This may be somewhat controversial in this world of diversity. My naivette must show here. I played softball until I was becoming 75 two years ago. I was never aware of a gay player for or against any of the teams I was affiliated with. Oh well, read the fololowing at your own risk:
"The Homo Quota"—Inside The World Of Gay Softball
Earlier we wrote about three bisexual men suing the Gay World Series for excluding them because they "weren't gay enough." Let's examine the lengths organizers will go to to keep the sport gay, and how teams get around the rules.
The North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance has been the governing body for gay softball for the past 33 years, and the hard and fast rule is that each team can have a maximum of two heterosexual players on their roster. (According to the NAGAAA rules, heterosexual means "having a predominant sexual interest in a member or members of the opposite sex.")
The exemption exists for two reasons, says "Mike," a straight player for an Ohio team. "A lot of teams are concerned that they might not be able to field a full roster with just gays. It's easy enough to find a gay right fielder, but if you're in a smaller area, finding a pitcher or catcher who qualifies can be tougher. It just makes sense that if you've got seven guys who'd like to field a team, not to penalize them for not being able to find two more gay men."
And the second reason? It preemptively heads off claims of discrimination.
"They don't want to be sued," Mike says. "With this, they can say 'we let anyone play.'"
Because they're a private organization, the NAGAAA doesn't have to open membership to everyone. It's like Augusta National barring women until a few years ago, or, yes, like the Boy Scouts of America banning gay scoutmasters. But that's not an absolute defense, as lawsuits against Augusta, the Boy Scouts, and this week the NAGAAA, have shown.
Players have a love/hate relationship with the Homo Quota, as they call it. On one hand, they're happy to have a league for themselves, where they can comfortably be as out as they want to be. On the other hand, it seriously limits the talent pool. Those two "straight spots" are often used as ringers, and the more competitive teams will do whatever they can to find two great straight players — and occasionally more.
"We ended up losing one of our straight players because he got a girl pregnant," says "Rob," a gay player from Florida. "So I asked one of my straight friends to join our team and play outfield. After my team evaluated his performance they told me he could permanently join our team, but since he was only 'good,' but not 'really good,' he would have to 'be gay' in the eyes of the league because we didn't want to waste one of our straight spots on the roster on a straight player who is only pretty good."
Disguising straight ringers as gay men is fairly common practice in gay softball. According to the opposing team that filed the protest that led to the Seattle lawsuit, the three plaintiffs are actually heterosexual, and only claimed to be bisexual to skirt the two-player limit.
Teams will go to great lengths to cover up their players' heterosexuality, says Rob. "Each week, my other friend who doesn't play, shows up to the games as [the straight player's] 'boyfriend.' He is banned from my team of showing any signs of heterosexuality in public and even goes to a gay bar with me from time to time just to make an appearance."
The Homo Quota leads to gamesmanship, not only in smuggling straights onto your roster, but questioning players on other teams.
"After I'd played most of the teams," says Rob, "I found out from our team captain that the other teams were going to protest our wins because they thought that I was straight. I would have put us over the straight quota. So I wanted to know how exactly do I need to prove that I'm gay? Do I need to dance at a certain level, do I need to actually make out with men in front of a committee? I don't know what he ended up saying to stop them from protesting but they didn't go through with it."
Mike says that he's never been asked to pose as gay to free up a straight spot, but it's fairly common knowledge that a number of teams in his league pull that trick.
"It's not worth complaining," he says. "Some of my gay teammates know what it's like to be excluded because of who they are. How could they sleep at night if they turned around and did that to someone else?
"We're all just here to play softball with our friends."
Reasons the NAGAAA would discriminate against bisexuals?
a) switch-hitting
b) taking pitches the opposite way with power
c) drag bunting
d) beating out infield dribblers
e) double-headers
Softballing must not require such fundamentals. Reply
See 0 reply Hide 0 reply
Hit Bull Win Steak 04/23/10
There's an easy way to prove this. Just put them on the unpleasant side of a glory hole. Reply
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CaliCheeseSucks 04/23/10
I don't even think the true issue is the gay quota. It's that they won't allow bisexual players to play, essentially telling them, "Listen, you're either gay or you're straight."
