Tag: rome

SUPERHEROES DON’T ALWAYS WEAR CAPES

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

I have hear this statement a great deal lately.  Most often it has related to the heroes of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) who are defending both Israel and the Jewish people in a war against evil.  The specific names today are Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Iran.  It is an age old hatred that threatens not just the Jewish people but the civilized world.  This video expresses it well.

These aren’t the only superheroes that don’t wear capes.  They live among us and too often we don’t even realize it until they are gone.  On Sunday night, a childhood friend posted an update about one of them.  Unfortunately, it was the news of his death.  The gratifying part of seeing this post was that his impact had been so great for so long, that we didn’t just realize that we knew an actual superhero that didn’t wear a cape upon his passing.  So who was this amazing person?

Richard Rome was a middle school math teacher.  Let that sink in fully.  The superhero without a cape that I am talking about taught 6-8 grade children math.  He was my teacher somewhere between 1978-1981.  Middle school math.  That’s what he taught.  In the 1970s and 1980s.  40-50 years ago.  Or at least that was what he formally was tasked with educating us about. 

Even his obituary is teaching us something as it tells us to plant a tree.

Mr. Rome, as we all called him both in class and for the next 40-50 years, was so much more than a math teacher.  While we were formally his student, he was a human being, a leader, a role model, a friend, a mentor, and a person who made math important, understandable, and relatable.  While he cared about teaching us math and helping us understand the broader implications of it, he cared more about molding us into good human beings. 

Mr. Rome’s middle school math class in the late 70s
Mr. Rome’s ‘math humor’ was decades ahead of ‘dad jokes’ and always made us smile no matter how old we are.

People often talk about finding something you love to do, and you’ll never work a day in your life.  While I believe that Mr. Rome did truly enjoy teaching math, I don’t think that is what he loved to do.    I think he truly loved being able to have an impact on young people’s lives and help mold them into good citizens, good people.  I think over the years, his true joy came from hearing stories about our lives, our children, our spouses, and for many, our grandchildren.  What makes me think this?  It’s actually pretty easy to come to this assessment of Mr. Rome.  It’s because so many of us still kept in touch with him.  How many people in their mid to late 50s or early 60s keep in touch with their MIDDLE SCHOOL MATH TEACHER?  That’s exactly the point.  He wasn’t just a math teacher.  He knew it.  We knew it.  And all of us appreciated it. I went to his Facebook page today to see if there were any other updates.  What I saw was amazing.  It wasn’t a formal posting but rather that we had 63 friends in common.  This means that there are 64 of us from his class in 1978-1981 who were still connected to him.  What a legacy – that 45 years later, so many of your math students are still connected to you.  I promise you it wasn’t about math and any math questions we had for him were entirely so we could help our children or grandchildren with their math homework!

Mr Rome surrounded by students
More studnents with Mr. Rome.

Mr. Rome posted this exchange with permission from a former student a while ago.  It’s how we all feel about him which is why I want to share it with you.

I asked one of my former students if I could post this so everyone could read exactly what she wrote to me. She sent me this on FB messenger. I appreciate it so much:

“Let me tell you. You singlehandedly are responsible for the most positive experience with Math I’ve ever had. Through that experience, you are indirectly responsible for my career path and choices. It is my pleasure to help you in your time of need. I may not have been the best or most docile math student, but you let me conquer the obstacles in my path. Thank you sir for your dedication to all the students at Susquehanna. I’m so lucky to have been able to have you as my teacher. My thoughts and prayers for your improved health and recovery'”

“Kim, ahh, thank you so much for the kind words. I deeply appreciate it. <smiling>”

“Your teaching means a lot to your students.”

He liked to share his math humor with us as kids and as adults.  A few things that he said that make me smile and remember why his class was one we all liked are:

To My Former Math Students: In honor of 3/14, I will repeat what I told every one of my math classes. Pie R Round; Cake R Squared. <smiling>

Also, remember the formula for Circumference of a Circle C = Pie x D, or C = who ate D Pie!

I went back to our last Facebook messenger chat, regrettably too long ago.  There are two comments that jump out to me.  More than 40 years after being in his class, Mr. Rome stated,

“Keith, I was wondering why I did not hear from you. I trust you and your family are well. Take care, Keith.”

