By Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel
CHULA VISTA, California — Acrimony and political correctness and posturing are as American as “soup and sandwich.” Whenever I think about the violent impulses that have gripped our collective consciousness, I am heartened and surprised whenever I see a modicum of civility.
This past week, we watched Judge Amy Coney Barrett undergo a thorough examination from the Senate members. Becoming a member of the Supreme Court is akin to a trial by fire. However, Judge Barrett held her own with dignity, grace, and with complete composure. Each of us can learn great lessons in ethics, how not to respond when somebody insults you.
Senator Dianne Feinstein is someone I had personally known since my days in San Francisco when she was Mayor Feinstein. I have rarely agreed with her and her positions on most political issues. Yet, Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D-California) praise of her Republican colleague, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), followed by a spontaneous show of appreciation, shocked her liberal colleagues by hugging Graham. This would have been a positive note to end the raucous debates we have seen and imbibed since the beginning of the hearings.
Yet, we are living in a time when conformity to the Democratic status quo is considered more important than anything else. Surprisingly to most of us, Feinstein stirred a hornets’ nest and many of her fellow Democrats excoriated her for showing a token of civility.
These zealots are calling for her to step down as the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee. All right, you wonder: Who specifically is making the fuss? Well, it’s an organization called “Demand Justice.” According to what I gleaned from its website, Demand Justice is a left-of-center advocacy group created in early 2018 that aims to influence American courts’ political leanings by supporting liberal judicial appointment nominees and opposing right-of-center nominees.
Okay, I get they did not care for the Judge Barrett hearings. At any rate, Brian Fallon, executive director of Demand Justice, posted following the hearing, “It’s time for Sen. Feinstein to step down from her leadership position on the Senate Judiciary Committee. If she won’t, her colleagues need to intervene.”
Another said, “If Senate Democrats are going to get their act together on the courts going forward, they cannot be led by someone who treats Sunrise activists with contempt and the Republican theft of a Supreme Court seat with kid gloves.” Fallon was referring to the Sunrise Movement, a grassroots environmental organization.
Other voices also criticized Feinstein: “Diane Feinstein praising Barrett, and then inexplicably praising Graham, is a clear sign that she should not remain as the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee.” So tweeted Norman Ornstein, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and a contributing editor for the Atlantic magazine.
Unfortunately, showing respect towards those who differ with us has become increasingly rare in this present day and age. When there is no respect, people will often do as they please and give in to their more violent impulses. As a case in point, just look at Portland, Oregon. We must not become a society that eschews politeness, thoughtfulness, and civility. Tragically, people who have achieved and earned outstanding achievements are often treated as if they were monsters, hellbent upon the destruction of our society. Feinstein’s embrace of Graham is a gentle reminder about the importance of treating others kindly and with respect.
In Jewish tradition, the two first-century scholars Shammai and Hillel frequently got into heated arguments, but they always left as friends at the end of spirited debate. Sometimes it is not what we argue about that matters; it is how we argue that matters—at least according to the Mishnaic wisdom. Jewish tradition has always stressed the importance of respecting views that differ from our own.
At any rate, I feel heartened to see Feinstein make a genuine gesture of kindness toward Judge Barrettand Senator Graham that, for a brief moment, reminded all of us about our shared humanity.
My daughter Evy once said to me, “Judaism’s golden rule consists of three imperatives: Respect yourself, respect your neighbor, and respect God.”
And now you know the rest of the story.
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Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel is spiritual leader of Temple Beth Shalom in Chula Vista. He may be contacted via michael.samuel@sdjewishworld.com
Dear Rabbi,
I truly appreciate your words. People are filled with so much venom these days, that when you try to explain how even acts of kindness are met with hatred, some people refuse to stop and listen. Thanks for this.
I wonder how Shammai and Hillel and their respective followers would have acted if Shammai went out of his way to screw the ascension to the rabbinate of one of Hillel’s followers, say Merrick Garlandstein, arguing that we should not enrobe a rabbi during a particular time, and then, four years later, rushed through an enrobing in the same circumstance. Somehow, I would think Hillel would have the right to say Shammi was not acting in good faith either time, and shun Shammai for his behavior–not embrace him as if nothing in bad faith had happened. In fact, I’m not even sure Jesus would have turned his other cheek at such behavior, and may have acted out as he did in chasing out “moneychangers.” 🙂