Month: October 2024

The salient benefit of classic portraiture, is, that in addition to the replication of the subject’s appearance, the artist can convey an aesthetic representation of his persona. By contrast, the limited nature of the current “selfie” does not suffice to communicate the character or elements of personality. Upon our presumption that the contemplative individual is responsibly concerned, with the ever-changing condition of the Nation, we have elected to uniquely present a “written selfie,” pragmatically allowing observational comment.

Our “verbal selfie,” is contextually intended to serve as an accurate replication of the unexplainably large number of American citizens tenaciously favoring Donald J, Trump for America’s next president, despite his public record of reprehensible behavior and flawed character. Our motivation was catalyzed by the dubious stream of media reports that the political polls demonstrate that the presidential race between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, is extremely close the remarkable nature of which in our view, is deserving of thoughtful comment.

It is our subjective perception, that such polling results, if accurate, portray a grossly distorted picture of appropriate reality rationality, such as is reflected by a carnival fun-house mirror, revealing a disturbing and perceptively distorted picture. Emphatically stated, the outcomes conveyed by such reported polling, appear to be irreconcilable with voters’ historical, standards of acceptability.

Aside from the required skills for the acceptability of any candidate for responsible office ( perforce, far less august than the American presidency), a winning presentation, empirically, would require the demonstration of good character, capability, and sincered dedication. In these foundational areas, Trump has fully and inarguably demonstrated an abysmal failure to merit any degree of acceptability. On the existentially vital qualities of knowledge and sound judgment, Trump has shown such patent disability, in his one (twice-impeached) Presidential term) as would render discussion entirely useless and unnecessary, indeed,, de minimus.

Regarding the consequential requirement of good character to serve as president, we have the insight of having previously experienced chaos, moral impropriety, malfeasance, and actual criminal disorder during Trump’s one, (Putin-sponsored) and, twice Congressionally impeached term. In previous writings, we have referred to his neurotic and undemocratic election denial, sponsorship of a violent insurrection against the American government, tax frauds, multiple criminal felony indictments, and convictions, treasonous behavior with Putin, unethically unabashed violations of the Emolument Clause to line his own pockets, his adjudication as a “rapist,” his purloining of governmental secret documents, his criminal acts of election interference, his “hush money” payments to call girls with whom he conducted brisk commerce, his judicial determination that he committed defamation, his publically made bigoted statements, his intimate friendship with autocratic enemies, his regular fascist tropes, such as immigrants “poison the blood, labeling certain classes of people as “vermin,” dehumanizing marginalized groups of people, and many like others, not to overlook his statements concerning being a “dictator” and visiting retribution against his opponents in were sufficient, by themselves to deny him the office.

In notable addition to the above, Trump has regularly manifested an inarguably unhinged persona, evincing raving statements and manifesting behaviors that demonstrate mental unfitness and the state of being completely unhinged. His recent statements that the Nation is deteriorating into a sorry state like Detroit, most revealingly doing so on a Detroit stage, that immigrant “thugs are vile animals, murderers who will enter your kitchen and cut your throat,” that Haitian Immigrants in Springfield Ohio are eating neighbors’ dogs and cats, are but a sample pathologically indicative of his extant loss of mental acuity. His failure to stay on topic, weirdly deranged statements, lapses of awareness, and insane ravings have become a regular and prominent feature of his public appearances.

Our selfie can capture the objective picture of the American population, but unfortunately, not any rational explanation for the existence of a “tight” race.

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To our perception, the fairy tales of Hans Christian Anderson, the Brothers Grimm, and others, subtly contained a sub-rosa message relevant to the nuance and extremes of human behavior. In addition to their recognized status as fanciful tales for the amusement of little children, mere cursory analysis is required to discover that they can be additionally seen to represent, in a symbolic manner, the characteristic foibles and excesses of human empirical behavior. To cite some illustrations of our observation, we would cite the following: “Jack and The Beanstalk,” [the dangers of over-ambition], “The Ugly Duckling” [ value in nuance].”Little Red Riding Hood” [ the risk of naivety and being too trusting], The Three Little Pigs” [the ultimate value of hard work]. “Snow White” [the perils created by jealousy and the importance of supporting allies] “Cinderella,” [the hidden presence of value implicit in ordinary people] and perhaps, “Pinnochio” [ the dangers of deceit]. Time and again, we have observed children’s tales on thoughtful analysis. reveal an instructive lesson to humanity.

