to believe so devoutly in God, yet miss the signs He is sending them, they can be as gleeful as they want waiting for God's vengeance, all the while missing what's right in front of them. And as they end up in Purgatory waiting to be sent to Hell, and ask God why didn't He save Trump...and save them, He will answer -- "I sent you a false prophet who couldn't ever once name a Bible verse he liked. Who panhandled his own personal Bibles being "the only Bible endorsed by Donald Trump," as if his endorsement made it better than Mine. And who couldn't explain his relationship to Me but instead made it all about himself and how people love him. What were you doing following him??!!! I thought of posting this on the first night of Passover, but since it’s called Saturday Night Seder, I figured it’s best to wait until tonight. This is a wonderfully entertaining “Seder” that was done four years ago, on April 11, 2020 during the very early days of the pandemic, when people couldn’t gather for their traditional Seder service. It’s made with a seriously impressive cast – complete with a lot of humor, original songs, and traditional Seder songs – and put together with notable writers. I should add that while much of it is very funny, it’s also (in part) serious with the inclusion of several rabbis and the telling of the Passover tale and its meaning. But it’s the entertainment that stands out. The cast, not shockingly, is mostly Jewish – it is a Passover Seder, after all… -- but not exclusively, with quite a few invited guests. Among the many participating – and this is only a partial list -- are (in alphabetical order): Pamela Adlon, Jason Alexander, Skylar Astin, Mayim Bialik, Rachel Brosnahan, Andy Cohen, Fran Drescher, Cynthia Erivo, Beanie Feldstein, Harvey Fierstein, Ilana Glazer, Whoopi Goldberg, Josh Groban, Richard Kind, Nick Kroll, Dan Levy, Judith Light, Alan Menken, Idina Menzel, Debra Messing, Bette Midler, Isaac Mizrahi, Ben Platt, Billy Porter, Sen. Chuck Schumer, Stephen Schwartz, Sarah Silverman, Shaina Taub, Henry Winkler, Finn Wolfhard, and many more. Not a bad cast. And not shabby, either, are those who put it all together. The head writer of the hour-long event is Alex Edelman – who I wrote about here the other week. He’s the star and writer of the hit one-man show on Broadway, Just for Us, that HBO recorded and is currently airing. Also, some of the original songs were co-written by Benj Pasek – part of the Oscar-winning songwriting team that wrote the movies, The Greatest Showman and La La Land, as well as the Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen, which won six Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Original Score. Saturday Night Seder was also done as a fundraiser for the CDC Foundation COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund. So far, it has raised $3.5 million. I was bemused, but not remotely surprised, by all the faux "outrage" from the world of MAGOP over President Biden making a proclamation about Transgender Visibility Day, the same day as Easter. O horrors. A few thoughts immediately struck me, all of which seemed pretty obvious, but I guess the points slipped through the MAGOP cracks. First, if your religious faith is able to be shaken by other events also happening on the same day that is sacred to you, then it seems your religious faith has a pretty weak foundation. Second, Transgender Visibility Day became a world event 15 years ago, in 2009, and it always falls on March 31. The date of Easter always changes each year. And this year, they both just happened to fall on the same day. Though, in fairness, the Transgender Visibility Day folks did have a standing, 15-year claim on the day. Third, what little I know about Christianity, it seems to me that Jesus would especially welcome his day being celebrated in honor of people being discriminated against. And fourth, no, President Biden was not getting rid of Easter by noting the occasion of another event. Putting aside that since Easter is celebrated by the church, he has no actual presidential authority to get rid of a religious holiday -- however, the White House had a very public Easter Egg hunt on their grounds which should have been a big hint that President Biden was joyously-happy about celebrating Easter. Mind you, the MAGOPs also tried to find fault with President Biden’s Easter Egg hunt, trying to be “outraged” that a White House flyer for the event explained that participants in the egg decorating contest couldn’t include any “religious symbols, overtly religious themes, or partisan political statements.” It took a statement released by the American Egg Board (yes, really!) that this has not only been the policy for the group’s standard requirements on public events for almost half a century (!), but that also of course means the policy existed when Trump was in office. As they wrote: “The American Egg Board has been a supporter of the White House Easter Egg Roll for over 45 years