Binocular Vision: New and Selected Stories (Lookout Books, 2011)

Edith Pearlman’s collection of short stories, “Binocular Vision,” was selected as the best work of fiction of 2012 by the National Book Critics Circle. Although this 76-year-old author has been winning awards for her fiction since the beginning of her career, she is virtually unknown to the general reading public. This is truly a shame.

“Binocular Vision” consists of 34 short stories, each of which is a small masterpiece, and many of which have won individual prizes. Many of the stories are set in the fictional Boston suburb of Godolphin, a community reminiscent of Brookline where Pearlman makes her home. However, there are also stories set in Latin America, in middle Europe and three particularly moving stories that follow a middle-aged American Jewish woman. In the first story, set in London, she works with a Jewish agency, assisting with the resettlement of refugees from Europe and children from the kindertransport. In the second story, she is in a European DP camp for Jewish survivors after the war; and in the final story, she is living in New York, now married to the man who recruited her for all these acts of charity.

Each of Pearlman’s stories creates real characters, people you know and care about. Often her protagonists are lonely individuals seeking some small relationship with a fellow human being. “How to Fall” introduces the second banana in a newly popular TV comedy revue. He has one fan, but that is enough to give him a reason to continue.

Another story features a retired gastroenterologist dealing with her own diagnosis of cancer. In another, a little girl, given a pair of binoculars, spies on her neighbors but gets their story entirely wrong. In what may have been, inadvertently the funniest story — and Pearlman’s stories are not funny, but insightful and moving — a weekly congregation get-together called “Torah study” is actually a weekly poker game.

Perhaps one of the most memorable stories is “Vaquitqa” about the Jewish Minister of Health in an unnamed Latin American country. The Minister survived the Holocaust in Czechoslovakia, hiding in a barn with only a cow for companionship. She knows the regime in her country is getting dangerous and she expects to be arrested any day — hoping she will only be deported, not executed. In the meantime she continues to run her ministry and worry about the health of the citizens of the country.

In sum, this exquisitely written collection of stories is like a necklace of beautiful jewels. Each story reflects the light in a different way. Each story radiates different colors. Each character the reader encounters reminds you of someone you may have known slightly and wished to know better. Reading these stories gives you an opportunity to get to know characters worth knowing.

Andrea Kempf is a retired librarian who speaks throughout the community on various topics related to books and reading.

No ‘buyer’s remorse’ for voting for Obama

David Seldner and Margie Robinow, representing the Kansas Heartland Chapter of the Republican Jewish Coalition, recently forwarded a “special” report to The Chronicle in opposition to the re-election of President Obama. The thrust of their “report” was that President Obama was not a strong supporter of the State of Israel. I, as a moderate Jewish democrat, believe that not so “special” report deserves a response .That response is most clearly delivered through a letter authored by Alan Dershowitz which was recently published in the Jerusalem Post.

Dershowitz quotes Israel Defense Minister Ehud Barak that he could “hardly remember a better period of American support and cooperation and similar strategic understanding than what we have right now.” Dershowitz goes on to emphasize that, under Obama, the U.S. has worked “hand in hand with Israel in developing the Iron Dome, David’s Sting and Arrow Defense capabilities.” The president also has approved the sale of F-35 stealth fighters to the Israeli Air Force as well as the U.S. conducting large military exercises with Israel and coordinated intelligence operations with Israeli Secret Service. And, of course, American foreign aid to Israel has continued at record high levels.

President Obama visited Israel during his last campaign and stood in Sderot while lethal rockets were being hurled from Gaza by Hamas. He understands the peril that Israel lives with every day and that the first duty of every government is to protect its citizens. He has said that he expects Israel to do just that and supports its right to do so. Clearly the greatest threat that Israel faces today is from Iran and its plans to develop a nuclear arms capability. President Obama’s policy is clear — we will not permit Iran to develop nuclear weapons even if military action by the United States is required should ratcheted up sanctions and diplomatic pressures not be sufficient.

Beyond President Obama’s unadulterated support for Israel, Dershowitz points out the many accomplishments of President Obama that advocate for his re-election. He has brought us the first meaningful healthcare legislation in recent decades; he has appointed excellent judges to the Supreme Court; he has upheld and advocated for women’s and minority rights; he has eliminated the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy; and he has maintained the wall of separation between church and state. Further he has saved the automobile industry and hundreds of thousands of jobs and he killed Bin Laden. He has continued to successfully wage war against terrorism while ending the war in Iraq and winding down the war in Afghanistan.