Such a message representing our observation is relevant to the contemporary morass of bizarre MAGA ideation and empirical absurdity found in the classic fairy tale, “The Emperor’s New Clothes” by Hans Christian Anderson. As related in the story, a powerful King is tricked into believing that his tailors have designed a magical suit of clothes for him which might be seen only by the people capably deserving of their position. The misled Emporer then proceeds to walk throughout his kingdom completely nude only to receive the loyal sartorial praise of his subjects.

We see an evident, analogous relevance in today’s MAGA adoration of Donald Trump, thematically, in their facile acceptance of his neurotic meme that his elective success as President was “stolen” from him. It may be noted that such a delusion lacked any factual basis, was refuted by multiple official audits, and was legally rejected by consistent rulings of the judiciary. Analogous to the nonexistent “magical suit of clothes” “worn” by the misled nude King, the purported existence of election fraud was refuted by the naked, empirical reality. Yet, in analogous similarity to the King’s subjects in the fairy tale, where the objective view of the King’s obvious nudity was overridden by their fear of retribution, or group loyalty, the MAGA cultists, loyally maintain, that their idolized deity,, Donald Trump, is irrefutably accurate in his delusion that. the election was “rigged.”

It is revealing that the compliant horde of populist Trumpers also maintain bizarre ideations such as Haitians, eat pet cats and dogs, that the Democrats are responsible for the recent extreme hurricanes since they tactically control the weather, that Putin is a great leader, that abortion is a sin, despite the non-existence of the dreaded subject in the New Testament, that the Founders intended the new Nation to be Christian, that homosexuality can be taught, that 9/11 was a CIA false-flag operation. that the American empathic tradition of refugee immigration is “poisoning the blood of the Nation,” that Israel shoots rockets to Earth, that a secret cabal of Jewish bankers conspires to control the World, and that coastal elites intend to replace white Americans with other racial groups,

Considering the abundance and quality of the universe of MAGA paranoid ideation, it might be said that there exists no available need or space for nursery tales.

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We preface this writing with another of our numerous references to the venerable 18th-century -English Philosopher John Locke. It was Locke, who famously declared that man is born with a “tabula rasa” (a clean slate) and that the (exclusive) source of his knowledge is his empirical experience.

The thoughtful, contemplative individual developmentally acquires a reservoir of reference from his anecdotal experiences. In such a manner, he advances in understanding and perception towards the universal aspiration for wisdom.

THE SEED.

Man’s capacity for rational understanding has its observable advent at birth; consisting of the infantile experiences and reactions to stimuli referable to light, touch, and temperature. The compendium of learned experience increases in kind and complexity with the natural progress of his physical and cognitive maturity.

We have eternally maintained, that the awareness of Man’s “self” or “self-image” is the developmental result of his recollected accumulation of personal responses to previously presenting stimuli, eventuating in the dynamic consciousness or our eternally described,”lifetime conversation with oneself.” The effect is the formation of one’s attributable personality and perception.

THE SPROUTED PLANT.

The opportunities for experiential learning increase with the temporal growth of the individual, as a toddler, viz., the warmth and reliability of family contact, and developmentally later, the interactive roles and hierarchy of the family, then to the ability to communicate his personal will. Early school experiences introduce him to the existence of non-parental adult authority, ever wider social experience with peers, inclusive of members of the opposite sex. Personal motivation is significantly inclusive of peer acceptance and demonstrated capability.

EMERGING GREEN STALKS.

The growth progress continues to young adulthood, accompanied by increasing experiential complexity and an ever-increasing growth of perceptive capability. This is the stage of development in which the individual possesses the combination of great physical prowess, counterbalanced by the storm and stress (termed, “Sturm un drang”) in classical psychology; self-consciousness, personal insecurity as to worth and place, sexual awareness, and the impenetrable fog of his unknown future. Assuming a state of good health, the individual, often awkwardly, but progressively, attains a functional acceptance of his life, relative to the ambiance of his personal existence.

FRUIT BEARING MATURITY.

Still, at the zenith of his physical prowess, the individual, develops a comfortable and relatable sense of personal identity, complemented by the assurance of ubiquitously demonstrated capability, is now in a position to marry, bear fruit (children), and, importantly, beneficially interact with society. His thoughts have coalesced into stable principles developed from his perception of many years of experiential learning. To the extent that he has led a life of contemplation and introspective understanding, he will have acquired a responsible and mature perception of himself and, as relevant and necessary, the world around him. He has developed inner feelings of accomplishment regarding mature social responsibilities, a comfortable sense of worth, and a mature perception. At such a point in his development, the individual is most successful. productive, self-assured, and, for decades to follow, physically capable.

