By Rich Kozlovich
Quoting David Mamet:
“Dennis Prager said the only thing that the Left has been successful at is in demonizing the Right and they demonized the hell out of the Jews so bad they can’t think clearly.
My great aunt lives in Chicago and she’s 91 years old and she said you know ‘things have gotten so bad over here, the taxes are so bad, the homelessness is so bad, these kids are killing each other every week on the south side of Chicago and my friends had to move from a wonderful apartment because when they took over Michigan Avenue they got into the lobby of her building and things just couldn’t be worse’ and I said you know ‘Well keep voting democratic!’ and there was this long long long long pause and any of us who are Conservative know that pause and that look on the face of the Liberal and it’s a look of aphasia.”
When I was working I had a lot of Jewish customers. They were smart, funny, and well informed... mostly.... and I would have conversations with them about everything. That's what I enjoyed, the broad interests they displayed. And one has to understand, every ethnic group has it's "shtick"! Those little idiosyncratic that make them just a little different than other ethnic groups, and you have to recognize them and work with it, and it's generally not personal, just their "shtick". As the generations move along those distinctions become much less noticeable, but they're there none the less.
One of my favorite customers was a Jewish couple in their 80's and we talked about history, politics, culture, race, Israel, Jews in America versus Jews around the world. Name it and at some point it became a conversation piece, and since I've read a history book or two I always underpinned my thoughts with history lessons. History is everything, because time and truth are on the same side.
She was an ardent liberal Democrat, and I found out after some years....he was a Republican. Was I surprised, and they both laughed, and so did I.
I asked the wife why Jews, the smartest people on the planet, who have managed to be successful throughout their history in spite of unending persecution, who live and practice conservative values and teach those same values to their children then vote for people who are foundationally antisemitic and promote everything that's antithetical to the values Jews practice and teach? She said she was a conservative in her head, but she's a liberal in her heart. I told he she needs to start voting with her head.
As time went by she told me I opened her eyes, and she was going to vote for Trump in 2020. She told me she shared my insights with her friends, and that didn't go well. They were all upset wondering why in the world she was listening to a "bugman"? Maybe because the "bugman" knows a thing or two? Just a passing thought.
But the answer to their voting habits is, in my opinion, in their suffering. This intransigence goes back to the turn of the 20th century and the Democrat party of days gone by. When looking at this from that perspective this embrace by Jews of Democrats is understandable, and it's a generational cultural thing now. In any ethnic group with such close ties it's very difficult to step out of line with the accepted cultural paradigms of that society. This isn't the Democrat party of their grandparents and great grandparents.
At some point I think that social paradigm has to change for American Jews, and I also think it will change for American Catholics. The social fabric and values of both of those communities are very similar, and both are totally out of harmony with the structure, values and goals of the Democrat party.
So, why do Catholics vote Democrat? Catholics I've discussed this with over the years have had some strong words against Obama, Pelosi, and Democrats in general ....the Pope..... and yet they vote massively in favor of Democrat candidates. Why? Other than it's now a generational social paradigm............I have no idea.
But, as the reporter in Charlie Wilson's War said: We'll see!
No comments:
Post a Comment