So 40+ years later, he honestly wondered why he hadn’t heard from me.  That’s the relationship he had with his students.  After I explained what had been going on in my life and why I hadn’t reached out in a bit, he replied,

“That’s ok. As long as you are healthy, that is what it is all about, Keith <smiling>”

So, he wasn’t so talented with the use of emojis, he knew how to communicate.  I updated him about my family and particularly my children and what they were doing, and he responded.

“Keith, congrats “big fella.” <smiling>”

I wonder how many of his other students he had similar conversations with on a regular basis.  More than I can imagine.  A superhero without a cape.

Over the last few years, Mr. Rome began have some health issues and related financial issues.  His MIDDLE SCHOOL MATH STUDENTS, now in their 50s and 60s, created a GoFundMe for him.  I see this happening when active teachers have family, health, or economic challenges.  I have never seen it for somebody who many of us haven’t seen in person for 30 or 40 years.  As Kim wrote to Mr. Rome, he changed not just her life but all of our lives.   And he continued to teach us throughout life. 

Mr. Rome math humor was years ahead of being a ‘dad joke’.

Every year near Christmas, Mr. Rome would post this story about his parents and his childhood.  Even though he had retired from teaching many years ago, he knew he could teach us how to be good people, good human beings, and to improve our portion of the world.  He always took advantage of the opportunities to help us to be better people.  At 56, Mr. Rome continues to teach me.  There are so many lessons that even though he won’t physically be here to teach, he has inspired others to teach on his behalf.  Here is his reminder every year about making a difference in your community.

There is one day of the year that I miss my mom and dad even more that the rest of the year My father, Earl Rome, along with his brother, Isadore Rome, owned and operated an independent supermarket, Rome’s Superette. Every Christmas Eve they would host a Christmas Eve informal get together. Usually, around 250 of his loyal customers would drop in and relax and unwind before mid-night Mass. My mother would make all kinds of little finger sandwiches, Mrs. Boyle would bring her famous chopped liver mold, and many of their customers would bring bottles of booze to share. My dad, being Jewish, had a customer base that was 95 percent Christian. Some of his bigger customers were Catholic Churches.

That was back in the day when churches had large rectories, including lots of priests and lots of nuns. St. Ignatius Church was my dad’s best customer. They had a large parish, and, at the annual Christmas Eve party, usually Monsignor Gagen, along with a few of his priests, would attend the party. It was my job to usher the Monsignor out the back door so that his parishioners would not see him stone cold drunk. What was funny was that all members of his church knew he drank like a fish, but we kept up the pretense. anyway. It was the one night of the year that my father, may he rest in peace, got loaded. His favorite line of the night he used at every party was “Open up your song books to hymn number 64. If you do not like hymn number 64, we can sing hymn number 32 twice.”

My dad, a Jewish businessman, had a great relationship with the Catholic community. When he died in 1976, at the age of 62, over 1500 people came to the Shiva, including the Monsignor and a number of priests and nuns. I often “hark back” to those days and smile. The true meaning of brotherhood and what most religions preach was evident on Christmas Eve, at Rome’s Superette, in Kingston, Pa, for 44 years, ending in 1976.

As I read this story once again, the day after gathering with friends for Purim, I wonder what the world would look like if we all gathered for these types of celebrations, regardless of our religion.  If we truly created local communities of people who got to know each other as people, could we put an end to the growing hate that poisons our world?  It’s a conversation I’d like to have with Mr. Rome.  It is one that I will have with my local community leaders to see how we can replicate what used to happen in Kingston, PA until 1976.

As I said, Mr. Rome was more than just a middle school math teacher.   He taught us his entire life.  Here is another lesson from Mr. Rome. Notice that even though we are in our 50s and 60s when he wrote this, we are still ‘boys and girls’ to him.

I chose this picture because I can imagine him sitting like this in front of us while telling us this story.

Good Morning Boys and Girls. Rather than teach a lesson involving grammar or math, I am going to tell you a story that is fitting during the holiday season.