THE LATE HARVEST..

Long after the bearing of fruit, the superannuated plant shows signs of ever-increasing withering and loss of its historical vitality. The remaining entity is possessed by disease and diminution of function. In our analogical reference to agriculture, the beneficial and meaningful period of vital existence and production has empirically passed.

In the somewhat analogous but potentially enriching life process of the planet’s inventory of mature contemplative humankind, the ultimate rewards of the (personal) harvest, in contrast, beneficially occur at the superannuated age. The same may evince joint pain, disability, the mandatory use of “walkers” or other peripatetic assistance, and the decline of physical prowess and capability. Yet, for those who have led a contemplative life of personal growth and advancement through elective engagement in reading and/or other personally advancing activities, a bumper crop of invaluable harvest is produced, concomitant with the extant discomfort and disability, consisting of an ultimate understanding of oneself and others. This is the ultimate harvest of “fulfillment,” the cognitive gold medal of a successful fulfillment of the life of the individual and all humankind.

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Regular followers of this blog post are aware that we have been eternally interested in the societally existential subject of interpersonal interaction. In this essay, we will relate some historical and developmental observations on the vital phenomenon and development of the written form of communication. Our present focus, however, is specifically limited to our empirical observation, as contextually distinguished from a more extensive and esoteric examination of the phenomenon, such as a discussion of ancient Middle Eastern Cuneiform or Old Nordic runes. Additionally, our observations are sporadically colored by a measure of personal anecdotal recollection.

“Retro” individuals who persist in the employment of the traditional “pencil” might describe it as a small slender rod of solid marking substance (usually, graphite) enclosed in layers of soft wood, and used for writing, artwork, and marking. The development of pencil (point) sharpeners was pragmatically necessary so that the written end of the pencil might periodically be rendered in usable condition for transcriptive use

As will be remembered by mature readers, pencil sharpeners (small and handheld, mechanical or electric) were common tools employed in shaving the worn wooden surface of the pencil’s end for exposure of the graphite, affording continued use.

We can vividly remember our immigrant mother’s use of a wooden pencil in her regular course of correspondence, (in the Yiddish language) implemented by way of the pragmatic facility of the penny postcard, with her elder sister, Anna, living “far distant” from Brooklyn, New York, viz., in the then perceived exotic territory of Middletown, Connecticut. Her postcards to our “Tante Anna” always commenced with the salutation, written in Yiddish, [phon.]” Liebe Schvester”) [trans.] “Dear” Sister,” The conduct of such regular familial correspondence was personally made somewhat more difficult due to an amputated right index finger, medically performed in primitive, rural White Russia (Belarus) ie, “the old Country;” and notably illustrative of Russian 20th Century medical sophistication as appropriate to badly infected fingers. Her sporadic need for a pencil sharpener was satisfied by the use of a sharp, dextrally employed kitchen knife. It may be confidently said that such personal messages were light-years in aesthetic distance from the iconic letters (“Belle Lettres”) of Henry *8th to Anne Boleyn, Frida Kahlo to Diego Rivera, or those of Zelda Fitzgerald to F. Scott Fitzgerald, but functioned as an effective assurance of the continuance of a close sibling relationship, now resident in the new country.

During our public school era, “dipping pens” were the contemporary school implements universally employed for writing. The implement was a wood with an attached metal-tipped version of the archaic writing goose feather quill, which as in the case of its avian ancestor, regularly dipped in ink to imprint alphabetic letters,.was uncomfortably scratchy and often accompanied by ink blots, some as disturbingly regular as chicken pox. The wooden desks, stereotypic in the time’s early grades featured lidded metal “ink wells” at the right corner for continuous pen dipping.

Our handwriting was never aesthetically admirable but did somewhat improve with the advent of the “Scripto” ballpoint pen. Ballpoint pens quickly replaced the “dip” pens, systemically contained the necessary ink for transcription, and were easily portable, Today our hand-written activity is accomplished with an attractively designed “roller” ballpoint pens. Stylish “Fountain pens,” pens with enclosed ink blatters were always available, but needed periodic suction ink filling.

