Community Views

Tribute ToA Leader
On His Retirement

American Jewish Life:
Half Full, Half Empty

MELVIN "BUTCH HOLLOWELL SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

MARK SCHLUSSEL SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

N

ow that Bryant Gumbel
has officially retired from
his lofty perch as anchor
of the "Today" show after
15 years, I must say that I will
miss him profoundly. I will miss
him on two lesiels.
First, I will miss him because
he is simply the best at what he
does. His seamless elocution in
moving from topic to topic has
become and will continue to be
legendary.
Reports are that he is obses-
sive about factual preparation
for his interviews, and
it showed. Whether it was Jim-
my Carter or Martha Stewart,
he always appeared to be in con-
trol. He asked things of guests
that were sometimes irreverent,
oftentimes penetrating; but I
usually found myself thinking,
"That's what I would have asked
that guy."
I will also miss Bryant Gum-
bel because he is an outstanding
black achiever who broke
through a huge barrier in the
news/entertainment medium at
a level and in a way that had
never been done before. I don't
say that to take anything away
from the monumental strides
made by Max Robinson, who
briefly shared the anchor spot on
ABC News before his untimely
death. And I am certainly not
forgetting CNN's Bernard Shaw,
who continues to perform at the
top of his profession.
But the fact is
that .Mr. Gum-
bel was at the
top for 15 years,
which is almost
unprecedented
in that industry,
amidst the cut-
throat daily
competition for
viewers and rat-
ings.
Furthermore,
the "Today"
show format is
unique in that it
is a blend of
journalism and
entertainment
which allows for
and even re-
quires a heavier
dosage of per-
sonality. And in
this regard, Mr.
Gumbel's strong
personality
shone through
whether you
liked it or not;
and some did
not.
I always ad-
mired Mr. Gum-
bel because of

Melvin Hollowell is a shareholder
at Butzel Long.

the self-confident manner in
His actions on the field won
which he carried himself. Oth- him a place in the Hall of Fame;
ers criticize this demeanor as ar- off the field, he was well-spoken
rogance. On that score, I will just and handled himself with class,
have to disagree with his de- despite enduring intentional
tractors. He reminds me M. many cleats in the shins, taunts from
ways of other black trailblazers. the crowds and oftentimes in-
Certainly retired Gen. Colin sults and ostracism from his own
Powell comes to mind; his confi- teammates. All the while he did
dence and competence during his job at the highest level.
nationally televised Gulf War in-
Just as I regard these indi-
vasion briefings gave credibility viduals as pioneers as they
to military operations.
moved the nation forward in
Similarly, I have seen video terms of race relations, there are
footage and read books on the life others who believe that they
of Nat King Cole, who was enor- were either "too black" or "uppi-
mously popular in his era and ty," or on the flip side, "not black
has enjoyed somewhat of a enough."
posthumous resurgence recent-
With his preppy look and ob-
ly through his daughter Natal- session with golf, Bryant Gum-
ie's recordings. Many forget that bel has been called racially
Mr. Cole hosted his own variety challenged. But I have heard
show on national television in what he has done behind the
1947. Again, that was an un- scenes to schedule more black
precedented step forward for guests and to steer the "Today"
blacks at that juncture in histo- show toward airing segments on
ry. He, like Mr. Gumbel, exuded race relations.
dignity. And like Mr. Gumbel's,
I also know what he has done
his show was at the top of the na- for me. By being the very best at
tional television ratings.
what he does, every day, he has
The other comparison that been the source ofboth pride and
comes to mind is the Brooklyn inspiration and an unrebuttable
Dodgers' Jackie Robinson, who counterpoint to those bigots who
broke through the color barrier question whether blacks can op-
in professional sports. At the erate at high levels in this coun-
time he was hired, many said try.
that he was not as skilled as
Bryant Gumbel and those of
some of his other colleagues from his ilk have had a transforming
the Negro Leagues. Like Mr. effect on the American culture. I
Gumbel, he had the right blend salute him and wish him well. 0
of talents.