These are only some of the reasons, along with his unending strong support of the State of Israel, why rational thinking Jews should vote to re-elect President Obama.

Harold Sader
Prairie Village, Kan.

Disgusted with Chronicle

I no longer subscribe to The Chronicle but have been reading it online. I am disgusted by the recent diatribes you have been publishing about President Obama and his administration. I never see anything on the left as hateful as what the right wing of the Republican Party puts out there.
You should know that there are many view points and I disagree with those you have been publishing. I certainly would not renew the subscription I had for more than 40 years.

Sandra Levin
Kansas City, Mo.

Knowledge is quite empowering. And it is an especially powerful and at the same time humbling feeling to have the responsibility to carry that knowledge home in hopes of relaying information for the greater good.

Last month we had a unique opportunity to visit Odessa, Ukraine, and Israel. Joining us on this trip and helping us bring the message back to the Kansas City Jewish community were Beverly Jacobson, Women’s Division director, and Gail Weinberg, director of Financial Resource Development at the Jewish Federation. We were also joined in Odessa by Trudy Jacobson, president-elect of Women’s Division, and her husband, John. The mission was designed for campaign chairs and directors of The Jewish Federations of North America.

We are excited to inspire our community by way of the information we have learned, and the great work we have witnessed from this mission.

One of our partner agencies, the JDC, has excelled at accomplishing so many programs in the way of rescue, relief and revitalization of Jewish life. In Ukraine, from feeding the hungry and helping the unemployed to supporting families with special needs and funding Jewish education, the Joint Distribution Committee has helped create meaning for their Jewish identity. Now, they have hope for a brighter Jewish future for their children. We were fortunate to experience all of these levels of support on the CCD Mission.

During our three days in Odessa, we supplied staples to the elderly and learned about the needs of families at risk through the Hesed welfare services. We learned through translators that numerous individuals are just now finding their Jewish roots. We learned of the World ORT schools, which teach Jewish children about cutting-edge technology, right alongside their Jewish studies.

We experienced the new Jewish Cultural Center where renewed Jewish life comes alive each day. Holocaust survivors and Righteous Gentiles shared their historic journeys. Poignantly, at Odessa’s Holocaust Memorial, our afternoon was ushered in by a rain storm and ended after the Yizkor ceremony. It was an afternoon we will never forget.

In Israel, our partner agency JAFI opened our eyes to the work they do in Israel to ensure that any Jew who comes to Israel from anywhere in the world can receive help to feel at home, once they arrive in Israel. With this support in acclimating to life in a new country, our fellow Jews have a great opportunity to be productive members of Israel, ensuring a strong future for the entire state.

The programs that our Jewish Federation and its partner agencies conduct to instill a love for Israel among our young adults is quite exhilarating. A number of programs are in place for such a task. For those of you who know a Birthright Israel participant, you may have heard about the life-changing experiences they experienced during their 10-day trip. We got to experience it first-hand, meeting up with some Birthright participants during their trip. We visited with this group of young Jewish travelers as they expressed their appreciation for the opportunity to unite and experience Israel. They were traveling through Israel alongside Jews from all over the globe, and their energy was contagious. We left our visit with them with a sense of hope for resurgence in our collective interest for our Jewish homeland.

It feels great to help others; it feels great to see others become successful and have new purpose for a positive and fulfilling Jewish life.

Though many needs in Kansas City are being tended to by the Jewish Federation — which sustain and enhance our own lives in many ways — our fellow Jews around the world are still seeking help for a new lease on life.

The job is daunting.

The job is rewarding.

The job is always going to be challenging.

As campaign co-chairs, we are hopeful because Jewish life in Kansas City is quite unique. We are a community that has come together in so many wonderful ways. And we believe we can come together for the 2013 campaign and accomplish our goal. We want to grow Kansas City’s commitment to sustaining and enhancing Jewish life at home and around the world, and we ask you to help.

Our campaign committee would love additional participation in the coming year. We would be thrilled to speak with anyone who is interested in volunteering their time or their resources to further the cause of Jewish community.