Written communication, however, manifested, has always had the salutary characteristics of reassuring personal nuance and familiarity to the addressee and afforded the communicator time to select words most reflective of their intended meaning and\ tone. It has uniformly been our view that the written mode of communication is the most articulate and emotionally accurate.

It was this most valuable and humanistic avenue of the societally existential interpersonal mode of communication that was sadly sacrificed to the keyboard laptop and the inadequately articulate “smartphone” (sic) that catalyzed contemporary diversity and feelings of neurotic insular loneliness.

It may be of interest to observe that it was the copious, invaluable letters of ” Pliny the Younger” (79 A.D.) that famously provide a historical treasure trove of information regarding the early Roman era, and, for the readers’ possible curiosity, the eponymous title of this blogspace.

In the advent of the digital age, handheld writing implements and their facility for transcribing and communicating thoughtful and personally nuanced communications were irresponsibly and ubiquitously surrendered for less tiresome, albeit, more humanistic and expressive interaction. Electronically transmitted messages bearing informational or timely advice have, in the desire for enticing interest of speed and convenience, foolishly sacrificed the intimacy of healthy personal inter-communication, Individuals are instantly and conveniently in touch with each other, but are thereby, inadequately articulate. The desire for speed and facility of individual contact has sadly overridden its foundational purpose.

It is our earnest suggestion that, in addition to the facility of computer utilization, the thoughtful individual supplementally maintains the salubrious use of the written and spoken word as existentially vital insurance of the continued endurance of our healthy and humanistic identity as individuals and discreet, identifiable constituents of the planet’s human society.

• Title temporarily borrowed from Omar Khayyam

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The broad and varied range of Man’s respectively nuanced personality and characteristics may conceivably be limitless, Observations such as personal appearance, either, outgoing or reclusive, agreeable or contrary, kindness, and empathy versus cruelty and selfishness, curiosity and openness, compared with adamant atavistic reductionism, matters of skill or profession, racial, ethnic or national identity, gender, and sexual preference, dynamism versus stagnation, talented or incapable, indeed, too many adjectival references to possibly recite.

It may be an inevitable phenomenon that individual exercise of judgmental and possibly, determinative, is dynamically related to the particular persona of the observer; nevertheless, it can be permissible to say that fundamentally, discreet descriptive references, tend to be empirically derived on a societally shared basis.

Judgmental perception of others often may occasionally draw upon temporally controversial issues. As an illustration, during America’s abolition period, the description of someone as a “teetotaler,” might be perceived as an observation that the person, in addition to not being an imbiber of alcoholic beverages, is law-abiding.; during the Vietnam War, critical observation concerned the hotly contested issue of America’s active participation, During the ravages of Covid, the observation that someone was a “non-vaxer” was an empirical determination that he was a MAGA adherent.

In relatively less troubled times, categorical signification appears to depend upon more objective, on perception on occasion, derivable from his group affiliation..The variety of identifiable referential characteristics might concern, physical appearance, demonstrated proficiencies or talents, skills, residential venue, size, profession or calling, place of domicile, demonstrated personality traits such as pessimism or optimism, sociability, or observations of physical disability, athleticism or sloth. cheerfulness or depression, wealth or poverty, youthful or elderly, educated and well-informed as opposed to ignorant, caring and empathic or selfish, left or right handed, married or single. gay or straight, interesting or boring, enthusiastic or pessimistic, graceful or inveterately clumsy, calm or hot-tempered; in short, the full range of the American-British adjectival vernacular.

Contemporary American society seems to have universally overridden the verbal plethora of potential for personal characterization or perceptive description, to the singular, reductive observation as to whether or not the observed citizen is a supporter of Donald J. Trump (“MAGA”). The prudential selection of Vice-President Kamala Harris to run for Chief Executive on the Democratic Party ticket was pragmatically and tactically wise, however, the salient issue in the coming election turns on whether or not the voters will select Donald Trump as President. “Trumpism” has become the critical and judgmentally determinative menu selection du jour. In our view, the contested atmosphere of, the Hatfields and the McCoys, Yankees and Redsocks, Abolitionists, and Non-Abolitionists, vegetarians and Meat eaters, liberals and conservatives, “:red-necks” versus “coastal liberals,” “wise” or “foolish,” dexterous or clumsy, corpulent or spare, tall or short, fat or skinny, fashionable or “retro,” and the entire compendium of adjectival dynamic pales in ubiquitous description by the dense fog of toxic MAGA mania.

