Racism, gun violence and fascism meet in Tennessee. Also a word on Israel.

Florida won't say gay. Tennessee upholds school shootings. Israel continues it's protest.

Looking to solutions for gun violence through legislation is the “right” way. We have all been told if we want our country to change, be part of the solution. Get involved, run for office. Use peaceful protest. It’s the backbone of the nation. Peaceful protest. Indeed, peaceful protest is what moves the needle in any democracy. Protests also continue in Israel in an effort to protect democracy from the overreaching grasp of it’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu known as Bibi.

In a display of hubris and hypocrisy likely not seen unless scripted for soap opera television, republicans voted in an effort to expel three representatives from the state legislature of Tennessee. The crime for punishment was for participating in a peaceful protest of guns following the Nashville shooting. The vote came yesterday amid national live coverage. Two of the three were voted expelled for what was being called an insurrection. (That was surely a memo about the word insurrection, with a suggestion to use liberally as possible. It should have been defined for them perhaps.) The third Rep. was spared by a single vote in her favor.

(left to right) Justin Pearson, Justin Jones and Gloria Johnson are shown above. To be clear, the young man with a red dot on his lapel applauding, the man in white and the woman in orange. This photo is following the votes. The three remain bonded in their initial protest.

Gun violence in America is at an all time high. The last shooting that included nine year olds, in Nashville, Tennessee seemed at the time somehow different. I hope beyond all hoping it will change the landscape.

This shooting may actually have an opportunity to change things not because of the tender ages of the victims. And not because of the number of dead, but because of what the Tennessee legislature did. And we all saw it live on tv. Just like the real insurrection.

By attempting to vote out three representatives from the state legislature for joining their constituents in a peaceful protest, another right protected by the Constitution of the United States was nuked by the Republican majority in the state house. They did indeed vote and expelled the two black representatives yet leaving the third a white woman in her seat. The treatment of the black men seemed differed indeed in tone of derision and dismissiveness. Being unfortunately, too much in kind with what we think is a distant past but is ever present especially in the states with R as a designation of political bent.

Gun violence is an epidemic in the United States. The number one threat to school aged children. The country is now 85% in favor of laws that will ban assault weapons. This includes AR-15’s. The numbers show us what needs to be done. Interrupt the rolling authoritarian calls with a vote that shows them the gate. The numbers make us look like we are already in an illiberal democracy. An oxymoron that supports the silence of the right since a dictatorial leadership need not answer to anyone.

The former president, now the defendant, has had a change of status after planting the seeds of authoritarianism along with the instruction manual of fascism. It has been planted especially in the south as racism has not been lost, as if the Civil War end hasn’t been acknowledged. For too many it has not.

The 2023 republican agenda has never been more on display as every single republican has remained silent about the entire episode. From the day of the shooting on March 27th through today, the day after the expulsion of two elected democratic representatives from the Tennessee legislature for siding with those constituents who are demanding rolling back the access to the weapons killing our children. So ok. Their opinion is registered with the silence. Nothing to see. It’s what’s in store everywhere. Beating the drum is becoming like beating our own brains out. Attempting to give them the credit they are due is like emptying a dustbin of dirty words onto a pew of praying nuns. Distasteful in thought and deed. As we turn to a solution, we still have the democratic opportunity of the vote.

In this Easter and Passover time many eyes look to Israel. A complex situation that is moving towards an inflection point although these days we wonder on many points just how far any one issue can sink. In a tweet from several days ago, Jon Cooper has it right and things haven’t reversed.

The closeness of American Jews with Israel can’t be understated. Perhaps not all opinions are of love or pilgrimage but there is a closeness that cannot be denied. A need for us to support the nation given to the nation without a land. It was emotional and real physical relief in post World War II. Every American Jew wants Israel to, for lack of a better way to describe it, to be wonderful and successful. It is however also a real nation of people, many religions and diverse ideals. It is also a democracy that’s under attack as every democracy appear to be. You don’t need to be Jewish to earn an opinion on Israel but fair warning, Jews are debaters by heritage and practice.

As we move forward in the states to continue to support Israel, I hope we support the rule of law in that nation as we also continue to push for the rule of law in our own country.

In this time of renewal, please accept and amplify my hopes for a continued rebirth of good in the world.

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