"..how exactly do I need to prove that I'm gay? Do I need to dance at a certain level, do I need to actually make out with men in front of a committee?"
-Rawy Torres, 1989 Reply
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DirkToberFest 04/23/10
I think stories about gay people are hilarious.
Not because I enjoy laughing at gay people; I love gay people. But not like love love them like I'm gay or something.
Oh dear. I've really made a mess of this. Reply
See 0 reply Hide 0 reply
We Are All Lance Uppercut 04/23/10
It's easy enough to find a gay right fielder, but if you're in a smaller area, finding a pitcher or catcher who qualifies can be tougher.
Yeah, but if you're pitching it means you're not gay. Reply
OchentaYcinco 04/23/10
@We Are All Lance Uppercut: Just a bit too quick for me. On the other hand, how that joke went unmade for almost an hour is completely beyond me. Reply We Are All Lance Uppercut promoted this comment
We Are All Lance Uppercut 04/23/10
@OchentaYcinco: Right? It's like finding money on the sidewalk. Reply
OchentaYcinco 04/23/10
@We Are All Lance Uppercut: Exactly. You just need to be careful of your surroundings if you're gonna bend down to pick it up. Reply
See 3 replies Hide 3 replies bevraj of choice 04/23/10
What happens to gay men when they enter the realm of sports? You'd never see them missing a loophole in the fashion industry.
/Double checks for Freudian slips.
//Clicks 'Share' Reply
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Hatey McLife 04/23/10
This is a really sad story. Hopefully in a few years we won't have these divisions based on sexual preference.
With the promise of stem cell therapy, we can cure these people once and for all. Reply
DirkToberFest 04/23/10
@Hatey McLife: After that, we can work on the French. Reply
See 1 reply Hide 1 reply dont-forget-where-you-came-from-cheese mac 04/23/10
Let's examine the lengths organizers will go to to keep the sport gay Reply
See 0 reply Hide 0 reply
LatestBy 04/23/10
You're with me, Leatherdaddy. Reply
See 0 reply Hide 0 reply
FavreFAIL 04/23/10
I didn't realize they leaked the script to the next Bad News Bears film Reply
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MattinglysSideburns 04/23/10
"We're all just here to play softball with our friends."
- David J. Lesar on Halliburton's Iraq negotiations, 2002. Reply
Charisma 04/23/10
@MattinglysSideburns: Nice. Reply
See 1 reply Hide 1 reply Lionel Osbourne 04/23/10
I work hard and play hard for the Peter PanSexuals. Reply
Edited by Lionel Osbourne at 04/23/10 2:20 PM
See 0 reply Hide 0 reply
StuScott Booyahs 04/23/10
This would make a great movie starring Cuba Gooding, Jr. Reply
saltwatertaffy 04/23/10
@StuScott Booyahs: "The Switch Hitter". tagline: "Steppin' up to the plate just got complicated". Reply
StuScott Booyahs 04/23/10
@saltwatertaffy: Excellent. Reply
See 2 replies Hide 2 replies roland_t_flakfizer 04/23/10
...even goes to a gay bar with me from time to time just to make an appearance...
