Tikkun Daily Blog Archive (https://www.tikkun.org/tikkundaily/category/culture/page/33/)
Posts about culture, the arts, the media, book reviews, movies etc.
Without condoning the clashes with police, rock throwing, looting, and arson against local businesses, when a society generally and police forces more specifically consistently treat its citizens like “2s,” “3s,” or “4s,” when people see no hope for a better future, when parents fear for their children’s very lives, the inevitable eruptions in Baltimore should can come as no surprise.
The anger underlying the violence in Baltimore is understandable. Living in neighborhoods where there are no jobs, no quality education, no livable wage, and the resurgence of racism all leads to a sense of hopelessness and despair. “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”
Free speech, when based on religious hatred, may be detrimental to the morals of a society as a whole. And though it seems unlikely for such a negative message to produce a positive outcome, it is not impossible.
The biggest challenge is turning awareness into real action. It doesn’t just come up when people know about an issue — there has to be a real plan for what happens next.
Muslim Minister Keith Mohammad suggested that the world today operates like a Monopoly game, ruled by those with money. There is food, clothing and shelter for everyone “but we’re in a world where greed has become a way of life.”
Awareness of the Armenian genocide is growing not only in the countries of the diaspora, but also in Turkey. A complex reality of pain and sorrow, anxiety, and also sometimes liberation as they try to square state school textbooks that vilify the Armenians and blame them for their fate is felt especially by Armenians living and writing in Turkey.
We do it all the time when the stakes aren’t high at all: asking the mail carrier about their day, chatting up the cute person for one reason or another, etc. We have a notion that it’s incredibly weird to talk about one’s religion or philosophy, but consider how many aspects of our lives are profoundly shaped by our deepest beliefs.
There is a misconception that Trans women are performing femininity; they are feminine in their minds and bodies. “There are big women, small women, tall women, short women and trans women; it’s just different,’’ says Minerva, who identified as a female from the beginning. “It just felt right, we have to respect each other’s feelings, no?”
It’s never failed to happen that people wake up and take note when I mention the basic set of questions the answer to which comprises a decision-making system: Who makes which decisions? Who provides input? Who hears about it? How and when are the decisions made?
When we celebrate Earth Day, we are giving thanks for the wondrous gift of life on Earth and are recognizing the paramount importance of protecting the Earth’s fragile life support system. This is a responsibility we can all share and when we embrace this humbling and unifying perspective our lives take on new meaning.