and the guideline language referenced in recent news reports has consistently applied to the board since its founding, across administrations.” But hey, why let a half-century reality get in the way of a chance to be “outraged” by something non-existent about President Biden. This is today’s Republican Party, of course, and that’s Standard Operating Procedure. In fact, my favorite “outraged” tweet about this all came from someone who tried very hard to make clear why the “excuse” of March 31 being Transgender Visibility Day was meaningless -- but unfortunately for them in doing so, they said the quiet part out loud. What he wrote was -- “The excuse will be that ‘Transgender Day of Visibility’ is a fixed ‘holiday’ that always falls on March 31. The problem with that excuse is that the president does not need to issue any proclamation recognizing it and no president has recognized it until Biden two years ago. He may not decide the date for this fake bullshit holiday but he does decide to officially proclaim it.” As I replied, the big problem for him (and for others equally “outraged”) is that the reason for his “outrage” becomes 100% clear by his comment, as he tries to explain away that pesky March 31 date. After all, he said plainly: it's not that Transgender Visibility Day (which he acknowledged is always March 31) and Easter happen to share the same day this year, but that the "problem," as he says outright, is that President Biden has recognized Transgender Visibility Day for three years now, whatever day it falls on. Got it. Thanks for clarifying things. The “outrage” can’t be more blatant than that. But the MAGOP “outrage” over non-existent reality didn’t even end there, of course. Because…I mean, why should it? They’re MAGOP. They eat “outrage” for breakfast. And after the reality about Transgender Visibility Day always being on March 3 for for the past 15 years became a hurdle too high to get over, the MAGOP world had to come up with something else to get “outraged” over. And so, with no other "outrage" in sight, they manufactured a new lie. What the new “outrage” was -- one that got regurgitated and repeated by MAGOPs across social media -- is something best expressed by a tweet that tried to dismiss the annual March 31 date as a mere piffle and change the subject to another supposed disgrace entirely: “oh...it happens every year...so where did Biden wish everyone a happy Easter? Why did he push Easter to the back burner? Why didn't he come out and wish both? No [he] prioritized the alphabet event as usual.” (I suspect "the alphabet event" means "DEI" -- diversity, equality and inclusion. Something apparently this person believes would offend Jesus.) But anyway, yes, that, then, suddenly became the new “outrage.” That Joe Biden, devout Catholic, apparently didn’t wish people a Happy Easter. And for reasons unknown to man, they actually believed this to be true. Since, after all, belief tops reality among the MAGOPs and followers of Q conspiracies. As another person wrote: “My problem is he made no mention of Easter all weekend until now, after days of backlash.” No mention of Easter all weekend, they cry! No wishing everyone a happy Easter, they insist! How, oh how, could it be! It's the end of Easter, thanks to President Joe Biden! If only had they had the good sense and common decency to…well, y’know – check it out. Like this from the White House on Easter Sunday -- I mean, for goodness sake, take a look: they even added a little Easter Bunny to the White House at the top! And further, President Biden had this on Twitter, too. Of course. But yeah, if that March 31 date gets in your way, try insisting without the slightest whiff of evidence, and with utter and brazen stupidity that the deeply Catholic President Biden didn't wish Christians a Happy Easter. But then, why not? It's become the MAGOP mantra -- If at first you don't succeed -- lie, lie, lie, lie again. Repeat and repeat. Pass it on. In the end, if your base is founded on believing that the only things true are what they want to be true, it makes life so much more comforting. Unfortunately, reality has a way of rearing its head. If you believe in your heart that the road you're driving on at 70 miles per hour goes straight to the horizon, when in truth 100 feet ahead there's a sudden cliff drop-off to the river far below, you will go crashing down very soon. No matter what you believe. The guest on this week’s Al Franken podcast is Frank Foer, who talks with Al about the end of the Golden Age of American Jews. As Al write, “While anti-Semitism has run rampant among the far right, it has been growing among the political left. In Frank Foer’s recent piece for The Atlantic, he explains how we got to this point. How have college campuses and schools become the center for anti-Zionist and anti-Semitic speech? How did college presidents mishandle the hate speech on their campuses? And what is the future of American Jews if Trump is elected again?”