"This lesbian bar doesn't have a fire exit! Enjoy your deathtrap, ladies!" Reply
See 0 reply Hide 0 reply
BullfightsOnAcid 04/23/10
I thought Gay Softball was called Cricket. Reply
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Steve U 04/23/10
The Homo Quota
OK, so maybe I overuse the phrase "Bunburying." I hardly see any reason to call me out over it. Reply
See 0 reply Hide 0 reply
BullfightsOnAcid 04/23/10
Reply
Choire 04/23/10
@BullfightsOnAcid: YAYS!!! *CLAPS HANDS* Reply
See 1 reply Hide 1 reply Choire 04/23/10
I only clicked through on this post for pictures. And there are none? WTF PEOPLE. Reply
BullfightsOnAcid 04/23/10
@Choire: Reply
Choire 04/23/10
@BullfightsOnAcid: WHEE!!! Reply
See 2 replies Hide 2 replies Gilbert Publicly Funded Arenas 04/23/10
not to penalize them for not being able to find two more gay men
The RIAA used this same logic when awarding a platinum record to the Village People after only the 999,998th album sold. Reply
Steve U promoted this comment
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UkraineNotWeak 04/23/10
How do they keep score with so many balls in play? Reply
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rulesboy 04/23/10
It's easy enough to find a gay right fielder
Most commonly at Log Cabin Republican meetings. Reply
See 0 reply Hide 0 reply
Katni 04/23/10
This is just like the time I had to pretend to like Animal Collective in order to fill in on my friend's kickball team. Reply
ScientificMapp 04/23/10
@Katni: Nice. Reply
See 1 reply Hide 1 reply Dandy Koufax 04/23/10
NAGAAA, please. Reply
ArkansasFred 04/23/10
@Dandy Koufax: Awesome. Reply
Steve U 04/23/10
@Dandy Koufax: +1 Reply
bevraj of choice 04/23/10
@Dandy Koufax: Excellent +1 Reply
Gamboa Constrictor 04/23/10
@Dandy Koufax: This gave me that confused- look- that- slowly- turned- into- knowing- smile- and- slow- clap reaction that Conan is so fond of (I'm not that smart).Well done. Reply
ScientificMapp 04/23/10
@Gamboa Constrictor: Ditto Reply
See 5 replies Hide 5 replies Civil Negligence 04/23/10
Could you imagine the havoc A-Rod would wreck on this league should he decide to join? Reply
See 0 reply Hide 0 reply
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Thanks Jackie Brown- PHS 55 I think.
This one is a little different... .
Two Different Versions......................
Two Different Morals
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OLD
VERSION
(The way it should be.)
The ant works
hard in the withering heat all summer long, building
his house and laying up supplies for the
winter.
The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away...
Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed.
The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.
MORAL OF THE STORY:
Be responsible for yourself!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MODERN
VERSION
(The liberal/Progressive way today.)
The ant works
hard in the withering heat and the rain all summer
long, building his house and laying up supplies for
the winter.
The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.
Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls
a press conference and demands to know why
the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while he is cold and starving.
CBS, NBC , PBS, CNN, and ABC
show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next
to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food.
Liberal America is stunned by the sharp contrast.
How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this
poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?
Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper and
everybody cries when they sing, 'It's Not Easy Being Green.'
ACORN stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house
where the news stations film the group singing,"We shall overcome." Then Rev. Jeremiah Wright has the group kneel down to pray to God for the grasshopper's sake.
President Obama condemns the ant and blames President
Bush, President Reagan, Christopher Columbus, and the
Pope for the grasshopper's plight.
Nancy Pelosi & Harry Reid exclaim in an interview with Larry
King that the ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and both call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share.
Finally, the EEOC drafts the Economic Equality & Pro Grasshopper Act retroactive to the beginning of the
summer.
The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number
of green bugs and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the Government Green
Czar and given to the grasshopper.
The story ends as we see the grasshopper and his free-loading friends finishing up the last bits of the ant's food while the government house he is in, which, as you recall, just happens to be the ant's old house, crumbles around them because the
grasshopper doesn't maintain it.
The ant has disappeared in the snow, never to be seen
again.
The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related incident, and the house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the ramshackle, once prosperous and once peaceful, neighborhood..
The entire Nation collapses bringing the rest of the free world with it.
MORAL OF THE STORY:
Be careful how you vote in 2010.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I've
sent this to you because I believe that you are
an ant -
not a grasshopper!
Make sure that you pass this on to
other ants.
Don't bother sending it on to any
grasshoppers because
they wouldn't understand it,
anyway.
Two Different Versions......................
Two Different Morals
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OLD
VERSION
(The way it should be.)
The ant works
hard in the withering heat all summer long, building
his house and laying up supplies for the
winter.
The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away...
Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed.
The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.
MORAL OF THE STORY:
Be responsible for yourself!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MODERN
VERSION
(The liberal/Progressive way today.)
The ant works
hard in the withering heat and the rain all summer
long, building his house and laying up supplies for
the winter.
