My first blog post ever! Be nice to the old lady.....
So many moments from last night's debate to be proud of. But it is always interesting, and sometimes surprising, to see what grabs your heart. How life experiences and deep personal identities well up inside of you.
As you can tell, I'm 57 and female. I'm also Jewish. I haven't practiced Judaism since my early 20's when my parents died. I don't identify with being Jewish; but when you're born Jewish, you're Jewish.
In the '60's, my beliefs were formed by the battle for civil rights and the Vietnam War. Those issues have defined who I am and what I believe to this very day. And it has always been a source of great sadness for me, to see the rift between the black community and the Jewish community that has developed in subsequent years. Because the white, Jewish liberals held hands with the black community and marched and fought for civil rights. Even my much older parents and aunts and uncles, supported the civil rights causes in a myriad of ways. It was a cause in all the synagogues, in groups, on college campuses. Openly, bravely and with all their hearts and souls, because the Jews understood what it meant, better than any other group other than the blacks in America, what damage deep discrimination could do. We had been close to extermination a generation before, and would not allow that to happen to America. We acutely understood that until civil rights were achieved, America would bear the burden of this deep stain on its character and purpose. And we fought. We fought hard.
In subsequent years, this partnership became skewed and diminished, until all history of it was practically erased and this once potent partnership was lost It has upset me all these years, because it was my generation of blacks, Jews, and many others who contributed to the tearing down of those barriers.
So last night, when Barack Obama spoke of rebuilding that relationship, and that he would not be where he was without that partnership, I was moved beyond words. This was the first time I had heard a black leader not just acknowledge that history, but applaud it and be willing to work to restore it.
Any Jew on the fence about Barack's candidacy needs to hear this. Needs to know that this man is about a level of healing and understanding that reaches deep into the soul of America. Not only with what's current, but with the historical currents that shape us.
I loved and believed in Barack before last night's debate. Last night, he crawled into a deep recess of my heart and built a bridge. I am deeeply grateful.
