A Failure to Communicate

A friend of mine who watches the evening news asked me how I felt about the growing number of angry and chaotic campus demonstrations. I told him that I was somewhat ambivalent. First and foremost, I support the students' First Amendment right to (peacefully) protest what they believe is an unfair government policy (U.S. support for Israel), or to demand that there be a cease-fire in Gaza. But there's more to it than that: a part of me empathizes with student protesters, having been one during the 1960s.

In 1968, there were many campus demonstrations, as students objected to the government's policies in Vietnam. Nearly every student, including me, knew someone who had gotten drafted and sent overseas. We wanted the war to end, and we also wanted young adults to have a say in policies that affected them-- at that time, the voting age was 21, and we wanted it lowered to 18, the age when young men could be drafted. Many adults accused us of being anti-American; but as we saw it, the government was wrong, and the war needed to end. And I can understand that many young people today are passionate about wanting the war between Israel and Hamas to be over-- just like a lot of us were passionate about wanting the U.S. to get out of Vietnam.    

But on the other hand, some of the recent demonstrations have worried me. I've been saddened to see some of the participants using the protests as an opportunity to make anti-Jewish remarks, or to say that Israel has no right to exist. (They don't say that Saudi Arabia or Rwanda or Myanmar, or other countries that have been involved in brutal wars, have no right to exist-- they only seem to single out Israel.) And I am also concerned that many Jewish students no longer feel safe on campus: they are being taunted, or, in some cases, threatened, for being pro-Israel-- and it's some of their own classmates who have turned on them. Agreed, the majority of the protests have been loud but peaceful; and the haters are a small but noisy minority at most of them. But that's not much consolation to the Jewish students being verbally attacked.

These days, I wonder what my own students think of me. Many have been taught that Israel is a white, colonial oppressor (not true, and quite an over-simplification, but it's widely believed on the left). And since they know I am (a) Jewish, and (b) pro-Israel, perhaps some no longer think I'm okay. I also wonder what my conservative Christian friends are thinking lately-- some of them support Israel without question, because they believe its existence is part of God's plan for the end-times, the place where the second coming of Jesus will take place. Thus, the fact that I vehemently disagree with the current right-wing Israeli government, or that I believe in a Two-State Solution, means I'm probably not okay with my conservative friends either. 

In such polarizing times, I wonder if I'm okay with anyone. If social media is any indication, people seem to have become increasingly impatient and angry. If I post my Wordle scores, or blog about rock music, many people praise me. But if I blog about politics, there are people who tell me to "stay in my lane" and stick to Wordle and rock music. But I can't do that. I've always had a wide range of interests, and that includes politics and current events-- I don't expect everyone to agree with me, but I do enjoy talking about what's going on out there. And I want to continue doing that.

Unfortunately, lots of people these days prefer only hearing from those whose views align with their own, whether it's about Israel/Palestine, or liberal/conservative, or "My favorite band is better than your favorite band." And when a disagreement occurs, it becomes an excuse for some folks to try to shout the other side down. But whether it's online or on college campuses, refusing to talk to "them" is only making things worse. Maybe I'm just an idealist, but it would be nice if the various "sides" could listen to each other more and blame each other less... rather than creating new ways to make conversation impossible.