Skip to main content

The courage to say NO to hate


I was going to write this blog about something different, but the recent events, especially the most recent shooting in a San Diego synagogue on the last day of Passover have totally occupied my thoughts. 

I am preparing a small service for my students for Yom HaShaoah- Holocaust Remembrance Day.  We usually light a candle and read some poems and sing a song.  I felt I needed to do more this year.  The Holocaust is not some distant past event of history.  The students have seen videos of Nazis marching on the streets of American cities yelling anti-Semitic slogans.  Houses of worship are targets of violence of hate all over the globe, including 2 synagogues here in our country. These acts of hate and ignorance must be confronted head on, and Holocaust Remembrance Day seems the perfect day to begin.

As a clergy member, these recent events have left me bereft and downtrodden.  My faith is tested, and my sadness is all encompassing.  Of course, I see the goodness in those who rise up against such hate.  Here in our community our own interfaith 3 Village Clergy group has gathered a few times to express solidarity and outrage at these acts of violence and hatred. 

As an educator, I think about addressing the root of such extremism.  What causes a person to hate with such toxic fear?  The work to end this hatred must begin now with our children.  We must teach them to view the other not as different and strange, but as a sister or brother sharing in God’s world.  We must build up their social-emotional skills so that they will develop a healthy self-love and not feel anxiety or crippling fear that can lead to scapegoating and blame. 

To incorporate these ideas into our Yom HaShoah service, I decided to introduce the students to a true ‘upstander’.  A man who stood up for his beliefs in the face of growing extremism and hatred.  I showed them this picture of August Landmesser.  A German factory worker who refused to give the Nazi salute in 1936.  Mr. Landmesser showed additional acts of resistance and ended up in jail for 2 years.  What would the world have been like if ALL of the people in the picture had refused to give the Nazi salute?  Something to ponder. 

I hope the students will take time to remember, to honor the victims of the Holocaust and all acts of anti-religious terror around the globe.  But I hope they also dedicate themselves to making a difference by learning to be an ‘upstander’


With prayers for the rekindling of the flame of peace and understanding,
Cantor Marcey Wagner

Comments

  1. 3vclergyMay 1, 2019 at 3:21 PM

    May we all be "up standers" and be loving wherever we find ourselves.

    I remember seeing an interview with a woman who had helped to hide Jewish families during WWII. Her message was that we should see that behavior as normal and the people who do such things as ordinary people, that we should not let ourselves believe that only extraordinarily courageous people act in accord with their values. It gave me a different perspective on having "the courage of one's convictions. "

    Thank you for this post.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Next steps?

At last night's community forum,  Belief and Truth from a Multifaith Perspective: Finding Unity in Diversity , many expressed a desire to continue these kinds of conversations and to take action together for building bridges in our community. These are some of the ideas that were shared for next steps: Find something concrete that we can work on together in our community Come out with a statement to the community about this gathering Have clergy visit other houses of worship for teaching and conversation  Invite people of other faiths or no faith traditions into our houses of worship Bring younger people into our interfaith programs Ask elected officials to talk about this kind of work Identify root causes of hatred and address them Encourage media coverage of our programs What other ideas do you have for next steps? Please share them in the comments.
2 comments
Read more

Time

My mind has been thinking about time and how it seems to be different now with all of what is happening. First there is COVID-19 and our stay-in-place semi-lockdown.  For those who have full-time jobs, and even for those who don't, we schedule things around moments in time.  Our lives are routine-based:  when we get up, when we eat, when we work, when we have time for family, when we have time to ourselves, when we sleep, etc.  When our routines are disrupted, many of us feel out of sorts or even lost.  What happened?  Why is this happening?  When is it (routine) coming back?  I've heard that there are many Americans who find it difficult to take a vacation, a real vacation of a week or two, because it takes them away from their work for too long.  As we are gradually allowed to come back to our former lives before COVID-19, perhaps we will have a better sense of time, our old time.  But then again, maybe time will never be the same. ...
Post a Comment
Read more
I did not want to write about this virus-time. I did not think I could.  Another piece was in my mind this week, not quite yet taking shape. But when I sat to write, the virus took my attention and I could not wrest it back.   There are useful and funny memes online, and stories of good will and good works, and words of inspiration and comfort. And terrible stories, too.  Mostly at a distance, we have been sharing dance and art and music, facts and opinions, cautionary tales and fairy tales. We miss hugs and doing projects and working and learning together in person. Sometimes we are in a bubble for a while that lets us just be, free of anxiety or fear.  Sometimes we cannot get out of bed.  Sometimes we cannot sleep.  Sometimes we eat all the chocolate and sometimes we eat nothing.  We who are privileged live like this.  We are grateful to the people who work at the jobs we need to have done even in t...
Post a Comment
Read more