Far-right extremists have been bullying some conservatives into adopting their positions, which the conservatives are finding easier to do because left-wing groups (like ADL) are already lumping them in with the far-right extremists.
The far-right extremists are also creating a larger audience, especially among the disaffected and de-platformed, which some conservatives are finding an irresistible market, and choosing in place of more mainstream conservatives.
Meanwhile, the left continues to demonize mainstream conservatives, and Christians in particular, driving more mainstream conservatives to empathize with, if not to join, the far-right, and to lash out against the political center.
This is why conservatives are up in arms over a congressional act to define antisemitism when there was zero conservative opposition to Trump when he adopted exactly the same definition of antisemitism via 2019 executive order.
The tragic irony is that this is happening when the left is moving in a brutally antisemitic direction, handing conservatives a rare political opportunity to take power. Jews who were thinking of voting Republican are now thinking again.
It’s Purim time… time to get the sweet stuff baking.
This is for an apricot hamantaschen filling…
This week's portion continues the explication of the role of the priests -- the theme of Leviticus. We learn about the appropriate physical state and even the sexual relations that priests can (or cannot) indulge in, as well as the criteria that sacrificial animals must meet in order to be considered for an offering.
We learn about the oil that is to burn in the menorah in the Temple, as well as the punishment for blasphemy. The infamous "eye for an eye" version of justice is in this portion -- but it means the value of an eye, not a physical eye. The point is that punishments must match the offense, neither more nor less.
Today I completed the audiobook recording for my 2021 ebook, "How Not to Be a Sh!thole Country: Lessons from South Africa." It should be available in about a week or so -- just in time for the South African elections...
In the meantime, here's the ebook:
https://www.amazon.com/How-Not-Be-thole-Country-ebook/dp/B08SCK2S16
Jordan Peterson is a great writer and speaker. I had the opportunity to see him on his "We Who Wrestle with God" tour -- which is amazing in itself, in that it's a tour for a book that hasn't even come out yet (that's how popular he is).
It was interesting to see him thinking aloud on stage. He explained that the entire process of thought is very much like prayer, in that it involves leaps that can only be attributed to some kind of revelation, or supra-rational inspiration.
He went on to describe the nature of faith as a full commitment to the proper direction of one's life. I enjoyed the Biblical stories he wove through his remarks. His daughter also spoke -- and she is both wise and beautiful.
Very much worth seeing -- if you ever have the chance to do so.