The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.
Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls
a press conference and demands to know why
the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while he is cold and starving.
CBS, NBC , PBS, CNN, and ABC
show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next
to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food.
Liberal America is stunned by the sharp contrast.
How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this
poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?
Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper and
everybody cries when they sing, 'It's Not Easy Being Green.'
ACORN stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house
where the news stations film the group singing,"We shall overcome." Then Rev. Jeremiah Wright has the group kneel down to pray to God for the grasshopper's sake.
President Obama condemns the ant and blames President
Bush, President Reagan, Christopher Columbus, and the
Pope for the grasshopper's plight.
Nancy Pelosi & Harry Reid exclaim in an interview with Larry
King that the ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and both call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share.
Finally, the EEOC drafts the Economic Equality & Pro Grasshopper Act retroactive to the beginning of the
summer.
The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number
of green bugs and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the Government Green
Czar and given to the grasshopper.
The story ends as we see the grasshopper and his free-loading friends finishing up the last bits of the ant's food while the government house he is in, which, as you recall, just happens to be the ant's old house, crumbles around them because the
grasshopper doesn't maintain it.
The ant has disappeared in the snow, never to be seen
again.
The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related incident, and the house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the ramshackle, once prosperous and once peaceful, neighborhood..
The entire Nation collapses bringing the rest of the free world with it.
MORAL OF THE STORY:
Be careful how you vote in 2010.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I've
sent this to you because I believe that you are
an ant -
not a grasshopper!
Make sure that you pass this on to
other ants.
Don't bother sending it on to any
grasshoppers because
they wouldn't understand it,
anyway.
Test- Terri Kushner CSCC Math Instructor
I passed the tst, Terri. thanks!
I wuz wr'd that, at 77, I may be rrroppchg Al Z Heimers.
Sam
----- Original Message -----
From: Theresa Kusner
ime
Subj: Fw: Test ! YES
I don't know the validity of this thing, but it's fun...
A Short Neurological Test
1- Find the C below.. Please do not use any cursor help.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOCOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
2- If you already found the C, now find the 6 below.
99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999
99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999
99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999
69999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999
99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999
99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999
3 - Now find the N below. It's a little more difficult.
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMNMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
This is NOT a joke. If you were able to pass these 3 tests, you can cancel your annual visit to your neurologist. Your brain is great and you're far from having a close relationship with Alzheimer.
Congratulations!
-------
eonvrye that can raed this rsaie your hnad.
To my 'selected' strange-minded friends:
If you can read the following paragraph, forward it on to your friends and the person that sent it to you with 'yes' in the subject line.
Only great minds can read this
This is weird, but interesting!
If you can raed this, you have a sgtrane mnid too
Can you raed this? Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can.
I cdnuolt blveiee that I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd what I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in what oerdr the ltteres in a word are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is that the frsit and last ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can still raed it whotuit a pboerlm. This is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the word as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? Yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt! If you can raed this forwrad it
FORWARD ONLY IF YOU CAN READ IT
(how did you do?)
I wuz wr'd that, at 77, I may be rrroppchg Al Z Heimers.
Sam
----- Original Message -----
From: Theresa Kusner
ime
Subj: Fw: Test ! YES
I don't know the validity of this thing, but it's fun...
A Short Neurological Test
1- Find the C below.. Please do not use any cursor help.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOCOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
2- If you already found the C, now find the 6 below.
99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999
99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999
99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999
69999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999
99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999
99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999
3 - Now find the N below. It's a little more difficult.
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMNMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
This is NOT a joke. If you were able to pass these 3 tests, you can cancel your annual visit to your neurologist. Your brain is great and you're far from having a close relationship with Alzheimer.
Congratulations!
-------
eonvrye that can raed this rsaie your hnad.
To my 'selected' strange-minded friends:
If you can read the following paragraph, forward it on to your friends and the person that sent it to you with 'yes' in the subject line.
Only great minds can read this
This is weird, but interesting!
If you can raed this, you have a sgtrane mnid too
Can you raed this? Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can.
