“The test of faith is whether I can make room for difference.” – Chief Rabbi, Lord Jonathan Sacks, “The Dignity of Difference.”
There is not a single person who could attest to me being someone who lacks
faith. In fact, I believe that I am one of the most optimistic people I know. I
am willing to accept and embrace the other (sometimes too quickly!). I am open
to listen to their constructive criticism and comments, acknowledge dignify
them and respond graciously.
However,
there are some red lines that I refuse to cross.
I realize
that not everyone is a warrior who is ready to risk that which they consider important
to them, be it their family, their job, or their own safety. I also understand
that to ask anyone to sacrifice that which is dear to them at the expense of adhering
to integrity and truth, is, perhaps, unfair.
But when
they ask me, in return, to dignify their approach and their opinion and accept
their stand, they use the occasion to reprove me, label me with their own made-up
titles and mock me. And why? Because I refuse to let go of my belief and become
their “yes” person.
Let me be
specific. Anyone who has known me, even for a short while, is aware of how
staunchly I support Trump and fight obstinately against the injustice and evil
that was committed against him. I am, especially, referring to the results of
the latest U.S. elections.
I doubt that
there are many who will disagree that these elections were rigged. And no, I am
not suggesting that there is overwhelming proof that Trump received more votes
that Biden. What I am saying, though, is that there is enough proof of
irregularities that occurred which, in my view, deems revisiting the subject for
the sake of transparency and respect to every single voter. Neither do I demand,
nor do I think that everyone who supported and voted for President Trump in the
past should continue to exercise loyalty to the person who has been good to
many of us, Americans first, and to the rest of the world, as I do. Likewise, I
would never expect anyone not to capitulate to political and social pressure
and stand by the side of the man, who has been wronged by so many, during his
hard times, as they did during his good days.
In that respect, yes, I do dignify their right to hold a different opinion. Freedom of choice and expression are central pillars of the U.S. Democratic Republic.
My
question, rather, my dilemma, though, has nothing to do with my loyalty to one candidate or another. It has everything to do with upholding and dignifying
the ethical principles and moral compass upon which this country was founded.
In other words, the rigged
election results, the fraudulent manners in which some were obtained and the
certification of the electorate, despite the abundant evidence which was not
even granted a court hearing, is, in my view, a slap and a spit in the face of the
Constitution of “We the People.” This is what, I believe, every decent, law
abiding American citizen should also have an issue with.
Instead, I
witness nonchalance among some of my fellow Americans who, even upon being presented
with evidence of the deceit and the lies employed to produce the fraudulent
election results, merely shrug their shoulders, click their tongues, blindly accepted
such antics, and move on with their lives as if everything is normal.
They are, of
course, entitled to their stance which is light years away from mine. However,
to expect me to dignify their difference on this matter is to ask me to embrace
lies, fraud, evil and lawlessness. That, I will never do. That, I could never
do.
Crossing that red line would go not only
against my Jewish upbringing. It would also amount to a violation of the oath
of allegiance “to support and defend the American Constitution,” an oath I
proudly took when I became a naturalized citizen of this great country, the
United States of America.