1967 was my first year of teaching. I taught 6th grade at Sara Lindemuth Elementary School. The other 6th grade teacher was Mrs. Sollenberger. It was the last day before Christmas vacation. Both 6th grade classes had a combined Christmas party. The kids all brought a gift that cost 50 cents and each child got to pick out a present. The kids wanted Mrs. Sollenberger and me to open our presents. Mrs. Sollenberger went first. There were the usual assortment of gifts. She opened her gifts and thanked each kid as she read the card that accompanied each gift. The next gift she opened was wrapped in a small box. When she opened the box and read the card, there were chuckles and some of the kids were laughing. In the box was an old pin. It was ugly looking and some of the stones were missing. When she read the card, she realized that this gift was from Debbie. Debbie was the daughter of migrant workers. Her clothes were usually dirty, and her hair went often times, unwashed. Debbie was not a very good student and let’s just say she was not the most popular girl in 6th grade. It was at that moment when Mrs. Sollenberger did something I will never forget.

She told Debbie that her present was her favorite of all the presents she received. She made a point of asking Debbie to pin the pin on her dress. The smile on Debbie’s face said it all. She was so happy. It took a few minutes, but then the other kids got involved in the spirit of that moment and what I observed was like a transformative moment in time. One girl told Debbie that her pin was so pretty. Another girl said to Debbie that I can see why Mrs. Sollenberger liked her present best of all. Several kids asked Debbie if she wanted some extra Christmas cookies. Kids can be very cruel sometimes. But in this special moment, even some of the boys who often picked on Debbie and made fun of her, were actually nice and a few of the boys said some nice things to Debbie. For the first time in her life, Debbie was the “star of the show.” Almost every kid in class joined in the fun. Mrs. Sollenberger continued to make a “big deal” about Debbie’s pin. Debbie could not stop smiling.

When it was my turn to open my presents, in my mind I thought, how am I going to react when I open the present from Debbie? In a small box was an old rusty tie pin, shaped like an arrow. Following Mrs. Sollenberger’s example, I told Debbie that my father had a tie clip similar to this one and I always loved it. I wore the tie clip the rest of the day. I take no credit. Mrs. Sollenberger is the one that set the tone. Mrs. Sollenberger then did a special arts and crafts project with the kids. She told them they had to work in pairs. It was both heartwarming and amusing when the kids started fighting over who would be Debbie’s partner. Finally, the school day was over, and the kids were dismissed. I had a moment with Mrs. Sollenberger, and I said to her “Mary, you made one kid very happy today. She will never forget this day.” Mrs. Sollenberger just smiled and said thank you.

The kids returned from vacation and, for the most part, nothing out of the ordinary happened the rest of the school year. Occasionally, Mrs. Sollenberger and I wore our presents from Debbie, and she always smiled more than usual on that day. I would like to tell you that Debbie’s “one shining moment” continued, but that was not the case. Debbie’s grades did not really improve. Her clothes were still dirty, her hair went unwashed. She was usually quiet and did not have a lot of friends. Mrs. Sollenberger is long gone. May she rest in peace. Debbie’s family moved out of the school district, and I never heard from her again. I would like to think her life has been filled with moments that were more positive than negative. Debbie had a tough life as a child. But there was one moment in time when Debbie was a star. She had a huge smile on her face, and I have a feeling she will remember that day, always. Her teacher, with one simple heartfelt gesture and some kind words, made Debbie feel extra special. That day, Mrs. Sollenberger exemplified what it means to be a teacher.  I have never forgotten that moment that happened almost fifty years ago.  Take care.

I hope you can get a sense of how special a man Mr. Rome was.  How he impacted lives when we were in 6-8th grade and how that impact continued throughout our lives.  How it shaped us into being better people.  I look at some of my friends from that time and see how they have chosen to impact the world and it is all truly a tribute to Mr. Rome.  It doesn’t matter what their success in life has been, it seems they all find some way to give back.  They find some way to try to help a Debbie that they encounter or inspire a Kim in her life’s journey.

The world lost a legend at the end of last week when Mr. Rome died. Yet he continues to live on through all of his ‘kids’ that he invested in and that invested in him as well. He lives through our volunteer week, our charitable giving, the way each of us, in our way, does what Mr. Rome taught us. Not math. He taught us to be good human beings. He taught us to care about other people. He taught us that no matter what the seemingly reason we were together (in his case teaching math) we are really together to build relationships and to build friendships. We are there to better ourselves, better the lives of those around us, and better the world.