I cdnuolt blveiee that I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd what I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in what oerdr the ltteres in a word are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is that the frsit and last ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can still raed it whotuit a pboerlm. This is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the word as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? Yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt! If you can raed this forwrad it
FORWARD ONLY IF YOU CAN READ IT
(how did you do?)
"Why Jews are basically liberal" JWR
I am far from becoming a Jew in religion; however, I find the following an interesting article, which actually wonders that the Jewish vote is leberal:
Jewish World Review
The real reason why Jews are liberals
By Rabbi Yonason Goldson
A few reflections on the politics of freedom that answer the most frequently asked question this site receives
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Now that even the New York Times has acknowledged Barack Obama's confrontational stance toward the State of Israel, one might wonder why American Jews have yet to demonstrate even a hint of buyer's remorse over their ardent support for the president in the last general election. Long-time Commentary Magazine editor Norman Podhoretz wondered the same thing in a Wall Street Journal editorial last September, in which he posed the title question, "Why are Jews Liberals?"
The article — then a teaser for the author's new book by the same name — never got around to answering its own question. Indeed, Mr. Podhoretz seemed distinctly less interested in contemplating why Jews are liberal than in pontificating about why they should be more conservative.
He has a point. For over three thousand years, Jewish society has promoted what today are called "traditional values," those social mores that came to define "tradition" precisely because they were universally held by so many for so long. The sanctity of life, of family, of sexuality, of charity, and of prayer — all these find their origins in Torah Judaism. Moreover, throughout the Biblical and Talmudic eras the structure of the Jewish socioeconomic community was essentially capitalistic, with the free market determining business activity and the social safety net for the poor and the weak provided (successfully) by individual responsibility within a framework of communal obligation.
Why then, asked Mr. Podhoretz, have American Jews indulged their love affair with liberalism since Franklin Roosevelt (who demurred from even a token act of intervention on behalf of the 6 million Jews murdered by the Nazis)? Why did American Jews disregard John McCain's long record of support for Israel and Barack Obama's open association with known anti-Semites to vote for Mr. Obama by a margin of almost five-to-one? (And why, I might add, if the vote were held today, would the likely results be just about the same?)
Good questions. And although Mr. Podhoretz sidestepped any effort to answer them, there is an answer.
STRANGE BEDFELLOWS
As much as all conservative values trace their origins to Jewish tradition, liberal values trace their origins to the same source — to exactly the same degree.
No one has articulated this better than the non-Jewish historian Paul Johnson: "To [the Jews] we owe the idea of equality before the law, both divine and human; of the sanctity of life and the dignity of human person; of the individual conscience and so a personal redemption; of collective conscience and so of social responsibility; of peace as an abstract ideal and love as the foundation of justice, and many other items which constitute the basic moral furniture of the human mind." In other words, Judaism is an ideology devoted to the betterment of the human condition based upon values and goals that are fundamentally liberal.
That being said, it may be the greatest misconception of the modern ideological divide that conservatism and liberalism must be mutually exclusive. Conservative traditionalism emphasizes the necessity of building upon the past, while liberal idealism focuses upon the responsibility to shape the future. Conservatism without forward thinking becomes calcified and reactionary. Liberalism without respect for tradition mutates into caricature and absurdity.
The corruption of modern liberalism is evident across the spectrum of political ideology. The sanctity of life has devolved into the rejection of capital punishment while simultaneously negating both the value and the rights of the unborn. The dignity of human person has been distorted to support euthanasia for both unwanted infants and the elderly infirm. Equality before the law has become a bludgeon in the hands of criminals and a straightjacket to constrain victims. Collective conscience has become the underpinning of nonjudgmentalism, whereby every form of perversion gains acceptance as an "alternative lifestyle." The notion of divinity has vanished altogether, replaced by the self-worship of secular humanism.
Oblivious to these resounding contradictions, secular Jews have rallied to modern liberalism under the banner of tikkun olam, literally "the rectification of the world." In its new, common usage, however, tikkun olam means something very different from what it meant when the concept was first articulated over 32 centuries ago.
