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NOVEMBER 5, 2020 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home
Political Crossfire
It’s All Good, It Really Is, On Wednesday Morning BY A DIEHARD TRUMP SUPPORTER
L
ike sixty million Americans, I wake up this morning filled with anxiety. Hmm, that’s not a bad place to be. Usually nobody shares in my anxiety; now sixty million people do. Well, at least I’m not lonely. Wait – they say that the “owner of a lonely heart is better than the owner of a broken heart,” so not being lonely is no solace here. I guess I have to dig deeper to get out of this feeling. I say to “get out” of this feeling because it really does feel like I’m dressed in this cloak of political anxiety. So I’m digging deep, and here is what I have come up with. It may sound so cliché, but it’s so true. In fact, chances are you probably already figured it out on your own and don’t need me. Um, hello, if you live in the Five Towns and if you’ve ever been at a red light behind another car, you probably know what
I’m talking about. Singing the song yet? For the sake of not being sloganistic (please don’t check if that is a real word), I’ll say it a little differently: the best way to deal with the anxieties of the moment is to have gratitude to Hashem for all of the amazing things in our lives. For me, some of those things are: Baruch Hashem, I have wonderful children who are healthy, happy, pure, and innocent. To them, it makes no difference who the president is because the safety dome over their lives is their loving parents. (Well, some of them are a bit MAGA crazed, but that’s my fault…. They will forget about that stuff in two weeks.) Hashem gave me those children and allows me to enjoy them every day. That’s a big deal. Additionally, I am happily married and have a wife who puts up with a husband who, well, is wigging
out because Trump lost. That takes patience, understanding, and kindness on her part. I have a comfortable home, friends, family and neighbors who I enjoy spending time with. I have a job and am able to put food on my table. In fact, Hashem has made me and probably you – if you live in the frum community – in the top few percent of income earners in the country. (It may not feel that way at times, but remember: the median household income in the U.S. is $68,703.) And the list goes on. You get the point: if we count the blessings in our lives, if we really think and focus on the amazing things that Hashem has given us, we will realize how Hashem on a micro-level is carrying us on his shoulders. The macro stuff is none of our business anyway. I admit, it is easier said than
done. I checked the election returns so far six times while writing this. But I’m trying, at least. Here is a tip that I have been utilizing over the past few hours to try and refocus myself. Do this exercise: think about a vacation that you had at any time over the past ten years. For me, I remember a balmy summer day a few years ago kayaking down the Delaware River with my wife. We had a great lunch in the car as we drove up from the city. When we got to the kayak rental shop, there was one of those wooden screen (well, ripped screen) doors that had the perfect bungalow colony creak. Before we got out on the river, I slapped on sunscreen and chilled on the riverbank for a few minutes. There was a toad in my kayak when I got into it, and I kind of freaked out so Jimbo, the guy working at the
