Monday mood

Yes, I’m posting two days in a row – shocking, right? Anyway, with thoughts of immigration on my mind, this song is on my mind, it speaks to my Monday mood.

No one is more aware than I am that this issue began before the current administration. This administration has taken the situation to horrific ends. Part of the song deals with one of the band members, a #DREAMer named Jose “Pepe” Carlos who was brought here to the United States when he was five years old.

Elie Wiesel, a giant of a human being and now of blessed memory once said:

“You, who are so-called illegal aliens, must know that no human being is illegal. That is a contradiction in terms. Human beings can be beautiful or more beautiful, they can be fat or skinny, they can be right or wrong, but illegal? How can a human being be illegal?”

Open borders are not the answer, but fear and hatred are also not the answer. I’m not sure what the best path forward is, but I am sure that we are not on that path.

The band is La Santa Cecilia, and the song is ICE El Hielo. You can read more about the band and the song here.

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Human

If we truly believe that we are made and fashioned in God’s image, how can anyone be illegal? I’m relying on the moral authority of Elie Wiesel, z”l right now. We are human. Let us stand in solidarity. (I’m having an issue with the video embedding. If you go to the link, you will find a video of Elie Wiesel, made by the New York Times as part of his obituary.)

https://static01.nyt.com/video/players/offsite/index.html?videoId=100000004508169

Night falls

Reading Night has me considering just how night falls around us lately. Should I be embarrassed to admit that I had never read Elie Wiesel’s Night? It felt kind of shocking to me, as I am holocaust-obsessed person, not to mention a big reader. Frankly I’m not sure how I never did, but I never did read the book. Until now. Wiesel’s recent death propelled me down to our local library to find a copy.

When I think about this moral giant’s passing, and the confluence of current events I find myself feeling ill, wondering out loud – how did we get here? Again? Some among you may think I am being reactionary, or simply overreacting. Pardon me, but I will err on the side of caution here, many good Germans, Jews and non-Jews, felt like others were overreacting back then. By time they could do something it was too late, so the cautionary tale approach works just fine for me.

The slim volume is harrowing – there is no getting around that. As Wiesel chronicles elements of his Transylvanian childhood, he creates evocative scenes of daily Jewish life with his words. I’m not going to review the book for you here; many of you read it, and if you have not, I will simply say do not delay – read it now.

Maybe it is my own odd preoccupations with death,