Please call the Jewish Federation office if you would like to speak to any of us about our travels and about how you can make a huge difference in the lives of others. You can reach us at 913-327-8100, or visit us online to learn more at jewishkansascity.org.

Polly Kramer is co-chair of the Jewish Federation General Annual Campaign. Sandy Passer is co-chair of the Women’s Division Annual Campaign.

Editor’s note: The following is an essay written by Jonathan Hermanson, the winner of the 2012 Margolis Scholarship Contest sponsored by B’nai B’rith’s Kansas City Lodge #184. Thirteen contestants competed for the $2,000 prize.

Sheltered in Johnson County’s Blue Valley School District for 18 years, it is hard to imagine in what situation anti-Semitism could be encountered. But within the past year or so, I’ve encountered three situations that have opened my eyes to how quickly misguided deeds can unravel relationships, and how my actions — both positive and negative — make a difference.

On the eve of my 17th birthday, my world was rocked, and instantly, within a few mind-altering moments, I found myself in a situation that has helped me begin to understand the importance of good relations between Christians and Jews.

It was “Christmas in January.” This was the theme our high school rival, Blue Valley Northwest, planned as their theme for our late January basketball meeting in 2011. It was supposed to mean that the BVNW student body dressed in holiday apparel. When we asked, “why?” they responded with a smug attitude, “because you’re Jewish.” While my school, Blue Valley North, has probably the largest amount of Jewish students, the number only peaks at about 10 percent in some  graduating classes. Our counterparts from BVNW made it seem as if the entire student body at North was Jewish. This was just the beginning of their ignorance and unfortunately, some uninformed and hurtful actions.

The Christmas sweaters didn’t bother me, but the night of the game, some Northwest students entered the gym hailing Hitler as they walked with extended arms and stiff legs as if to resemble Nazi soldiers. For me, along with many of my Jewish and non-Jewish friends, the night was no longer about the basketball game. It became personal. As the game concluded, the Northwest student “Hitlers” marched proudly into the parking lot.

By then, my blood was boiling. I found the nearest disrespecting offender, threw a hard right jab and tossed him against the hood of an innocent bystander’s car. The kid was scared out of his mind, and I found myself yelling, “DO NOT DO THAT!” He got the message, sulked to his car, and exited the parking lot.

When my parents learned of the incident, they weren’t sure how to take it. In part, they were proud of me for standing up to such blatant prejudice. But more so, their message was, “This isn’t the way to solve prejudice!”

I walked away from my first encounter with anti-Semitism with conflicting feelings. In this ugly encounter, it became apparent to me that we do not live in a world where everyone gets along. Some are arrogant and disrespectful enough to insult people on no true grounds. But, while the “Hitlers” were wrong, so was I. And in my misunderstanding, I likely bruised a kid’s chest. I was very lucky nothing further came of the incident.

Upon further reflection, the incident could have been completely avoided if there had been open dialogue from the start. The BVNW students had a misinterpreted theme from the start. Dressing up like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer in itself is not anti-Semitic. But surely, there should have been an educated adult who understood the rationale behind the Christmas wear and perhaps could have opened a dialogue to further relations. In my situation, because my “dialogue” after the game was limited and disrespectful, I took extreme measures “to fix the problem.”

That night, I went home and lay in bed for hours, trying to weigh the pros and cons of my actions. I knew that what I did was wrong. I understood that I should have tried to talk to the kids who were being idiots in the parking lot. Perhaps, if I would have talked to them and tried to get them to understand how their actions were hurtful, the next incident of prejudice and misunderstanding that this time made local news, wouldn’t have happened.

This year, BVNW opened a pep assembly with a series of skits to get the student body motivated to play BVN for the Kansas 6a “game of the year.” In one of the skits, some students at Northwest portrayed Blue Valley North by doing the Hora. (Ironically, the student who choreographed the skit was Jewish.) In reality, I don’t think this was an attempt of anti-Semitism, but just a way to rally the student body in a way they could relate to our school — “as a bunch of Jews.” Nonetheless, it was the wrong message. Our student body vice president caught wind of this and took it to 41 Action News. The news blew the incident way out of proportion and Twitter and Facebook exploded with reactions from the North and Northwest corners of Blue Valley.

