Muddled Thinking or a New Reality

by Audrey Lichter

This past Shabbat Trinity College in Hartford CT hosted their annual  LGBQ Shabbat. In the past, the LGBQ community at Trinity would be welcomed into the Hillel House for a service and a joint Shabbat meal. This year the organization insisted that Hillel make a contribution to Gaza aid before they agreed to  collaborating. This is a classic case of “Intersectionality.” Does the LGBQ community know that they would be killed in Gaza for being gay? In the end, Hillel celebrated Shabbat by themselves. 

Does the LGBQ community know that they would be killed in Gaza for being gay?

Today’s Wall Street Journal featured an OP Ed about how Gen Z and Millennials seek meaning and purpose from their employment. They are looking for their life’s calling. The reality is that according to this article, 60% of people under the age of 35 are receiving financial assistance from their parents and that  in addition, many who are working are underemployed. It seems that equating work with one’s life’s mission leaves many people underemployed and not able to move on with their lives. 

We are living in an age where issues such as experiencing a community-wide Shabbat with making a divisive and political statement about the war in Gaza, or  equating one’s job with finding one’s life’s mission is de rigueur for participation. Our thinking has become muddled and our sense of right and wrong  localized and personal. We no longer believe that we share common values nor do we have tolerance for anyone who disagrees with our personal stance on issues we believe in. In fact, we don’t even want to engage with people who are not personally aligned with our set of beliefs. We have no appetite for the art of compromise or for living with dissonance. We have lost the drive and  capacity to seek  common ground.

 

…we don’t even want to engage with people who are not personally aligned with our set of beliefs.

This can’t end well. We have been there before in this country – for example, when the country was gripped with fear of the Soviet Union during the McCarthy years. Many people were hurt, lost their livelihood, friends, and families. We have to come to our senses once again and remember the aspirations this country was founded on. We must cast a wide net and find our “better angels.” We must remember that  we are a diverse country but share the fundamental principles of democracy that make us unique and envied  throughout the world.