The overriding concern and, consequently the reductive and paramount concern regarding Trump and his MAGA cultists is the superseding distinction may as an explanation be analogized to a family (reductive) concern relative to a family member undergoing a consequential and risky cardiac procedure.

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The most recent edition of “Atlantic” magazine featured an essay revealing today’s college students’ disturbing lack of desire and capability to read books. This revelation, in our view, is analogously equivalent in impact to a finding that bumble bees are no longer interested in flowers. The essay went on to observe that students arrive at college with an inadequate vocabulary and less understanding than in the past. It noted their difficulty in staying sufficiently focused to read a fourteen-line poem without succumbing to distraction. The author suggested that the basic cause may be inadequate; primary and secondary school education. With due respect, it is our contrary view that the problem, sadly, is symptomatic of a more, all-encompassing and retrogressive societal tragedy.

The long developmental progress of Man, from self-subsisting alone to living in society, in addition to the acquired benefits of companionship and personal security, and development of life skills, led to the vitally important development of language and social interaction. Man’s life was no longer a solitary challenge to survive and, in time, allowed Homo Sapiens to develop the societal capacity to exchange feelings and personal observations in a common language. Human interaction and inter-personal communication provided the dynamic process that ultimately afforded Early Man the consciousness of the empirical experiences of others in addition to himself, Over the many eons of earthly habitation, he developed the societally existential perception of the important presence of other residential individuals and their enlightening accounts of empirical experiences. This ultimately resulted in his inclination to thoughtful and comparative self-examination; eventuating into a contextual valuation of others. With the development of writing, he became capable of transcribing his experiences, providing the dissemination of experientially pragmatic guide to others, relative to newly developed skills and, thematically, on perceived matters of human experience.

The vital benefits of spoken and transcribed communication led to stable, interactive societies and subsequently to the conglomeration of National States, contextually enabling a more encompassing and salubrious enhancement of human life and experience. Works of literature provided the reader with aesthetic pleasure, but more vitally, enhanced his utilitarian understanding and, more broadly, the moral advancement of extant mankind by its relation to Man’s classic experience and derived conclusions, as a comparative analog to the readers’ perception of life.

Books are necessary in the development of mature perspective and substantially contribute to an understanding of the human condition. They cultivate a sophisticated sense of empathy, temporarily transferring the mind of the reader into the mind of the protagonist. Such enlargement of human understanding directs the sympathy and understanding of the reader outside himself and derivatively eventuates in a wiser understanding of the self, others, and indeed, of life itself. The countless human compendiums of enjoyable and life-enhancing literature and other aesthetic sources of wisdom and communicated perception of Man’s life on Earth are ubiquitously available for the contemplative reader and have been an invaluable instrument in the process of human advancement.

Returning to our theme, viz., the reported absence of willingness, and, perhaps capability of college students to read books, we are obliged to reprise a contextual observation, notably appearing throughout our one-thousand-plus writings, viz., the existential importance of informed societal interaction oral and written and the tragically atavistic and retrograde effects of its contemporaneous decline.

We have attributed a plethora of substantive problems to the unwise exchange of human conversational interaction (in person, by telephone, writing (letters, journals, and books) for the facile but humanistically harmful, impersonal digitally operated hand appliances (“smartphones”). As numerously observed in this blog space, deprives the individual of the experience of recognized personal contact, timely and meaningful responses, comforting, nuanced voice recognition, emotion,al expression and spontaneity viz.,the sense of personal interactive experience. Hand-held digital transmissions are cold, nonspontaneous, and broadcast in the new tech-speak, to be received at some fortuitous time and likewise, digitally responded to when received. The societal result is the sense of loneliness and the promotion of insularity, as contrasted with natural and societally salubrious, human-to-human spontaneous exchange and beneficial personal ratification.

Other such computer “advancements” have metastasized the toxic effect of loneliness by removing the essential quality of communal and interpersonal living. To cite a few illustrative examples of such impersonal and socially crippling phenomena, we might, for example, cite some such robotic services as GPS, Echo Robotics (ex, “ALEXA), carpet sweepers, car parking, virtual workplaces and conferences, referential data devices on handphones, in place of individual consultation or personal research, televised individualized instruction, purchases by computer,. online mail, ubiquitous home entertainment, rendering attendance at theaters, museums, and movie houses archaic. As opposed to natural and sustaining societal interaction, we have surrendered to the seductive desire for convenience, regrettably deleting individual life and social interaction. Life has become, by populist choice, well-supplied, solitary existence.