Thank you will never be enough Mr. Rome. While I only had you as a math teach for 2-3 years, I have had the privilege of having you as a life teacher for 45 years and as a friend for nearly 40 years. And although I am not a teacher in a school, I will do my best to honor you and what you invested in all of us to continue to invest in ‘my kids’ for the future as they have a piece of my heart just as you do. Rest in Peace Mr. Rome. Your memory will always be a blessing to so many people Baruch Dayan HaEmet. Your legacy is secure. I’m gonna go and be a little teary now because you taught us all that’s ok.

https://www.rosenbergfuneralchapel.com/obituary/RICHARD-ROME?fbclid=IwAR3DXjGYV8Nd7czTkqkaY-XWdH3EvbSIRRmI4SaowybpjVyxFacMbdWn5sg#tributewall

The content of our character gets an F

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

Terrorism is one of those things that as Americans, we have always thought of happening elsewhere.  Even when the Oklahoma City bombing occurred, it was by an American who many people made excuses for.  It didn’t feel like real terrorist.

September 11, 2001, was supposed to have changed everything.  Arab terrorists hijacked airplanes and flew two of them into the Twin Towers, one was crash landed in Shanksville, PA, and one crashed into the Pentagon.  Nearly 3,000 Americans were murdered that day by terrorists.  We felt what terrorism was like.  We engaged in a war in Iraq and then Afghanistan that lasted for 20 years.  But we were never hit again.  Despite the concern that more attacks were coming, the United States has been spared a second terrorist attack after 9/11.  And so, we have forgotten the horror of terrorism and terrorists.  We have forgotten the evil. 

Each September 11th, we remember in a lesser and lesser manner. It is not a national day of remembrance. It is not a sacred day. There isn’t a school assembly where all the names of the victims are read. Perhaps it’s the 20 years of war that came after that has us tired. Perhaps it is our lack of an attention span. Perhaps it is because we choose to get partisan and blame ‘the other party’ for either entering the war, not winning the war, or the way we finally exited the war. We paid a terrible price on September 11th and it’s a day that I will never forget. But as a country we remember it like we remember Pearl Harbor Day. “A day that will live in infamy” is no longer a recognizable quote to the millenial generation. I wonder if they would even recognize ‘Let’s Roll’ two decades after it was one of the most inspiring statements we heard.

Israel on the other hand, has had to deal with terrorist every day.  I have spoken with IDF leaders who have told me what they stop every single day.  And we see in the news what happens when a terrorist gets through.  The first and second intifada along with rockets from Gaza and Lebanon, stabbings, shootings, kidnappings, and more.

I’ve been in Israel for Yom HaZikaron and Yom Ha’atzmaut (Israeli Memorial Day and Israeli Independence Day) and they are days you won’t ever forget. The country shuts down on Yom HaZikaron. TV only shows stories of heroic soldiers. The sirens at 7 pm and then at 11 am are dramatic and unforgettable. The names of those lost are read in each community. It is a powerful experience. Yom Ha’atzmaut starts right at the end of Yom HaZikaron and the mood changes from sadness to joy in an instant. Freedom is celebrated, not sales on mattresses or appliances. You can literally join any party going on in the country whether you know the people there or not. Israel never forgets.

But even Israel never imagined the horrors of October 7, 2023.  Nobody, other than Hamas and Iran could imagined that occurring.  Having seen the 47-minute Hamas video from October 7th, it was horrifying.  And I know there is far worse that Israel has video of that they refuse to put into the public domain because of just how horrifying it is.  Rapes, murders of babies, women and the elderly.  Burning of people alive.  Cooking babies alive in the oven while their mother is forced to watch, sometimes while also being raped.  Seeing what the IDF soldiers saw, in real time, when they came upon the Nova Music Festival was haunting. I’ll never forget the bodies strewn everywhere, the anxiety in the voices of the IDF soldiers as they hoped to find anybody alive and the disappointment each time they realized that nobody was left alive.

The Nova music festival. I’ve seen the video of what the first responders of the IDF saw when they arrived and it’s horrifying.

In the United States, it is as if 9/11 never happened.  We blame Israel for it happening.  We hold Israel responsible for the evil of Hamas, using children, women, and the elderly as human shields.  We ignore the hostages, now taken over 160 days ago.  We excuse UNRWA for their participation in the horrors of October 7th, in hiding hostages after their abduction, and for their theft of humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza and diverted to Hamas.  When the people of Gaza riot because humanitarian aid is coming in and going to UNRWA to distribute and they know that means it goes to Hamas, we blame Israel.  When Hamas fires on the people of Gaza trying to get the humanitarian aid before Hamas can steal it, we blame Israel. We continue to fail to hold Hamas responsible or recognize that they are pure evil. 

