Separate but Equal?
I am taking an adult ed course offered by my local Chabad. This course addresses the struggle of being a modern American Jew with all the freedoms it affords. As with most knowledge, it always helps to understand whence it comes. Looking at the material critically is teaching me more about myself than I was expecting.
My grandparents were racist, my American grandparents more so than my Canadian ones, but both were raised in a generation that viewed caucasians of Western European descent at the top of the pecking order, and everyone else below. They were the pinnacle of culture, industry and intellect. I can remember my grandmother saying things that just aren't said anymore. And even though I was eight at the time, I clearly remember their response to seeing the Bond flick, Live and Let Die where he gets busy with Gloria Hendry, (an African American.) It ruined the film for them.
My parents grew up with those folks as their role models. But with the civil rights movement taking hold while my parents were young adults, they benefitted from the ideas around them, producing a shift in thinking. Still, while I was growing up, both of my parents used what would today be considered derogatory ethnic epithets. People for whom this is not offensive chalk it up to the times. These days, more enlightened minds are no longer apologists for the way things were. And to be sure, as social mores continue to shift towards equality (in every way save economic,) the people I know of my parents' generation have mostly moved with them. The jokes are still stereotypical, racist and discriminatory, but they aren't quite as bad.
So that brings me to where I stand today and I'm embarrassed to say that I holdover some of these prejudices. As with most people, in my heart of hearts I often judge strangers based on deep-seeded prejudices I hold surrounding their ethnicity, nationality, religion, age, sex, etc. even when I don't have first hand knowledge of the group to which I perceive them to belong. I hate that about me. On the other hand, daily my mind opens more as I strive to educate myself on these issues. There are so many terrific articles and opinions about our differences and our similarities.
Of course in the big picture, we all want the same thing; it's when you start to drill down, the differences emerge and it's here where one has to re-evaluate whether what I want for me and mine is somehow impeding what someone else wants for them and theirs. It helps that I am an abundant thinker. I believe there is enough good stuff in the universe to go around. Prosperity, health and happiness are not zero-sum games. Folks who cannot rejoice for others' happiness stop the spread of joy. Joy is only boundless if you believe it to be so.
As I was sitting in my course the other night, an idea was put forth to me that I did not agree with. At first it kind of shocked me because it seemed like I was the only one who doubted what the facilitator had said. And it occurred to me that I am moving towards a more humanistic view of the world. As I strive towards egalitarianism, a humanistic lens feels like the right place to position myself. I'd rather be judgmental not about sexuality, nor religious affiliation, nor color, nor nationality, but instead about whether you are a douchebag asshat or not. (And I really think this needs to be the gold standard of judgment, rather than xenophobic differences.) Douchebag asshats, be warned: I don't feel bad about discriminating against you.
Jews have historically maintained a separation from the other cultures and nations. Often this was imposed by others, but in our modern era, and in this egalitarian state, many Jews strive to foster the separation. Whether by dress, diet, or locale, the separation of the Jewish community from the whole is an important ideology that enables Jews to survive. (At least that's one theory.) As the Chosen People, it is our lot to be a light to all nations. I don't have faith in the concept of separate but equal which historically has proven nigh impossible as economic, political and social power tends to coalesces to the majority. But even more importantly, separation breeds xenophobia. Just as I am apt to pre-judge people I don't know, I am more likely to show concern for those with whom I am connected.
I decided to take this adult education course because I'm feeling somewhat ambivalent about my Judaism. (And having taken the Spring semester off of school I needed a little intellectual stimulation.) Rather than learning how to balance the requirements of Judaism with the freedoms our modern society provides, I am now looking at how to fit Judaism into the humanism that I wish to advance in my own spiritual quest and the equality that it cultivates. My other big challenge is that I operate in a rather homogeneous world and I see few opportunities to break out of it and into a more culturally, ethnically, religiously or economically diverse reality without making some drastic changes to how I live, where I live and what I like to do. The only disparate individuals currently in my sphere are a few douchebag asshats, and we all know where they can go!