Some weeks
ago, I attended
the wedding of a
lovely couple
who were inter-
marrying.
I was struck
by the implica-
tions of one
event which
took place on the dance floor late
in the evening. The band, none
of whom was Jewish, started
playing "Hava Nagila" to start
the "traditional" chair dance. Out
onto the floor poured many of the
family members from both the
bride's and groom's families as
well as most of the guests. One
could say it was a moment of ec-
umenical significance.
How far we Jews have come
from the point of derision to a
point of total acceptance by the
majority religion of our country.
Others of us might take the op-
posite view and look at this mo-
ment as one of overwhelming
tragedy. We have reduced our
connection with our illustrious
heritage to a "chair dance"
among the majority religion as a
statement of how far we have ac-
tually come in American society.
No longer do we feel outside
the mainstream of America; we
have been accepted, engulfed and
overtaken by its seductive cul-
ture. We love all America has to
offer: its freedom, its sports, its
music, its opportunities, its pol-
itics and its religion. We no
longer see any value in our sin-
gular Jewish identity as the
touchstone of our existence.
Judaism in America is a cul-
tural or nationalistic affiliation
but no longer burdens us with a
significant religious obligation.
We view„ hanukah as having
. more relevance to our lives than
the holiday of Shavuot. In fact,
we don't connect with Shavuot at
all because we can't seem to con-
nect it to our daily lives in Amer-
ica; it is purely a religious event
tied to our spirituality rather than
our materialistic selves.
Chanukah, on the other hand,
is purely materialistic as we cel-
ebrate it today, so we relate it to
our lives and the majority reli-
gion under which we are sub-
sumed.
What does all this mean for
the future ofJewish life in Amer-
ica? It all depends on your per-
spective of the prior examples I
have used. If you take the posi-
tion that assimilating with the
majority culture is the moment
of final acceptance we Jews have
striven for throughout two mil-
lennia of our dispersion from the
Land of Israel, then these events

Mart Schlussel is chairman of the
board of the executive council of
the Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit.

are terrific. We are finally free
enough to turn our collective
backs on those religious values
which allowed us to survive as a
distinct people through our trav-
els (mostly involuntary) into and
out of various countries and cul-
tures.
We have finally been accept-
ed at a level that allows us to look
to the future with optimism. We
will not survive as a People, but
we will survive as a people. We
will write the obituary of Amer-
ican Jewry with a sense of opti-
mism about our personal futures.
However, if you take the position
that we are witnessing one of the
great tragedies in the history of
our people, the result may turn
out the same; but it certainly is
depressing. Isn't it ironic that at
a time of the greatest religious
freedom we have ever experi-
enced in our long Diaspora his-
tory, we are out-migrating as
Jews at a rate unknown to us in
the long and illustrious history
of our people.
For those of us who are deeply
pained by the events unfolding
around us, is there anything we
can do to alter the destiny of our
people in America which appears
to be foreordained?
In all honesty, I don't know.
We have begun a number of con-
tinuity initiatives both locally
and nationally; yet these pro-
grams seem to be more focused
on feeling like we are doing some-
thing rather than looking at our
core as a people.
What are the bridges we can
build among our people which
will lead to a greater perception
of the importance ofJewish val-
ues in our lives? How do we take
the growing thirst for Jewish ed-
ucation and expand it into a na-
tional initiative among young
adults? How can we use the
emerging technologies to get tru-
ly great educators into Jewish
homes across the country?
It just might be that if we stop
the handwringing and start the
educating, we can alter the di-
rection that we appear to be trav-
eling. We just might find that our
collective spiritual souls can be
awakened by the array of knowl-
edge which can be found in our
Jewish texts. The choice is ours.
As a people, do we want to slip
quietly into America's seductive
society, leaving our history, our
culture, our religion and our val-
ues on the altar of assimilation,
or are we prepared to use all of
our resources to stem this tide
and alter the course of history
which seems so inevitable?
The choice is ours; the chal-
lenge is great; the risk is extra-
ordinary; the outcome is
uncertain; but not to fight the
fight is unacceptable. 0