And here’s a link to Frank Foer’s article in The Atlantic. In the past, I’ve periodically mentioned my cousin Andy Elisburg who is the General Manager and Executive VP of the Miami Heat NBA team. (As I’ve noted before, but for those just joining the party, no, that is not a typo, but his wing of the family changed the spelling very long ago.) And today, we head in that direction again. But not to Andy. Instead, we take a detour. One that brings us to his niece, Abby Berger, who is a junior in high school. The other week, her grandmother Nancy sent me a copy of a short speech that Abby gave. Now, I often get sent things that friends, relatives and acquaintances have written, including pieces that their children wrote -- which they figure, as a writer, I’ll be interested to see, and even impressed by. And I do like to see them. But a little perspective is needed here first before going any farther. The challenge when sent material is how to respond. Because over the years it's part of what I do for a living, and I’ve been given screenplays, novels, articles and stage plays written by professionals, some of them Tony, Emmy, Writers Guild, and Humanitas award-winners, to get my reaction and suggestions, and have also edited several books, as well, and more, going back to when I was the head writer in the Universal Picture publicity department. I always tell the person first that I will be totally honest with them, if that’s what they want. (They always say, yes, absolutely -- though most don’t mean it. What they want to hear, and often even expect, is "Not since William Faulkner has literature moved me so much -- and that it my brutally honest opinion.") But, yes, when the person is not a professional I do always keep in mind the background of the writer and the work’s intent. Still, though, because I always really do try very hard to be honest -- and polite -- it’s very often a concern wondering what I’ll have to say when I dive into a work, holding my breath that the piece will be nicely done. I thought Abby’s speech was superb. Not just for the writing, but for what it said. Explaining her experience living in a world most people never see, or even consider. And a world that today is especially deeply important and meaningful. As her grandmother put it, a world where “we often have no idea what children, hear, see and process.” This was for her confirmation at temple, about being a child growing up over the years amid all the normal pressures someone young faces, just trying to find your place in the world and staying firmly who you are, when additionally surrounded by an outside environment that is very different, at times even hostile, from one’s Jewish homelife. I asked for permission to use Abby’s speech and whether she wanted me to use her name or preferred not. She gave her okay to both. Given what she writes, I'm not surprised. Though I nonetheless admire her decisions. And am glad because she deserves the credit. Here is her speech. I think it’s wonderfully written, thoughtful and moving. And very meaningful, most especially today. Shalom everyone, I’m Abby Berger -- and by now you know the prompt of my speech: how to explain to a room full of Jews what Judaism means to me. As poor Rabbi David knows, I struggled with this speech. On the surface, being Jewish is just what I am. I have the signature Ashkenazi curls, I love matzah ball soup, and I like to throw random yiddish words into my sentences for fun. I’ve always known these things. Yet I’ve been fighting to prove I exist ever since elementary school. One of my favorite Jewish concepts is Tikkun Olam. In your program, it is defined as “healing the world.” It can also be defined as “improving the world.” As kindergarten me saw a giant Christmas tree go up every December, and nothing else -- I decided that the way I would improve the world was through education. And that’s what I did. I taught my fellow classmates about Hanukkah every year, by bringing props and telling stories. With help from my mom, I even got the front office to put up a menorah and dreidels next to the tree, every year. I left elementary school quite proud of my accomplishments. Mazel Tov!- I had won! And then came middle school. This was the time of braces and growth spurts-I joined orchestra, and I learned about the “glories” of Algebra. This was also when I was properly introduced to the Holocaust. I learned about it from Hebrew school, and a little bit in 8th grade, but I also learned through books. The only Jewish characters I could find in chapter books were always about the Holocaust. So of course, I read them, and I learned. I kept this history in the back of my mind, but as a middle schooler, we tend to forget things, and I didn’t really think about it. Until one day, in orchestra, I saw a swastika carved into my cello. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen a cello up close, but it has a tough top coat- to get a scratch through is difficult. To find out that someone had taken the painstaking time to carve a symbol of hate on such an innocent canvas -- that was baffling for me. Talk about a wake-up call. I reported what happened to my teacher, and soon the school counselor gave a presentation on hate symbols and why they can hurt people. I then continued to educate those around me about Jewish holidays and the deliciousness of matzah ball soup. (although first I had to explain what matzah was). So I left middle school, proud I had made a difference. Mazel Tov! -- I had won! And then came high school. Oy. Gavolt. In between classes, extracurriculars, and learning to drive, I soon realized that I was the only practicing Jewish student in almost 2,000. To say I experienced some antisemitism is to put it lightly. Students would do the nazi salute and post holocaust memes, and teachers would let them get away with it, with nothing more than a warning. I’m sick of it. By now, I have come to realize that the common denominator for all of these incidents was that people didn’t know I was there. They didn’t know a Jewish student went to their school, and witnessed what they did. So I'm doing what I do best- educating. I remind my little Southern Indiana town that there is a whole world of people who are different, and some are quite close to home. Now, how does this answer the prompt? What does it mean to be Jewish as a public school student in Southern Indiana? It's the moment of hesitation to put on a Star of David necklace. It's not hesitating to correct someone's mispronunciation of a holiday. It’s the telling and retelling, and retelling, of the story of Hanukkah every December. It’s making challah. It’s eating- lots and lots of eating. It's keeping a list of anti-semitic moments I've experienced. It's the plan to use that list to start a revolution. These are all answers I’m sure Rabbi David did not see coming. For me, to be Jewish is to exist. To take up space, and learn, and educate. To hope for the better, but to start on the problem now. So Shalom, I’m Abby Berger. And I’m proud to say that as a Jew, I exist. |
AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. Feedspot Badge of Honor
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