Throughout this incident, the problem of misinterpretation and misunderstanding really never got resolved. If there had only been an open dialogue between Northwest, North and 41 News — talking about what is acceptable, what they plan to do, consequences of actions, etc. — perhaps we could avoid future missteps. I’m not sure we’re at that point yet.

It is baffling to me that problems keep arising for the same reasons. It is not that Northwest students hate North students because North students are Jewish, but that Northwest students (and maybe their teachers) don’t have a real understanding of how their actions could be misinterpreted. Maybe our “politically correct” society, where we have to be careful not to upset anyone, has gone too far, but without any respect, teaching, or open dialogue between Christians and Jews, or for that matter any groups of people who may not understand one another, bad relations in the form of misunderstanding and hurt feelings will reign in the background.

Some of us learn better than others. My most recent experience of prejudice happened while I was in Mexico with a number of my classmates on a spring break trip. While we were there, some friends and I encountered some students from Germany. One of my “well-meaning” classmates, who will soon enlist in the Marines, very loudly said in front of the Germans, and to his Jewish friends, “Dude, they’re Nazis, but I’m not going to let anything happen to you. I’ll protect you from those Nazis.”

My Jewish friends and I were mortified. Yes, we were a little bit scared because we didn’t know how these kids from Germany were going to react to the statements, but more so, we were taken aback at how prejudiced and insulting our friend had been “on behalf” of us. This time my rational sense took over my fear.

Upon hearing my friend make these statements, I stepped in and began to talk to these two young men on our behalf, making sure they knew we did not think they were Nazis. I had now experienced where misinterpreted information leads, and did not want anything bad to happen to my friend who was acting on my behalf. Nor did I want to offend some innocent Germans. To ease both my friend and the Germans, I introduced myself, including my religious background. The Germans understood our friend’s misconception, and everyone went on their merry way. Because of good communication and a dialogue, I was able to relate to these two “Deutchmen.”

In reality, all of these misconceptions stem from beliefs that came about years ago. Religion should be held for a spiritual realm. Jews can have their spiritual beliefs and Christians can have theirs, but the differences should not affect relationships in the present, where there are so many real problems that we can work together to solve.

Ultimately, my experiences over the past year have taught me that relationship-building happens one person at a time. In my first encounter, I worked against building a good relationship. The second time, even though I wasn’t directly involved, I believe the situation got out of hand because people got outraged even before a conversation could have taken place. Finally, in Mexico, I learned that keeping cool and opening a dialogue allowed for a potential misunderstanding to be defused. As small children, we were taught to respect one another. But as we grow up, we sometimes forget this virtue. In order to develop good relations between Christians and Jews, one at a time, we must try to remember those childhood teachings with each individual interaction.

Jonathan Hermanson graduated in May from Blue Valley North High School and will be studying biochemistry this fall at Tulane University in New Orleans. He is the son of Phil and Jackie Hermanson and the grandson of Marian Hermanson and Esther and Warner Bergh of Des Moines, Iowa.

Lack of judgment

I was saddened and shocked by your decision to print a letter — by an out-of-towner, no less — comparing President Obama to Adolf Hitler. There are some ideas which defy all the laws of decency and civility, and this is one of them. Is there no respect left for the office of the presidency?

Although you might argue that a letters column should be a free forum for your readers, I am sure there are boundaries which you would not cross. I doubt you would print a letter defending the blood libel or the authenticity of the “Protocols of the Elders of Zion,” nor would you print the “f” word because some writer chose to include it in a letter. Comparing an American president to the worst mass murderer of all time is equally offensive and demonstrates a disturbing lack of judgment on your part.

Stu Lewis
Prairie Village, Kan.

Reprehensible comparison

I am shocked and disheartened to read the letter from Leonard Moss, M.D. in the July 27 issue. It is one thing to be opposed to President Obama’s re-election ... but to allude to Nazi Germany and Hitler in a Jewish publication is simply reprehensible. People of good will can disagree on issues, but using demagoguery as a tactic is disgusting.

I am ashamed of him for writing such a diatribe, and rather disappointed you would see fit to print it.

Judy Sherry
Kansas City, Mo.

