Analysis & Commentary
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Days Of Judgment
GARY ROSENBLATT
Special to the Jewish News
New York
W
ith so much at stake in the
November presidential elec-
tions — and American secu-
rity is at the top of the list — it's sad
but not surprising to see both candi-
dates mired in petty side issues more
focused on three decades ago than
today.
Perhaps during the High Holidays
it's appropriate to explore the connec-
tion of past, present and future, and
think about how we measure charac-
ter, in ourselves and others.
Somehow, events in the personal
lives of John Kerry and George W.
Bush in the 1960s and early 1970s
have eclipsed debates on American
goals for at least the next four years,
like our plans in (and getting out of)
Iraq, and how best to confront inter-
national terrorism.
How much does it matter what
John Kerry did or did not do while
serving in the Navy in Vietnam? How
important is it to know what George
W. Bush did or did not do to keep
himself out of harm's way? It's not like
the two men don't have a track record
as adults since the 1970s.
We know that Kerry served his
country and came back from Vietnam
deeply opposed to the war, then
entered politics, where his views and
actions are a matter of public record.
We know that George W. Bush had
a less-than-focused political path until
relatively recently, when after becom-
ing a born-again Christian he grew
into a more serious person, by his own
•
admission.
He worked on his father's cam-
paigns, was elected governor of Texas
and has served as president for the last
four years, with more than enough of
a record for us to have a sense of how
he might act if re-elected.
You would think Americans would
be particularly interested in how Bush
and Kerry acted during the Vietnam
era if that was our primary method of
assessing the character of these two
men. But they were in their early 20s
then, and we know so much about
them since.
Gary Rosenblatt is editor of the New
York Jewish Week. E-mail
Gary@jewishweek.org
And those of us who lived through
that tumultuous time remember how
divided the country was, how passion-
ate both doves and hawks were about
whether embodying American ideals
and serving our country best meant
fighting in or against the Vietnam
war.
But maybe Vietnam is hovering over
this 2004 election because there are so
many parallels, then and now, to the
rift in the country over a far-away war
and the way we react to the grim news
of our soldiers (women as well as men
in the age of equality) being killed
each day.
Do the deaths make us appreciate
and support the war as America's com-
mitment to confront terrorism and
attempt to bring democracy to an
ever-more frightening and out-of-con-
trol Middle East? Or does each death
seem more meaningless, as we become
increasingly convinced that we are
fighting the wrong war in the wrong
place, only fueling the wrath of an
Arab world opposed to American
imperialism?
Those were the very questions —
different specifics, same themes —
that we asked more than three decades
ago and that haunt us now Whether
it's Vietnam or Iraq, we want to know
if our military action on foreign soil
increases or decreases our security at
home and strengthens or weakens
democracy abroad.
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Past And Future
It's only fitting to weigh the meaning
of the past on the prospects for the
future — be it for choosing a presi-
dent or self-reflection — as we mark
the High Holy Day season, a time of
personal, communal and spiritual con-
templation.
Presidential candidates ask us: "Are
you better off today than you were
four years ago?" On Rosh Hashanah
and Yom Kippur, we ask ourselves:
"Have I improved myself in the last
year, have I kept my sincere (at least at
the time) commitments to keep more
mitzvot?"
On Rosh Hashanah, we read the
Torah portion of Abraham's commit-
ment to follow God's command, even
if it means sacrificing his beloved son,
Isaac.
It's a powerful and morally trou-
JUDGMENT
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9/24
2004
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