yiri@ucf-cs.UUCP (Yirmiyahu BenDavid) (10/29/84)
The following is an example of why I believe it is essential
for Jews to abandon what I term the 'ostrich syndrome' which
assumes that if we ignore it it won't get any worse. It is
my feeling that strong undercurrents of anti-semitism are
just beneath the surface (and USUALLY not even recognized
even by those closest to the problem) in America, and
particularly in Christianity, today. The following is not
atypical of Christianity in modern America.
Reprinted from the Heritage Florida Jewish News,
October 26, 1984
Viewpoint
----------------
'Religious attitudes upset reader
by Belle Hyman
Maitland
On Oct. 9, the subject on the Phil Donahue show was "Political
Advertising - Do you want your contribution dollars used for
this purpose?" As always, the discussion strayed from the
narrow topic.
There were four advertising consultants on the panel, one of
whom was Jewish. At one point towards the end of the program,
he stated that he is very uncomfortable with a president who
says "This is a Christian nation." A woman in the audience
replied that he had better understand "it IS a Christian
nation", and he had better accept that fact! Needless to say,
the audience began buzzing.
But the situation worsened when she continued (in a somewhat
lowered voice) "We have to do something TO them". Again there
was buzzing in the audience, this time at a much louder pitch.
Phil Donahue's face was obvioiusly shocked and, after he gained
his composure, he asked her what she meant by such a statement.
She answered, "We have to make THEM Christian."
My reaction was utter horror to be compounded by the next
person who told the Jewish panelist that he was lucky this
is a Christian nation because otherwise another Hitler
could come in and kill "6 million more of you".'
--------------
Actually, some number of Christians (how many?) also
suffer from the 'ostrich syndrome' in not recognizing
these undercurrents in their own ranks AND DOING
SOMETHING EFFECTIVE ABOUT IT like learning, first of
all, to recognize the symptoms in their early stages
and ostracizing their peers for such racism and bigotry.
(To learn to recognize the early stages, seek out your
local Jewish community's Community Relations people
and develop a continuing relationship with them. They
know what to look for and can help you recognize it.)
If you're not part of the solution, then you are a
part of the problem.
It's time we Jews assert the rightness of our beliefs
and demonstrate to the world that we are neither lacking
in religious knowledge nor factual basis for our beliefs
in Judaism, that Judaism is a very scholarly and
intelligent choice of religions, and that Jews are
neither doomed nor pathetically unenlightened and
'unsaved' ignorant people in need of conversion. (No
condescending concessions on net.religion please.
I think that previous articles have demonstrated
unmistakably that we can earn legitimate recognition
and have no need for an artificial act of pseudo-
charity to placate us.) If we don't tell them,
can we really blame them for making such assumptions?
Who else WILL tell them?orb@whuxl.UUCP (SEVENER) (11/10/84)
> There were four advertising consultants on the panel, one of > whom was Jewish. At one point towards the end of the program, > he stated that he is very uncomfortable with a president who > says "This is a Christian nation." A woman in the audience > replied that he had better understand "it IS a Christian > nation", and he had better accept that fact! Needless to say, > the audience began buzzing. > > But the situation worsened when she continued (in a somewhat > lowered voice) "We have to do something TO them". > > She answered, "We have to make THEM Christian." > > My reaction was utter horror to be compounded by the next > person who told the Jewish panelist that he was lucky this > is a Christian nation because otherwise another Hitler > could come in and kill "6 million more of you".' > Yep, the attitude of some "Christians" is pretty bad. Look at the results of Helm's race in North Carolina where Helms blatantly appealed to such sentiments and won. But if Jews think they have problems what about atheists and agnostics????? Isn't one of the "worst" things about Communism it's "godless atheism"? Or so we are told by "Christians". And the ideas for some "universal prayer" in schools never seem to question that it is not necessarily true that everybody believes in some sort of god. "Religion is the opiate of the masses" "...and a foil for the rich and powerful to impose their will." tim sevener whuxl!orb
mangoe@umcp-cs.UUCP (Charley Wingate) (11/11/84)
I think the point of Tim Sevener's examples is not that Christianity has some priveleged place in the pantheon of "badness", but that the average moral level of any population is generally pretty low. If the USA were an "Atheist" or "Agnostic" country (and it is, Jerry Falwell to the contrary), the situation would be as bad. The form intolerance took would be different; that's all. And by the way, history seems to show that the worst thing about Communism is the way they seem to feel a need to kill some large portion of the people wherever they take control. Adolf Hitler was a rank amateur compared to Pol Pot. Charley Wingate umcp-cs!mangoe