This past June, I had the opportunity to travel to Israel to attend the General Assembly and Board of Governors meetings of The Jewish Agency for Israel. As a representative of the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City, I have the honor to sit on the Jewish Agency board of governors, which brings together leaders from our devoted Jewish family from around the world to discuss and create solutions to address the biggest challenges facing our Jewish community here in Kansas City, in Israel and around the world. The Jewish Agency for Israel is a primary overseas partner of the Jewish Federations, and it was inspiring to see the commitment of representatives from Jewish Federations, religious movements and various other institutions which form the board of governors — a round table of the “Jewish collective.”

During the four days of meetings, we visited several regions of Israel to see Jewish Agency programming firsthand. Many of these programs are supported by Jewish Federation funding, and it was thrilling that the Jewish Agency chose to highlight Ramla, our partner community, for one of the site visits. It exposed a larger audience of Jewish leaders to the difficulties largely immigrant communities face and the successes we help make possible through our support of The Jewish Agency.

Our group visited the Net@ program, supported by Kansas City Jewish Federation, and we heard wonderful stories about how this critical program bridges the “digital gap” that forms between Israelis on the socioeconomic periphery and those in more affluent communities. It also brings together youth from Jewish, Muslim, Christian and Druze communities to share in learning valuable computer skills and performing community service work.

After our meeting with them, the Net@ kids then led us on a scavenger hunt through the city’s market. This was truly a marvelous experience on so many levels. The warmth we felt from these high school students, the kinship they share with one another, and the pride they have in their community proved — beyond any politics — that kids crave friendship and thrive on common goals regardless of religion or ethnicity. Kids just want to have fun, and they — along with a group of adults from three continents — had lots of it.

Another thrill was meeting a community of “lost Jews” from the town of Iquitos in the Amazon Jungle of Peru. This community descended from Jewish businessmen pursuing the rubber trade. As the rubber trade collapsed, the community deteriorated and was “lost” for several generations until a charismatic leader inspired them to formally reclaim their Jewish heritage — to which they still held. The community chose to make a new beginning in Israel, the land of their forefathers, and with the assistance of the Jewish Agency for Israel and Jewish Federation, more than 400 have now settled in Ramla with another 200 olim (immigrants) arriving this September.

These brave individuals have embraced the challenges of a new language, culture, job training and learning about Judaism — in many cases — for the first time. Their commitment to Judaism was inspiring, and I was proud that our Jewish Federation and The Jewish Agency for Israel have and will continue to support and assist the Iquitos community and all communities of immigrants in Israel. They, and their children, must be able to take their place as the next generation’s builders of the Jewish state.

I want to thank the Jewish community of Kansas City and the Jewish Federation for supporting The Jewish Agency for Israel as it continues to confront the central challenges of the Jewish people. And, as I think back to my meeting with the Jews from Peru — a meeting facilitated in Spanish, Hebrew and English — I can only think: “Welcome to Israel, where every Jew has a home.”

In addition to serving on the Jewish Agency For Israel’s board of governors, Karen Pack is a past president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City.

We commend The Chronicle for its prominent coverage in the July 19 issue of the Republican and Democratic campaigns directed to American Jews living in Israel (As U.S. officials descend on Israel, Republicans rally for votes, www.jta.org). In these critical times, the survival of Israel and its friendship with America is the most critical issue facing us. What happens for Israel now will affect Judaism a thousand years from now more than any other current political matter.

The article pointed out that Jewish Americans in Israel favor the Republicans more than Jews in America. Even more in this direction, polls show that only about 24 percent of Jewish Israelis believe that Obama is more pro Israel than pro Palestinian. Thus, the closer Jews are to the real situation in Israel, the more they distrust the current administration.

This is not surprising, considering the Obama administration’s poor record on Israel. While Obama claims in front of Jewish groups to be Israel’s friend, those who know best see otherwise in his actions. The following six examples illustrate this point.

1. Obama is deliberately distancing himself from Israel to curry favor with the Arabs. Israel is the only country in the Middle East that he asks to make concessions. Obama called Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem “settlements.” This emboldened Palestinian Authority President Abbas to demand that Israel stop all building in Judea, Samaria and large parts of Jerusalem as a condition for direct talks with Israel. As a result, this administration’s “peace process” has been ineffective.

2. As Iran moved closer to making the bomb, the administration imposed economic sanctions only after Congress forced the issue. In 2009, popular protests threatened Iran’s regime, but Obama said and did nothing. During protests in Egypt, on the other hand, Obama actively encouraged the removal of President Hosni Mubarak and now the Muslim Brotherhood, much more hostile to Israel, is in charge.

