Disgraced former FBI agent Peter Strzok has resurfaced in the media as some kind of authority, thanks to the raid on Trump's home. The only thing this guy is an authority about is how to corrupt law enforcement for political purposes.
Still, his deranged tweets and threats -- he shares the Democrats' hatred of Kash Patel, a minority who refused to conform -- reveal something really important: though they often have access to more and better information than we do, FBI agents are just as susceptible to media bias and fake news as the rest of us. Their opinions, and the filters through which they interpret the data they see, are affected by their news sources, whether CNN or the Washington Post.
So the irony is that some complete yahoo in the middle of the country with no special access but an ounce of common sense may know more about what is actually happening than an expert deep inside the bowels of the Beltway.
They will be mocked by an establishment that hates them and fervently believes in speeding along their inevitable disappearance. But the ordinary people of America, who mistrust the media, have a wisdom Washington can't touch.
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!
