J1\1- Thoughts

NT

LY NIX OF'

D AS

Raising Our Collective Voice

I

n the past three decades, the senator
with the glasses below his eyes has
been watched and heard so often on
television that he almost feels part of the
family. U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, the Michigan
senior senator and chairman of the Senate
Armed Services Committee, could be our
uncle or zaydie.
Following the Synergy Shabbat service
May 18 at Adat Shalom Synagogue in
Farmington Hills, more than 400 people
recited prayers, dined from the buffet din-
ner and waited for the senator flying in
from Washington, D.C.
When he arrived, Carl Levin was in
good spirits, joking that he was asked to
speak for 45 minutes but only had "20
minutes of material" and said he could

the world. He told of a Korean War veteran
in Ann Arbor who asked him to grant one
wish: to have our "reputation restored in
the world:'
Levin said that the "arrogance of the
administration," the rampant use of secret
torture and disregard for the Geneva
Convention rules, the lack of direct discus-
sion with other world leaders and our con-
sistent focus on warfare had created much
more animosity toward the United States,
severely weakening our country.
Levin had no trouble filling the time as
hands rose across the audience, many ask-
ing about Iraq. He said that his Levin-Reid
Amendment pushes for troop reductions
within 120 days and provides consequenc-
es in the event of the Iraq government's
"failure to make
substantial progress
towards meeting
the political bench-
marks that they had
agreed among them-
selves." Setting a timetable and deadlines,
Levin said, was the best way to begin the
ending of the Iraq quagmire.
The senator, elected for five consecu-
tive terms since 1978, wasn't asked about
Israel's continuing skirmishes with Hamas
as the United States stood silent or the
Michigan's budget deficit ballooning to
$802 million. Levin's position in the Senate
seems relegated to dealing with Iraq and
trying to make the executive branch more
accountable.

Vivre must push lawmakers to Ivork
together to restore America's dignity,

read it over again to fill the time. He made
mention of his Detroit Central High class-
mates in attendance, his "Class of '56." A
voice quickly bellowed "'52," and Levin
admitted that his age had withered his
memory.
The Jewish senator with the high-
est seniority said that the Iraq War and
the administration's policies during the
last four years have not strengthened us.
Instead, they have weakened our overall
security and diminished our standing in

The Gore Factor

In his new book, The Assault on
Reason, Al Gore echoes Levin.
"People are trying to figure out
what has gone wrong in our
democracy and how we can fix
it:' Gore writes. He notes that the
political process is heavily tilted
toward sound bites on television
and elections demand the rais-
ing of huge amounts of money for TV
commercials. Before the invasion of Iraq,
he mentions, the Senate floor was omi-
nously silent and debate and discussion
mostly absent as many senators were gone
fundraising for their next elections. He
writes that reasoned debate seems part of
a bygone era and asks, "Why do reason,
logic and truth seem to play a dimin-
ished role in the way America now makes
important decisions?"
Carl Levin seems like part of this
bygone era; but as Armed Services
Committee chairman and as senior mem-
ber of the Senate majority, he still has
the power to make a difference. And we
in the audience still have a chance to be
heard and push for the economic health
of Michigan, for peace in Israel and the
United States.
A woman from the audience, a class-
mate of Carl at Central High, was not
afraid to raise her voice. She stood up,
posed a question and asked why Levin
hadn't answered her e-mail messages.
He apologized, calling her one of his

"toughest critics and friends." I
admired her, realizing we can't
just gripe about our unhappiness
with elected leaders. We have the
opportunity to write, send e-mail
and call our senators, congress-
men and the president.
The Iraq War and its accelerat-
ing death count continue unim-
peded while peace in Israel seems
like a fantasy.
Health care costs in America continue
to rise as gas prices approach $4 a gallon.
Michigan's elected officials can't agree
on anything to help our state's economic
dilemma. We watch and wait — frustrated
that nothing is getting done.
What can we do? We can relax and hope
that those we elect will eventually do the
right thing. Or we can muster whatever
voices we have to aid our governor and
to help our senator, this man of logic and
reason, convince other senators and the
administration to abandon their differ-
ences and discuss actual solutions. We
can demand that they be "reasonable" and
due whatever it takes to make the United
States a better country.
We must push them to work together
to restore America's dignity. As Al Gore
writes, "We the people — as Lincoln
put it, `even we here' — are collectively
still the key to the survival of America's
democracy" 1 1

Arnie Goldman is a Farmington Hills resident.

fuming Back Hunger

Los Angeles

tribute to the problem's solution?
For answers, we have no further
uesday, June 5, will
to look than this week's par-
mark National Hunger
shah, Behaalotecha. Tired of the
Awareness Day, an
monotony brought on by endless
opportunity for communities
desert wandering, the Israelites
across the country to remember
approach Moses to express their
more than 35 million Americans
dissatisfaction and longing.
living on the brink of malnutri-
Moses
is overwhelmed by their
Dr. H. E ric
tion, hunger or worse.
pleas
and
turns to God, saying,
Schock man
On Tuesday, people of all faiths
essentially, I cannot do this alone.
and backgrounds will come
God responds by instructing
together to take a stand against this fun-
Moses to gather together 70 elders; to
damental injustice.
form, in effect, an advisory council that
What does this signify for us as Jews?
will help Moses manage the burden of
How are we impacted by a society that
communal responsibility.
does not do a good enough job taking
From Moses' need of broader support to
care of its more vulnerable members?
bear the yoke of leadership, we learn of the
And what does our tradition say about the importance of shared obligation, of corn-
ways in which we are empowered to con-
ing together to effect lasting and meaning-

T

ful change. One person is powerful, but a
community united in common purpose
multiplies that power exponentially.
Nowhere does this have greater relevance
than in the struggle against
hunger, poverty and economic
injustice.
Too often, we hear stories
of parents down on their
luck and unable to meet
basic needs for their chil-
dren, or of seniors trying to
stretch fixed income to pay
for housing, medical care
and food. Occasionally, these
tragedies are offset by tales of individual
heroism concerned advocates dedicating
time and resources to improving life for
those people living on the bottom rung of
the economic ladder.

And yet, as illustrated by Moses' exam-
ple, our Jewish tradition teaches us that
this is not nearly enough. Individuals act-
ing alone cannot bear the full brunt of our
society's problems. Solving them requires
group cohesion and a collective commit-
ment to sharing the load.
This year on Hunger
Awareness Day, each of
us has a challenge to face:
deciding how to add our
voice to the chorus clamor-
ing for change. But, for each
of us, that challenge is also an
OMMUNITY CARE
opportunity to build our ideal
society and to model the change we want
to see in the world. I

Dr: H. Eric Schockman is president of MAZON:

A Jewish Response to Hunger.

May 31 2007

27