The presidential election is less than a month away, but the country already is exhausted.
No other nation lets the campaign process drag on as long as we do. No other nation witnesses the obscene amount of campaign fundraising, either. And while we don’t have rioting in the streets and assassination attempts on candidates, as happens in other countries during elections, the vitriol and mudslinging we have seen these past few months have set a poor example for the world.
Last Sunday’s ugly presidential debate, filled with personal attacks rather than discussion of policies, should not have surprised anyone. But it should certainly act as a wake-up call to the American public: We must not allow this kind of travesty to happen again.
The Jewish community this week concludes its annual period of self-reflection, a somber accounting of all we might have done better this past year, and a communal promise to try to elevate our conduct in the coming 12 months.
By the time you read these words, Yom Kippur will be over. We will have beat our breasts and borne witness, in the traditional Al Chet prayer, to 44 kinds of mistakes we have committed, individually and collectively, against morality.
How appropriately this exercise pertains to the current state of our national political discourse. And how unfortunate that we have allowed ourselves to become distracted from the real issues we should be confronting.
Please forgive us for the mistakes we have committed under duress or willingly. Who outside of ourselves has forced us to give so much attention to this divisive presidential campaign, as we enjoy the sound bites and YouTube videos that embarrass the candidate we oppose?
Please forgive us for the mistakes we have committed through having a hard heart. Has our focus on making fun of candidates we oppose diminished our compassion for the poor and needy, and how we might better serve them?
Please forgive us for the mistakes we have committed without thinking. Knee-jerk reactions to gossip and titillating news divert us from clear, rational consideration of what needs to be done to move our country forward.
Our nation’s civil discourse may be under siege, but that does not mean we as individuals need indulge in the foolish speech and vulgar talk our tradition warns us against. We can do better. We must do better.
May all our readers be inscribed in the Book of Life. And we wish a sweet New Year to all.