TO REPAIR THE WORLD
Advocacy for saving the rainforests and for saving the whales, for developing renewable resources and for leaving a smaller carbon footprint — these are just some of the enterprises gathered by pop-Jewish philosophy under the umbrella of tikkun olam. According to the ancient wisdom of the Torah, however, every human being is a microcosm of Creation, a world — or olam — unto himself. Yes, it is important for human beings to act as responsible custodians of the Almighty's world, but the rectification of the universe is a process that ultimately begins and ends within oneself.
How does an individual repair himself and thereby bring his world a step closer to perfection? By cultivating moral behavior and spiritual sensitivity based upon traditional values through acts of kindness, charity, and spiritual self-discipline. When I change myself, I change the world around me, and I do so far more substantially than by trying to change others while I remain the same. My own mandate to repair the world rests upon me alone and can be delegated to no one else.
Modern liberalism has adopted the belief that change depends upon governmental and judicial activism. Ironically, by shifting responsibility for social justice from the individual to the state, modern liberals have abdicated their own responsibility to address the very injustices they yearn to change. And with the abdication of social responsibility, it requires only a short step before even the most basic moral and spiritual axioms are similarly discarded. Finally, with no moral compass to guide it, modern liberalism has embraced the amorality of ancient Greece and the bacchanalia of ancient Rome not only as lifestyles but as models in the image of which contemporary society should be remade.
In truth, the liberal impulse is not only healthy but integral to human existence in general and to the mission of the Jewish people in particular. That impulse proves beneficial, however, only when guided by fealty toward the traditional values that have become associated with conservatism. By cutting themselves off from their spiritual moorings, secular Jews have indeed become the most exuberant seekers of causes for social and environmental justice as they seek any available ism to replace the calling of their ancestral heritage. But their headlong stampede toward utopianism more often resembles the frantic race of lemmings to the sea than an effective campaign for global reconstruction.
Mr. Podhoretz wonders at the alliance of American Jews with the liberal apologists who level every imaginable indictment against the country that granted them the freedom to achieve unprecedented prosperity. In the aftermath of the Passover holiday, it is worth reflecting upon the Jewish concept of freedom. To be truly free, we have to define morality not according to passing fads and fancies but according to the precepts that determine who we are and from where we have come. Only when we fully understand and commit ourselves to the principles that have sustained us since the dawn of civilization can we truly repair the world.
Jewish World Review
The real reason why Jews are liberals
By Rabbi Yonason Goldson
A few reflections on the politics of freedom that answer the most frequently asked question this site receives
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Now that even the New York Times has acknowledged Barack Obama's confrontational stance toward the State of Israel, one might wonder why American Jews have yet to demonstrate even a hint of buyer's remorse over their ardent support for the president in the last general election. Long-time Commentary Magazine editor Norman Podhoretz wondered the same thing in a Wall Street Journal editorial last September, in which he posed the title question, "Why are Jews Liberals?"
The article — then a teaser for the author's new book by the same name — never got around to answering its own question. Indeed, Mr. Podhoretz seemed distinctly less interested in contemplating why Jews are liberal than in pontificating about why they should be more conservative.
He has a point. For over three thousand years, Jewish society has promoted what today are called "traditional values," those social mores that came to define "tradition" precisely because they were universally held by so many for so long. The sanctity of life, of family, of sexuality, of charity, and of prayer — all these find their origins in Torah Judaism. Moreover, throughout the Biblical and Talmudic eras the structure of the Jewish socioeconomic community was essentially capitalistic, with the free market determining business activity and the social safety net for the poor and the weak provided (successfully) by individual responsibility within a framework of communal obligation.
Why then, asked Mr. Podhoretz, have American Jews indulged their love affair with liberalism since Franklin Roosevelt (who demurred from even a token act of intervention on behalf of the 6 million Jews murdered by the Nazis)? Why did American Jews disregard John McCain's long record of support for Israel and Barack Obama's open association with known anti-Semites to vote for Mr. Obama by a margin of almost five-to-one? (And why, I might add, if the vote were held today, would the likely results be just about the same?)
Good questions. And although Mr. Podhoretz sidestepped any effort to answer them, there is an answer.
