The High Holy Days of the Jewish religion have come and gone, remaining on the calendar in October are festivals, moments to embrace the harvests, natures bounty, our coexistence with the Earth. Yom Kippur ended and supposedly the Book of Life, our personal book of life has begun and the mysteries will be revealed for the next 365 days if we are lucky or, our families and friends will understand that not every one was able to complete all of his or her chapters. We prayed, we fasted, we asked for forgiveness and we forgave. And yet, somehow, I still find myself confused, concerned and more convinced that consequences each day seem to have little meaning for the actions we commit.
I don’t understand how we are debating, if an assault weapon is a patriotic symbol of America. I don’t understand how we debate the rights of free people to demonstrate free speech, be it taking a knee or questioning the equalities of others. I don’t understand, how because less lives were lost during Hurricane Maria, than with Katrina, those recently lost lives mean less. I don’t understand, how food, shelter, health are questioned because there is no budget for all of the needs those three areas of life require. I don’t understand, how quality of life can contain quality, when health insurance for children is cut, when food stamps for families has been cut, when wages are to be cut. I don’t understand, how being Gay scares the most religious of people. I don’t understand why women continue to be considered chattel, and how powerless they are to be regarding their own bodies. I don’t understand, how my Book of Life can exist, when all around me are people who hate, who despise, insecure people, who would rather see the demise of others finding differences than compromise.
I believe that a voice is necessary. But I wonder with both the explosion of bigotry, and bias, and the din of silence, who is listening? I swore to myself that i would not be silent, that no matter how small my words resonate, I will speak out loud, but the NOISE of NOTHINGNESS, makes my voice almost a whisper.
How many more must die, or maybe more must die when the the only solution to freedom seems to be guns. How many more must perish, or maybe more must perish, when we weigh the costs of care versus the costs of death. I am not stupid, yet all around me I hear useless rhetoric regarding freedom, equality, justice, and chance, and listening to all of that all I can think of is JUST HOW STUPID the world in which I live has become. If only we could all agree to end the NOISE of NOTHINGNESS, and speak the language of SOMETHING.
