This executive order that defines Judaism as a nationality has given me a case of the heeby-jeebies. This order weirdly combines support for Israel with unquestionably anti-Semitic assumptions about Jews. It is not clear what the long-term implications of this policy will be, but I am deeply uneasy about what this implies about the attitude of Trump and his administration hold toward Jews, and how the attitude of the US population may evolve under this policy. We have already seen an alarming rise in anti-Semitism since Trump entered the White House. This policy will probably make it even worse. But how quickly?
I need to note here that I, myself am not Jewish, though I worry about my Jewish friends under this policy. However, being gay, I realize that I’m on that list of people that have been shunned through much of history, and who the Nazis saw fit to remove from society and send to concentration camps.
I have participated in protests and called my Congress-critters in the interest of counteracting Trump whenever possible, but as we saw 80 years ago in Germany, there comes a time when it’s no longer safe to express an opinion that differs from the official one, and the safest thing to do is to get out as soon as you can. We are not to that point yet, but my confidence that the institutions of our government are now eroding at an accelerating pace, bringing us ever closer to an authoritarian state that is dangerous to those who do not fit a specific mold. I’m thinking it’s time to start making plans to leave the US in case the worst starts to happen.
In his collected personal writings entitled His Version of the Facts, physicist Leo Szilard, who was Jewish, told the story of how he left Germany the day before the borders were closed. The train he was on was nearly empty. The next day, the train was packed, and it was stopped at the border. The lesson he took away from the experience was:
If you want to succeed in the world, you don't have to be much cleverer than other people. You just have to be one day earlier.
(This wasn’t the only time he managed to be ahead of other people. He foresaw the development of a fission bomb the potential for an uncontrolled nuclear chain reaction to be developed into a weapon over a decade before the Manhattan Project, and became involved with that effort once he made it to the US.)
So I’m wondering if I will have Szilard’s foresight when I need it, though, again, I hope I won’t. These are gloomy thoughts to have, but I know I’m not the only one having them. I also recognize that there is a level of privilege with the thought that I could just pick up and leave the country when others don’t have that luxury.
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Top Comments (December 12, 2019):
No nominations today, but I did find this:
Highlighted by karij:
This comment from luckylizard, in AKBear’s post on the markup process in Congress.
Top Mojo (December 11, 2019):
Top Mojo is courtesy of mik! Click here for more on how Top Mojo works.
Top Photos (December 11, 2019):
Thanks to jotter! (After a few days of borking, it seems to be working again.)