Tuesday, March 8, 2011

A Jewish Redneck?

So the most common question I get is around the handle “Jewish Redneck.” People think it’s an oxymoron and that the two terms are mutually exclusive.

How I got the name was pretty simple: A few people started asking me if I was a Jewish Redneck, then referring to me as one. I have a truck, I use typical southern/Texan terms like y’all and coke (small “c” referring to all sodas, or pops as you will) I like shooting guns, I like to work with my hands, I *love* my cowboy boots and I am, most certainly, a religious Jew. So where does that leave me?

I never gave much thought to the name until I started getting the questions about the apparent incongruence of it. To me it was easy; I was both. And then it hit me. Much like other times in my life I realized my vocabulary definitions weren’t necessarily the equivalent of others around me, the rebel flag being the zenith of those incongruent declarations in my life.*

So what is a “redneck?” The term originated in the late 1800s as a reference to poor, white farmers, the salt of the earth if you will. They worked the fields and through a combination of the red southern dirt and the sun, their necks became red far beyond that of the rest of their skin. In the 1910s-1930s the term was co-opted by coal miner unions, then unions in general, and went so far as the simple placement of a red handkerchief/bandana on someone denoted their union membership. Taking it a step further the red bandana went on to be associated simply with a hard working class person, blue collar if you will. Didn’t you ever wonder why you always saw red bandanas and not a million other colors?

To me redneck had much the same connotation. Someone who worked hard, put their nose to the grindstone and did what had to be done, not necessarily what they wanted to do. They believed in an honest day’s pay for an honest day’s work, no more, no less. These were family men (and later, women) who believed in G-d, honesty, family, freedom, etc. Are these not the same exact ideals that Judaism teaches us? They are. Family, faith, honesty, these create a shared ideal between Judaism and “redneck.”

So although they seem to be mutually exclusive at first brush, they’re not. I can daven (pray) with a southern drawl, go to shul in my cowboy boots, and work on the roofs of Habitat for Humanity houses while secretly singing Fiddler on the Roof in my head. No matter what the pieces of your life are on their own they still add up to you, so be the best Jew, redneck, whatever, that you can.

* NOTE: To this day I refer to it as the rebel flag, because that was what it was to me growing up. It didn’t have the connotation of slavery or oppression, and certainly wasn’t the “Confederate flag.” Instead it was simply an emblem for southern pride and represented what I consider a core American value; that is, the right of a people to self-determine their future. It wasn’t until I was in my early 20s that I began to understand what this symbol meant to other people. Based upon that new understanding, I don’t endorse the rebel flag as an appropriate sign of southern pride.

The “Confederate” flag is not the red flag with a blue “X” on it encrusted with white stars. That is actually “The battle flag of the Confederacy” which was adopted for the battle field since the actual Confederate flag was very similar to that of the United States, thus causing much confusion in battle. Since the Southern states were considered “rebels” for trying to leave the Union, the association with those who rebelled against the dominate power came into being. Also, “Stars and Bars” is also not the proper term for the battle/rebel flag, but actually refers to the Confederate States of America national flag as well.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

41,000 Hours of Your Life

What would you do with over 4.5 years of your life? That's about 57 months or 1,700 days, or 41,000 hours. In that time you could earn your bachelor’s degree with time to spare, or two master's degrees. You could conceive and deliver up to 5 new lives, or you could have created something called Facebook and grown it into a multi-billion dollar company reaching over 150 million people. You could create unknown amounts of art, poetry, or other creations. The options seem limitless. Hell, how many governments have been overthrown in that time?

For the past 1,700 days Gilad Shalit hasn’t had any of these opportunities. He has sat in an unknown prison with no medical aid and no contact from the outside world. Not even the International Red Cross/Crescent has been allowed to see him and he’s been afforded no rights that should be granted under the Geneva Convention. Why? Because he's an Israeli Jew. I’ve written before about this topic in 2008 and again in 2009 and laid out plenty of information I won’t regurgitate here, but unfortunately, this situation still hasn’t been resolved. There is plenty of blame to pass around for this, not the least of which goes to his Arab captors, but I want to go beyond that.

Besides trying to gain his freedom and working towards a lasting peace in the Middle East, I believe we owe Gilad Shalit a little more. Each and every one of us, regardless of political persuasion, religious/ethnic background or country of origin owe him this: to live each and every day to its fullest. We often take for granted the freedoms we have and focus on what we don’t have. We turn to procrastination and apathy because it’s the easier option. Today, on the 1,700th day of Gilad’s illegal, immoral and unjust imprisonment, take a moment to think about what you’ve accomplished over the last 1,700 days and about what your life would be like if you hadn’t had the opportunity to do them. Think next of what you want to accomplish over the next 1,700 days as well. What have you been meaning to do, but put off? What good deed do you keep meaning to do, but somehow it always gets put off until later, and later never comes? Have you been meaning to volunteer at a homeless shelter? Then do it. Have you been meaning to call you mother more (because you know, she does worry), take the initiative and do it starting now. Did you want to start painting the kitchen because you know your significant other has wanted it? Time to go to the paint store.

We hear the overused and watered-down phrase “freedom isn’t free.” Well, whether it is or isn’t, you have it, now start making use of it. Leave the world a better place than you received it and start now, before now becomes then and then becomes too late.

“No man is rich enough to buy back his past.” ~Oscar Wilde

--JR