You are now entering the Jewish Currents archive.

The Last Resort: A Holiday Message for 2016

Al Vorspan
November 22, 2016

by Albert Vorspan

LISTEN UP, folks, and you will hear

Some words of hope and words of fear

She got more votes but he got the FBI

But it’s over now, it’s in the books, just let it die

Time to end the sleepless nights, the fury, the kvetch, the moan

Behold the kids afraid to leave their home

For fear of bullies on the roam

Or deportations from their place

Taunting folks of color or wrong garb or race

Or gay or Muslim or Jewish or wrong face

And now our task is to stand and say it loud and clear

We have your back, you need not fear

And to the lonely and the hungry, we are here

And to the powers that be, in their lofty sphere,

We have a noble constitution which we guard and cherish

So, the dream of equal justice will never perish

We will defend it in the Congress, courts, the press and parish

We are Americans of at least 57 brands

And for each of us, this is our land

WE DON’T NEED Paul Revere to shout out what’s at stake

We have our loved ones and a shining AMERICAN future YET to make.

Albert Vorspan is the senior vice-president emeritus of the Union for Reform Judaism and former director of the Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism. He was integral in the establishment of the Religious Action Center in Washington, DC. He is the author of several books on Judaism and social justice, as well as a number of books of Jewish humor published by Doubleday.

I’m Arielle Angel, editor-at-large of Jewish Currents. Before you go, there’s something I need to ask.
 

We’ve seen over and over how the mainstream media falters in telling stories on our beats—whether it’s antisemitism, Israel/Palestine in American politics, Jewish identity, or the American left. At Jewish Currents we’re committed to uncompromising analysis and longform reporting on these issues and more—stories you won’t find anywhere else. In a media landscape that obscures injustice and flattens discussion, we’re changing the conversation. But we need you.
 

If you believe in this work, please consider making a donation—or even better, a recurring one—to ensure that we are able to keep publishing stories like this one. We can’t do it without you.

SubscribeSNAILMAIL30