STRANGE BEDFELLOWS
As much as all conservative values trace their origins to Jewish tradition, liberal values trace their origins to the same source — to exactly the same degree.
No one has articulated this better than the non-Jewish historian Paul Johnson: "To [the Jews] we owe the idea of equality before the law, both divine and human; of the sanctity of life and the dignity of human person; of the individual conscience and so a personal redemption; of collective conscience and so of social responsibility; of peace as an abstract ideal and love as the foundation of justice, and many other items which constitute the basic moral furniture of the human mind." In other words, Judaism is an ideology devoted to the betterment of the human condition based upon values and goals that are fundamentally liberal.
That being said, it may be the greatest misconception of the modern ideological divide that conservatism and liberalism must be mutually exclusive. Conservative traditionalism emphasizes the necessity of building upon the past, while liberal idealism focuses upon the responsibility to shape the future. Conservatism without forward thinking becomes calcified and reactionary. Liberalism without respect for tradition mutates into caricature and absurdity.
The corruption of modern liberalism is evident across the spectrum of political ideology. The sanctity of life has devolved into the rejection of capital punishment while simultaneously negating both the value and the rights of the unborn. The dignity of human person has been distorted to support euthanasia for both unwanted infants and the elderly infirm. Equality before the law has become a bludgeon in the hands of criminals and a straightjacket to constrain victims. Collective conscience has become the underpinning of nonjudgmentalism, whereby every form of perversion gains acceptance as an "alternative lifestyle." The notion of divinity has vanished altogether, replaced by the self-worship of secular humanism.
Oblivious to these resounding contradictions, secular Jews have rallied to modern liberalism under the banner of tikkun olam, literally "the rectification of the world." In its new, common usage, however, tikkun olam means something very different from what it meant when the concept was first articulated over 32 centuries ago.
TO REPAIR THE WORLD
Advocacy for saving the rainforests and for saving the whales, for developing renewable resources and for leaving a smaller carbon footprint — these are just some of the enterprises gathered by pop-Jewish philosophy under the umbrella of tikkun olam. According to the ancient wisdom of the Torah, however, every human being is a microcosm of Creation, a world — or olam — unto himself. Yes, it is important for human beings to act as responsible custodians of the Almighty's world, but the rectification of the universe is a process that ultimately begins and ends within oneself.
How does an individual repair himself and thereby bring his world a step closer to perfection? By cultivating moral behavior and spiritual sensitivity based upon traditional values through acts of kindness, charity, and spiritual self-discipline. When I change myself, I change the world around me, and I do so far more substantially than by trying to change others while I remain the same. My own mandate to repair the world rests upon me alone and can be delegated to no one else.
Modern liberalism has adopted the belief that change depends upon governmental and judicial activism. Ironically, by shifting responsibility for social justice from the individual to the state, modern liberals have abdicated their own responsibility to address the very injustices they yearn to change. And with the abdication of social responsibility, it requires only a short step before even the most basic moral and spiritual axioms are similarly discarded. Finally, with no moral compass to guide it, modern liberalism has embraced the amorality of ancient Greece and the bacchanalia of ancient Rome not only as lifestyles but as models in the image of which contemporary society should be remade.
In truth, the liberal impulse is not only healthy but integral to human existence in general and to the mission of the Jewish people in particular. That impulse proves beneficial, however, only when guided by fealty toward the traditional values that have become associated with conservatism. By cutting themselves off from their spiritual moorings, secular Jews have indeed become the most exuberant seekers of causes for social and environmental justice as they seek any available ism to replace the calling of their ancestral heritage. But their headlong stampede toward utopianism more often resembles the frantic race of lemmings to the sea than an effective campaign for global reconstruction.
Mr. Podhoretz wonders at the alliance of American Jews with the liberal apologists who level every imaginable indictment against the country that granted them the freedom to achieve unprecedented prosperity. In the aftermath of the Passover holiday, it is worth reflecting upon the Jewish concept of freedom. To be truly free, we have to define morality not according to passing fads and fancies but according to the precepts that determine who we are and from where we have come. Only when we fully understand and commit ourselves to the principles that have sustained us since the dawn of civilization can we truly repair the world.
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