Accordingly and tragically, so much of the younger generation’s empirical perception of life has descended to a selfishly oriented experience. The new perception of society is impersonal and merely signified by a perceptive competition for tangible success; as opposed to a more admirable (and normalized) holistic and responsible aspiration for humanistically healthy self-fulfillment.

It is our sad observation, that, contrary to Atlantic’s attribution of causes underlying the student problem, it is our attribution to the societally unwise substitution of facile computerized “improvements” eliminating societal, existentially vital, personal interactive, humanistic interaction; that convenient, but impersonal intercommunication is proximately responsible for the students’ failure to “waste time” in reading or engagement in enlightening discourse in general, evidenced by their contextual poor performance at higher institutions of learning; one wastefully committed to the mundane and limiting goal of a future career. The latter, limited aspiration is an obscene waste of cognitive potential for the ultimate human opportunity for self-fulfillment.

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We travel to the tiny town of Wistful Vista, situated in the northeast corner of the State of Pennsyltucky, to provide the sophisticated reader with a representative sample of the ubiquitous significance of political polling, notably, one assessing the temporal standing of Presidential candidates at various stages of their campaign,

The sleepy crabgrass and lichen-covered township in question has been determined by several sage economic specialists and cultural anthropologists to eternally suffer economic vicissitude, based upon its adamant refusal to evolve from its historical role as the foremost producer of white wig powder in 17th Century colonial America to a more current and less anachronistic enterprise. The unique skills implicit in the fabrication of the subject colonially merchandisable product has by tradition been passed down from father to son; the township’s female population analogously, bequeathing their prowess at the spinning wheel, down through the ages, mother to daughter.

The meager and tenuous financial subsistence of the town is meagerly furnished by modest, tourist income derived from sporadic visits by didactic dental researchers and, occasional anthropologists from National Geographic Magazine, investigating the etiology of the uniquely notable phenomenon, that all residents of the township, (eerily, inclusive of their pets, viz., cats and dogs), demonstrate uniformly large gaps in their two front sets of teeth. At first, it was surmised that the cosmetic condition had its etiology in the singularly bizarre trigonometric fashion in which food was masticated by the villagers, later. instead, attributed to acidic chemicals in the water, and ultimately, from, the nuanced, chemical content of the ambient soil.

The gap-toothed citizens, to their ardent democratic credit, faithfully conduct weekly town meetings on town matters as well as its governance, and are seen to be especially enthusiastic and vocal about village-oriented political and social matters. Recent hotly contested debates have addressed diverse opinions on matters of localized existential concern such as premature seasonal fly fishing, the worrisome decline in the officially audited tadpole population, as well as the eternal difficulties involved in morning dental flossing. As to the latter, the Official Town Board of Supervisors has pragmatically recommended the use of nylon shoelaces, for the front teeth.

Responsible political pollsters have consistently chosen to consult the political leanings of the inhabitants of the subject township as being sociologically representative of the “populist” political sentiment of our diverse nation, and have incorporated their erudite findings in official media reports. Bizarrely, the political leanings have been consistently substantive, since the advent of the township’s polling sixteen years ago. The results, while somewhat varied, invariably depended, in this historic heartland of aesthetic, white colonial wig powder producers, upon the questioned villager’s aesthetic approval of the publicized hairstyles of the respective candidates.

In last week’s professionally conducted poll, as reported in the village’s leading” newspaper, “The Wistful Times,” all of the questioned townspeople, except three villagers, (articulated as best as dentally possible, considering their nuanced dentures) that they decisively choose Vice-President, Kamala Harris over Donald Trump. When questioned as to their personal choice, each responder indicated, gushingly, that he favored Harris because she had slightly, but, noticeably, more hair than Donald Trump; and secondarily. but significantly, Trump’s hair was dyed orange, the color of prison uniforms.

The three absent responders had previously asked to be excused from the Official Survey on the grounds of their intensely busy scheduled activity, parceling out and bagging the village’s latest inventory of recently crafted white wig powder.

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We have never failed in gratitude to our, now-deceased immigrant parents who had braved the vicissitudes and emotional cost of leaving their respective countries of birth for lives of liberty and religious tolerance in America. The autocratic government and the established Church of their place of origin, Russia, engaged in religious prejudice, evincing itself, among other horrors, in sporadic, but predictable, “pogroms” and other evils. The insupportable context of such a life motivated many, like our parents, to bravely escape to this country, renowned for its liberty and economic opportunity.

