There's two big reasons American Jews vote Democratic -- both of them long obsolete.
The first is that European Jews were on the Left because the European Right was anti-Semitic. To a large extent, this attitude was simply transported across the Atlantic, to a new environment where the Republicans were neither reflexively on the Right nor reflexively anti-Semitic. (Indeed, today it is the American Left which is reflexively anti-Semitic, and this has been true since at least 1972 or so).
The second is that it was the Democrats who favored open immigration from Eastern Europe, and the Republicans who opposed it. This reason has been obsolete since the 1950's.
American Jews need to wake up, and fast, to the changing political situation as regards anti-Semitism in the modern world. They are already scorned by the American Left (see Carter, Jimmy) and may wind up being given up on by the American Right.
That's what doesn't make sense to me. This is just... tradition? Keeping to old ways out of what, stubborness? Even when it is harmful to you?
I am hardly an expert in world affairs. But it's obvious even to me where parties stand and where individual politicians stand on this issue. It's not like these things are secret. How can they be so willfully blind when it comes to such a serious issue?
I have always assumed that self preservation is a natural part of every human being and therefore of every nation. But I continue to see things like this and it makes me wonder. (Along with the jihad issue.)
You would think, at the most basic level, people do not want to die. More often that not these days, it seems people don't even care about that.
Tradition is sometimes just a rut in formal dress, passing as an acceptable thing. There is, in many things and in many places, a most peculiar reasoning that "We've always done it this way, so will always do it this way." The sameness of reaction is likely a deep-rooted survival trait that works great in the wild, but fails in modern settings.
How long until we have an official fatwa on Obama?
After all, deconversion from Islam to Christianity (Obama) is theoretically worse than agreeing with Muhammad's own self-description of the physical origins of the Koran (Salman Rushdie).
Work schedule has been wild (last time I properly read LJ before today was Oct. 6 2008).
I'm fairly confident that the deconversion is real enough to warrant a fatwa. The problem is that Obama went to Indonesian public school (madrassas) through age ~12, so he was Muslim in that social club sense that children raised in church that never accept Christ are Christians.
That said, he's obviously switched religions. No reason for the IRS to zero in on the United Churches of Christ for a 2005 political speech by Obama otherwise.
I completely disagree. Obama is as much in the pocket of the Israeli lobby as McCain or Bush are, he'll defend Israel even if it takes every American life and dollar to do so.
Isn't this typical of him though? He seems to like standing with two feet on either side of a fence (with the picket up his arse) and his hands grasping treebranches on either side of the fence to boot, to make sure he has all his bets covered?
I didn't make that one, I ganked it coz it was ridiculous and hilarious (and was fairly common, apparently.)
This one though, I made, sort of a running joke that we have that our personal life events and disasters go with our 'players' failing die rolls and their game master being just fucking sadistic.
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It would be comical, if it wasn't so tragic.
Time to break out the 'Don't blame me...' icons.
There. Fixed.
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The first is that European Jews were on the Left because the European Right was anti-Semitic. To a large extent, this attitude was simply transported across the Atlantic, to a new environment where the Republicans were neither reflexively on the Right nor reflexively anti-Semitic. (Indeed, today it is the American Left which is reflexively anti-Semitic, and this has been true since at least 1972 or so).
The second is that it was the Democrats who favored open immigration from Eastern Europe, and the Republicans who opposed it. This reason has been obsolete since the 1950's.
American Jews need to wake up, and fast, to the changing political situation as regards anti-Semitism in the modern world. They are already scorned by the American Left (see Carter, Jimmy) and may wind up being given up on by the American Right.
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I am hardly an expert in world affairs. But it's obvious even to me where parties stand and where individual politicians stand on this issue. It's not like these things are secret. How can they be so willfully blind when it comes to such a serious issue?
I have always assumed that self preservation is a natural part of every human being and therefore of every nation. But I continue to see things like this and it makes me wonder. (Along with the jihad issue.)
You would think, at the most basic level, people do not want to die. More often that not these days, it seems people don't even care about that.
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After all, deconversion from Islam to Christianity (Obama) is theoretically worse than agreeing with Muhammad's own self-description of the physical origins of the Koran (Salman Rushdie).
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Incidentally, it's nice to see you're still around. Haven't seen you in a while.
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I'm fairly confident that the deconversion is real enough to warrant a fatwa. The problem is that Obama went to Indonesian public school (madrassas) through age ~12, so he was Muslim in that social club sense that children raised in church that never accept Christ are Christians.
That said, he's obviously switched religions. No reason for the IRS to zero in on the United Churches of Christ for a 2005 political speech by Obama otherwise.
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I didn't make that one, I ganked it coz it was ridiculous and hilarious (and was fairly common, apparently.)
This one though, I made, sort of a running joke that we have that our personal life events and disasters go with our 'players' failing die rolls and their game master being just fucking sadistic.
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