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Who Are We,
Anyway?
By Kate Burch
I have a son whose job has required that he and his family live in
Europe for the past four years. I recently went for a visit, and
they took Grandma along for a family vacation to Israel. This was
an extremely generous gift and the fulfillment of a long-held wish to
see Jerusalem.
I was profoundly moved to learn about and experience the holy sites in
Jerusalem. However, the most compelling impression that was made
on me during the Israel excursion was about the spirit and character of
the Israeli people. Without exception, Israelis greeted us and
interacted with us in a friendly, warm, and hospitable manner.
What’s more, they appeared to be happy and relaxed. This experience
belied the concerns expressed by some of my friends who feared it would
be unsafe to be in that corner of the world.
I was reminded of several nuggets from my reading that helped me to
make sense of the experience:
Several years ago, I read a book by the former Soviet “refusenik,”
Medal of Freedom winner, writer and statesman Natan Sharansky, entitled
“Defending Identity.” The book, which affected me quite
powerfully, explained how a strong national/cultural/religious identity
is vital to sustaining an effective and vigorous democracy.
I recalled reading about a year ago an article, which I have since
found in the May 16, 2016 Wall Street Journal, about how Israel (Jews
and Arabs alike) rank very high on international ratings of happiness
and life satisfaction. This despite their being under unremitting
threats to their individual and collective survival.
On the airplane traveling to Europe, I read a book by Leo Maasburg,
“Mother Teresa of Calcutta.” Mother Teresa, asked how she could
bear working with people in hopeless poverty who were filthy, literally
sleeping naked on the streets, explained that the worst poverty she had
encountered was suffered by people in developed nations who had no
sense of being loved or of belonging.
I am convinced that the Israelis, reverencing their shared history,
culture, accomplishments, and purpose have something that we Americans
have squandered and are in danger of losing entirely.
Universities and media and many “leaders” revile our history, our
culture, and our traditional values. Children are indoctrinated
early with false notions that ours is a rapacious, careless and
destructive country, rather than a “shining city on a hill” that was
the Founders’ dream and intent. Morals and values and
institutions that have been universally accepted and pursued for
millennia are overturned. People have no anchor when it is denied
that objective truth exists, rather than “truth” being merely a matter
of opinion. Anchorless people are lonely, unhappy people.
People are marrying later, if at all, and birth rates are too
low. There is less participation in civil society: less community
engagement; less church attendance and involvement; even less visiting
and acquaintanceship with neighbors. People who, one would think,
have everything turn to drugs and pornography rather than building
relationships. Alienation feeds the sense of being aggrieved and
outraged. People protest without having even a clear notion of
what they want.
Perhaps our nation will need to suffer real adversity before people
come to their senses and recognize the crisis of morals and values we
are experiencing. I hope not. Our Founders, geniuses who
were grounded in serious study and understanding of history, devised a
system that, if followed, ensures human flourishing, protecting the
God-given rights of every human being. They knew that the success
of self-governance requires commitment, involvement, and virtue, else
we will live under tyranny. They knew that we are prideful,
envious, venal and slothful creatures, and that those who wish to
govern us must be held in check and the rule of law, rather than
privilege must prevail. It’s a good system, an inspired system,
the most successful system the world has known. Let’s not lose
it. Let’s regain pride in being Americans. Let’s be happy
again!
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