As American-born, first-generation children, we, at an early age, learned of the horrific facts of programmatic antisemetism eternally characteristic of the European Christian World; the same, our later readings revealed, having its advent in the years preceding the (4th Century) Christianizing. reign of Emporer Constantine of the Holy Roman Empire (see:” Constantine’s Sword” by James Carroll, a former Catholic Priest). We grew up, admittedly, in an ambiance of insecure financial circumstances but, notably, as grateful beneficiaries of the blessings of acquired constitutionally privileged status, free of religious tyranny. We were thus imbued with a lifelong sense of gratitude and resultant patriotism for the Nation that afforded such freedom; a gratitude; empirically exacerbated by the oft-recited depiction of the tenuous state of life in the “Old Country,” in “Yinglish” by family and by immigrant neighbors. Understandably, we have been empathic supporters of the Nation’s program of immigration asylum,

Like others of our known Jewish-American citizens, in addition to our ardent feelings of pride in our American citizenship, we have additionally been supporters of the establishment in 1948 of the State of Isreal; the latter, significantly representing the singular permissible refuge for survivors of the Holocaust and other displaced and homeless European Jews. It was personally reaffirming to observe that our parents’ adopted Nation and Israel, have historically been partners and friendly allies.

The sudden barbaric attack on Isreal by the Gazan Hamas was intended, dually, to cause temporal damage to Israel and, as well, to besmirch its legitimate international standing, Following the atavistically sadistic assault upon Isreal, the terrorists, as planned, retreated with their kidnapped hostages to large tunnels, strategically constructed under Gazan hospitals and places of communal attendance. They did so with the strategic design and intention that the inevitable retaliation, of necessity, would be visited upon those humanistically heartless shields. Hamas, fully cognizant that it lacked the military capability to destroy Israel perniciously conspired to impair its legitimacy and international standing by imposed acts of cruelty such as bombing hospitals and thus be conceived as a pariah. Hamas, as planned, retreated with its seized hostages to its pre-planned, well-supplied tunnels, constructed under such Gazan hospitals and institutions.

Unfortunately. such a pathologically perverse tactic was successful, and unfortunately exacerbated by an overzealous response orchestrated upon Gaza by Isreal’s right-wing-religious government, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, resulting in large numbers of innocent Palestinian mortalities and horrific suffering of innocent Palestinian civilians, which as evilly conceived., successfully aroused critical international opposition.

In the United States, the opposition was palpably expressed and publicly demonstrated by large protests on college campuses and various other places of assembly, most notably by young and idealistic college students and other young protestors.

We, in principle, have sided with the protesters to the extent of the Netanyahu government’s overaction wreaked on innocent Palestinians as being unjust and excessive, Yet, we were dismayed to observe that the evident overreaction of the Netanyahu Right-Wing government resulted in a perverse opportunity to justify and promote the chronic historical toxin of antisemetism. An opportunistic horde of reductionist bigots availed themselves of the opportunity to condemn the entirety of the Jewish population, for the overreaction by Israel’s contemporary right-wing government. It should be usefully observed that a substantial portion of Israelis vocally and demonstrably expressed their determinative opposition to the present government’s policies and actions and sought its resignation.

More to our contextual point, many of the protesters (students and non-scholastic antisemitic agitators) appear to reductively and critically conflate, the entire diverse population of Isreal, but, perforce, all ethnic Jewry..

The ancient serpent of antisemetism has again opportunistically emerged from its eternally insidious hole. In medieval days the Jews were blamed for plagues, poor crops, lack of rain, and other events, empirically and indeed, rationally unrelated to the lifestyle, tenets, and culture of the Jewish religion, Apparently for those whose persona systemically includes anti-Semitic, or other bigoted and reductive ideation, are eternally hungry for motivating ideations to assign to and rationalize their systemic inclination for hatred. Contemporaneously, it appears to be the Israeli-Hamas conflict.

Is it rationally necessary to remind the atavistic members of the world’s bigotted underbelly, that we, as illustrative and ubiquitously relevant examples, are American ( Jewish, not Israeli) citizens and that our inherited religious ethnos, are not notably exemplified by the perverse phenomenon of reductive “group think?”

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