3. The administration has stymied Israel’s defense by leaking details of proposed plans to attack Iran.

4. Obama insulted Prime Minister Netanyahu on his visit to the United States, forgoing the usual photo op and abandoning him in the White House to have dinner.

5. Obama has never visited Israel as president, choosing instead to go to Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

6. Recently, the State Department excluded Israel, our best ally in fighting terror, from its Global Conference on Terrorism, instead hosting questionable allies such as Algeria, Egypt and Pakistan.

On political issues other than Israel, more Jews are seeing the GOP to be better suited for them. The Democratic Party is no longer the party of “opportunity” that it was for our parents. The Republican Jewish Coalition believes that Judaism is a conservative religion, emphasizing personal freedom and responsibility, that tzedakah works best when each of us does it ourselves from our heart. While Obama panders to some Jews as members of narrow interest groups, other Jewish voters are discovering that the Republican philosophy is best for America and best for Israel.

If you want to learn more about Republican Jewish Coalition, please contact www.rjchq.org.

David Seldner is president of the Kansas-Heartland chapter of the Republican Jewish Coalition. Margie Robinow serves as the Kansas-Heartland chapter’s vice president.

“When General Grant Expelled the Jews” by Jonathan D. Sarna (Schocken Nextbook, 2012)

There were probably no more than 150,000 Jews in the United States at the time of the Civil War. Many of them served in the armies of both the North and the South. Then, on Dec. 17, 1862, General Ulysses S. Grant issued an infamous order that expelled the Jews “as a class” from the territories over which he had military control. The supposed reason for the order was to eliminate smuggling and profiteering, which Grant, at the time, attributed to Jewish merchants. In fact one family involved in profiteering was the Macks, Jewish clothing manufacturers. The Macks were Jewish, and their partner was none other than General Grant’s father, Jesse.

In his fascinating study of Grant’s infamous General Orders Number 11, Brandeis historian Jonathan Sarna examines the fallout from exiling “Jews as a Class.” There were immediate protests. Private individuals, representatives of the Jewish community, including rabbis, the head of B’nai Brith, and others immediately protested and contacted President Abraham Lincoln, who was totally unaware of the order. They feared that an expulsion like those from Spain and Portugal was in the offing. In the end, the order was almost immediately rescinded and very few Jewish individuals actually were forced from their homes.

In the aftermath of the General Order, Grant as an individual deeply regretted his action. In his book, Sarna describes what the Order meant for Grant’s candidacy for president, and how he treated the Jewish community after his election. More Jews were appointed to public office during the Grant presidency than at any time before. The Jewish community had his ear and encouraged the President to respond to Jewish persecution throughout the world. Much of what Sarna writes about is not generally mentioned in American history classes, nor is it usually a topic in Jewish history classes. The first time I encountered the General Order was in Dara Horn’s Civil War novel “All Other Nights.”

As usual, Schocken Publisher’s Nextbook Jewish Encounters Series has recovered a bit of Jewish culture and history that many individuals never before may have encountered. In this volume, the author’s erudition coupled with his approachable writing style and a subject of compelling interest to all Jewish Americans, places this volume among the best in the series.

Andrea Kempf is a retired librarian who speaks throughout the community on various topics related to books and reading. She is professor/librarian emeritus at Johnson County Community College.

For more than 200 years the Missouri Constitution has protected the religious liberty of all Missourians whether in the majority or minority. It already provides all Missourians with the right to privately and voluntarily prayer in public schools, workplaces and other government settings. But in 2011 our legislature recklessly decided to play with these fundamental rights by passing Constitutional Amendment 2 which will appear on the Aug. 7  ballot innocuously called “Freedom to Pray in Public Places.” This misguided amendment should be rejected. It would undermine religious freedom by putting government in the business of religion and allowing majority faiths to impose their religious beliefs on the minority.

HJR 2 requires government to enter the market place to, in its words “ensure” the ability of persons to practice their religion. This is not government preventing discrimination, but promoting prayer. What is wrong with that? It encourages the very entanglement of government in religion that the First Amendment was enacted to prohibit. It deceptively gives the religion practiced by a majority the ability to have government assist them in practicing their religion. At first blush this seems attractive, unless the religion you practice represents a minority of people in your community. Then the “protections” allegedly afforded by the language of Amendment 2 will not likely extend to you.

