There's a new conventional wisdom emerging that the January 6 Committee show trial might be helping Republicans, in two ways.
First, it is showing just how grotesque this cohort of Democrats has become in its willingness to subvert the Constitution and basic principles of civil rights and due process.
Second, it is reminding voters -- including Republican primary voters -- that Donald Trump comes with a lot of baggage. That is the purpose of the whole charade, after all: to marginalize Trump. And some Republicans are glad -- even publicly -- that the Democrats are doing that job for them, or trying to do so.
I don't know if that's really the effect. I think Trump is marginalizing himself, by fixating on 2020 rather than talking more about the issues voters are facing.
But the committee probably has made it easier to criticize Trump, without fear of a backlash, not because of anything it is revealing about January 6, but because it is using Trump's former aides and even family members against him.
That is, no doubt, causing some consternation at Mar-a-Lago. And it is also providing cover for those -- and they are a growing number -- who want the party to thank Trump for his service but keep him out of the way in 2024.
This week’s portion launches the great story of Abraham, who is told to leave everything of his life behind — except his immediate family — and to leave for “the Land that I shall show you.”
There’s something interesting in the fact that Abraham is told to leave his father’s house, as if breaking away from his father’s life — but his father, in fact, began the journey, moving from Ur to Haran (in last week’s portion). His father set a positive example — why should Abraham leave him?
Some obvious answers suggest themselves — adulthood, needing to make one’s own choices, his father not going far enough, etc.
But I think there is another answer. Abraham (known for the moment as Abram) needs to establish his own household. This is not just about making one’s own choice, but really about choosing one’s own starting point. It’s starting over.
Sometimes we start over in fundamental ways even if much that surrounds us remains the same. Sometimes the journey we have to ...
The story of Noah is familiar; the details, less so.
Noah is often seen as an ambivalent figure. He was righteous -- but only for his generation. What was his deficiency?
One answer suggests itself: knowing that the world was about to be flooded, he built an Ark for the animals and for his own family -- but did not try to save anyone else or to convince them to repent and change their ways (the prophet Jonah, later, would share that reluctance).
Abraham, later, would set himself apart by arguing with God -- with the Lord Himself! -- against the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, saying that they should be saved if there were enough righteous people to be found (there were not).
Still, Noah was good enough -- and sometimes, that really is sufficient to save the world. We don't need heroes every time -- just ordinary decency.
Hi all -- as I noted last month, I'm going to be closing down my Locals page, at least for tips and subscriptions -- I may keep the page up and the posts as well, but I'm no longer going to be accepting any kind of payment.
Look for cancelation in the very near future. Thank you for your support!
