OCTOBER 1 • 2020 | 5
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for openers
Let’s Chill
A
s you’
re reading this, I’
m making final
arrangements to be cryogenically fro-
zen until after the election. The only
remaining decision I have to make is at what
date in the future I should be
thawed.
Should I wake up when a
final result is in or would it be
more interesting to wait 50 or
100 years to see what shape our
country is in? Considering how
long the 2020 vote count could
take, I’
m at high risk for freezer
burn.
If I’
m thawed out only to find everything
else is frozen, then I’
ll know the Lions finally
won a Super Bowl.
With an epic election just a few weeks
away, I recall a fond quasi-political moment
from my past. My son and daughter were
assigned to portray presidents Gerald Ford
and Ronald Reagan, respectively, for a third-
grade classroom presentation. My kids shared
the same teacher and assignment, albeit four
years apart.
They dressed up as their Commander-in-
Chief and shared details of their policies and
personalities during their time in office. My
wife and I attended their classroom presen-
tations and let me say, we were a very proud
First Family.
Their teacher has since retired, but can
you imagine the challenge in today’
s raging,
politically divisive environment of trying
to prepare a third-grade student for such a
presentation? Would it surprise you in the
least if some parents objected to their child
portraying a leader of a particular party or
candidate?
For the last 30 years, I’
ve written unre-
strained but respectful political satire and
parody for radio and print. It’
s always been
even-handed, equal opportunity, bipartisan
humor during a time when people still had
the ability to laugh at each other and them-
selves.
But four years ago, prior to our last pres-
idential election, in this very newspaper, I
begrudgingly started offering what was essen-
tially a disclaimer for my “humorous” polit-
ical musings. In the Oct. 6, 2016, JN I said:
“I’
ve noticed folks are a having a tougher time
laughing at political humor, but I hope you
enjoyed what I considered a little bipartisan
humor.
” It was as if I had the need to apolo-
gize in advance, which is really a speed bump
on the road to creativity.
I found some solace and hope in a Sept. 20
op-ed for the Washington Post by U.S. Secretary
of Labor Eugene Scalia, who wrote about the
unique and enduring relationship between his
father, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia,
and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
“The two justices had central roles in
addressing some of the most divisive issues
of the day, including cases on abortion, same-
sex marriage and who would be president,
”
wrote Eugene Scalia. “Not for a moment did
one think the other should be condemned or
ostracized. More than that, they believed that
what they were doing
— arriving at their own
opinions thoughtfully and advancing them
vigorously — was essential to the national
good.
”
I would like to think I can continue to
write humorously with that same freedom of
expression.
In the meantime, as for my impending
cryogenically frozen journey, I have only one
wish upon my revival — that I wake up to a
country at peace — with itself.
Pardon me, I do have a second wish. I hope
upon reawakening I don’
t go down in the
record books as the first person to come out
of suspended animation showing a weight
gain.
Alan Muskovitz is a writer, voice-over/acting talent,
speaker, and emcee. Visit laughwithbigal.com,“Like” Al
on Facebook or email amuskovitz@renmedia.us.
Alan
Muskovitz
Let’
s Return to Civility
Thank you for Seth Gould’
s guest column,
“
A Call for Unity,” in the Sept. 17 of the
Jewish News (page 5). In my mind, this was
the best article in the paper.
I used to be able to have good conversations
with people who did not share my viewpoints
as it helps me to either solidify my viewpoint
or modify it according to other people’
s opin-
ions. However, this is no longer possible in this
age where, instead of discussing issues, people
seem to relish in name-calling and insults if
you do dare to disagree with them.
I believe that people can have differenc-
es of opinion and both sides have rational
reasons for their opinions. It does not mean
that the other person is stupid or just doesn’
t
understand. I am hoping that this is the year
that we return to civility in our country.
— Judy Ancell
Farmington Hills
Shame on Nessel
It’
s amazing what Noah Arbit, chair of the
Michigan Democratic Jewish Caucus, will
say to defend a fellow Democrat (Sept. 17,
page 42). What Dana Nessel said in com-
paring Trump to Hitler was outlandish and
inappropriate.
Arbit accused President Trump of dem-
agoguery, however. I hear false claims and
promises by both parties to gain power in
the upcoming election. He accused Trump of
persecuting minority groups. Where is your
proof, Noah Arbit? I think you need to study
the real atrocities of Nazi Germany before
you make these false comments to save Dana
Nessel.
— Doreen Lichtman
Orchard Lake
Attorney General Dana Nessel’
s reported
comments comparing Donald Trump to
Adolph Hitler, whom she extolls as being
able to read and write and brave, shows
that she has little or no knowledge of the
Holocaust.
Besides apparently not knowing about
or dismissing the murder of 6 million Jews,
Nessel, who is also Michigan’
s first openly
gay attorney general, must not be aware that
the Nazis sentenced some 50,000 gay men,
most to prisons but about 5,000 were sent to
concentrations camps. I don’
t see how any
reasonable person could compare Trump’
s
actions to Hitler. Even if Nessel despises
Trump, this type of ignorant, if not insensi-
tive discourse is unbefitting of a high-level
state official.
— Lee Schostak
Beverly Hills
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