Missouri residents who see Amendment 2 on August 7 should vote with a resounding “No.”  Any other response would take Missouri back to a time and a place we rejected more than 200 years ago. It is strikingly difficult to confront this head-on. For years, religious minorities have been challenged again and again as Christian proponents seek to impose their religious views. When we push back, we fear being perceived as anti-faith, anti-Christian. We are not. Missourians are a diverse religious people because we have constitutional protections that allow us to practice many different faiths, and for those who choose not to follow faith at all, they have the same freedom to do so.

Religious tension in this country has never been so high. Political leaders are tested on how they engage politically as a matter of faith, rather than as a matter of good public policy.  It feels as if public policy in Missouri has become faith policy. We are certain Missouri legislators believe sincerely that they are serving their constituencies by serving their faith. They are not doing right by the people of Missouri when they choose to use legislation to promote a particular religious perspective, crossing that remarkable line blazed by the US Constitution, embodied in the First Amendment, that government “shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…..”  The sponsors of this measure are fueled by religious mission to share their faith with others by legislative mandate; while the First Amendment is a tough barrier, they have worked stealthily to find ways around it.

Amendment 2 will encourage students to challenge school curricula, arguing that discussion of evolution violates their religious beliefs, that creationism and intelligent design should be reasonably presented as religious alternatives to scientific understanding, that they don’t have to do a particular assignment because it offends them religiously.

Amendment 2 will authorize and encourage clergy to pray before public and governing bodies when the Courts have repeatedly ruled this activity unconstitutional.  This will result in the religion of the majority being favored for these tasks, thus providing the very advantage which the Founding Fathers recognized as dangerous to the creation and maintenance of a diverse society.
Ironically the amendment requires public posting of the Bill of Rights in public schools while, at the same time, promoting religious policies that are, in light of those very rights, unconstitutional.

The measure provides no legitimate religious protection or expansion that doesn’t already exist, and will do nothing except rally those who wish to fight the reality of the First Amendment and impose a majority religion on Missourians of different faiths. What that “majority religion” is you can discern merely by looking at census data. If you vote “no,” are you anti-faith or anti-Christian? Not in the least. By voting “No,” you protect religious liberty for all.

Karen J. Aroesty is regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, Missouri/Southern Illinois, as well as eastern Kansas, and is based in St. Louis.

Beware of Obama campaign

This presidential campaign has already featured an attack by the president on any self-credit that entrepreneurs hold for the success of their businesses based on their willingness to take risks, their hard work and their genius. They have been told in a scolding manner that the roads and bridges that were built by the government were equally significant keys to their business successes. Nazi Germany publications and speeches are documented to have included heated anti-capitalist (especially anti-finance capitalist) rhetoric. Adolf Hitler attacked what he called “pluto-democracy,” which he claimed to be conspiracy by the Jews to favor democratic parties in order to keep evil capitalism intact. The “corporation” was attacked by the Nazis as being the leading instrument of finance capitalism, always with the role of Jews emphasized. (‘Hitler: Profile of a Dictator,’ by David Welch, 2001. p. 16.)

Hitler said, “I want everyone to keep what he has earned subject to the principle that the good of the community takes priority over that of the individual. But the State should retain control; every owner should feel himself to be an agent of the State… The Third Reich will always retain the right to control property owners.” Party spokesman Joseph Goebbels claimed in 1932 that the Nazi Party was a “workers’ party” and “on the side of labor and against finance”.

Regarding religion, the tenets of Catholicism and evangelical Christianity have been attacked in recent months by this administration. None of these issues had been before the electorate before being ordered by the administration. There have been activists on the American left who have been successful in putting issues on ballots to make any underage male circumcision illegal in some communities in California. Fortunately, none of these efforts have passed the electorate. The Free Exercise Clause will be debated over and over, but this administration is likely to lose most of the more than 40 recent suits against it regarding this clause.

This campaign has already clearly demonstrated which candidate is the best for our future. Watch, listen, and keep it all in a historical context. Demagoguery is colorless.

Leonard M. Moss, MD
Scottsdale, Ariz.