We, and the world, have convinced ourselves, that this is between the Palestinians and the Israelis.  We have convinced ourselves that this is about the need for a Palestinian state or about Israeli construction in Judea and Samaria.  We fool ourselves into ignoring the influence of Iran and their goal of creating a new Caliphate, with the Iranians and radical Shiite Muslims in charge with everybody living under Sharia law.  We forget that we are the infidel they rail against, thinking it’s just Israel, it’s just the Jews.

We also forget that they hate anybody who isn’t like them, even other muslims. On October 7th, Hamas didn’t care if you were Jewish, Muslim, Christian, American, or Thai. They hated everybody. That’s what happens with evil. And if you don’t destroy evil, evil wins.

Hamas Also Slaughters Muslims

Even the people of Gaza are now holding Hamas responsible. Now that they don’t have to fear for their lives because Hamas killed any opposition and are not in charge any longer, they are speaking out loudly. While some of the people were involved with October 7th and many more support the hatred, there are plenty who want to live in peace with their neighbor Israel. I found the same thing in Judea and Samaria when, in 2019, I went to meet with leaders of Palestinian civil society. Take away the corrupt government and the evil of terrorists and there is a possibility for peace.

We choose to blame the government of Israel, Bibi Netanyahu, the far right fanatics in the government like Itamar Ben-Gvir, or the ultra-religious Jews in Israel for the hate coming from Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Iran.  We choose to excuse barbaric behavior because it is against Jews.   Remember #BringBackOurGirls from 2014 after 276 high school girls were abducted from a government school in Chibok, Nigeria?  Remember the number of celebrities who stood out, loud and proud, that no woman or girl should be taken captive, raped and held against their will?  That only counts if you aren’t Jewish.

Julia Roberts is one of many celebrities who spoke out in 2014 that remain silent now. Shame on them.

Remember 1979 and the hostage crisis in Iran?  It spawned the TV show Nightline to keep everybody up to date on a daily basis.  Yet the hostages taken by Hamas – including Americans and Muslims – draw no attention.   Kfir Bibas, stolen when he was 8 months old, celebrated his first birthday in captivity.  His four-year-old brother Ariel was also kidnapped and remains in captivity.  What type of barbarism is this and better yet, what type of human beings are we that allow this happen and aren’t marching in the streets of every country to free these babies?

Kfir and Ariel Bibas. Babies. Hostages. How the world is not outraged is inexcusable. It’s only a matter of time before it happens here.

Noa Argmani and Naama Levi, two beautiful young women were attending a music festival, like many of our young adults do.  They were attacked by butchers who murdered young adults in cold blood, savagely raped them for the crime of being in Israel.  Noa and Naama were taken hostage.  Who knows what brutality they have faced since October 7th?  We can all imagine the worst after what we saw these Hamas terrorists do to girls, women, and the elderly. 

Noa Argmani and Naama Levi, taken hostage by Hamas on October 7th. We don’t know what brutality they have faced or if they remain alive. Where is the outrage?

They aren’t the only young women taken hostage and being brutalized in the tunnels beneath Gaza.  And if you think it’s only over there and only Jewish women so you are safe, look at the signs held by AMERICANS in NEW YORK CITY on Sunday.  “Rape is resistance”.  “Babies are occupiers too”.  After the killing of George Floyd, we had resistance in major cities like Seattle, Portland, and Minneapolis.  Today these people would tell you that raping your wife, daughter, or mother would be acceptable because it’s ‘resistance’.  I remember reading about how in Seattle people went to homes and told the owners that it wasn’t their house.  That they were occupying land and had no right to live in the houses they purchased.  These same people would say that kidnapping their children would be acceptable because they were ‘occupiers’.  Don’t fool yourself that it is only there and only for Jews. 

Remember these signs when your baby is taken or when your wife, sister, daughter, or mother is raped. This is in NYC this past weekend!

Jews have long been the ‘canary in the coal mine’.  What happens to Jews happens to others afterward.  Take a minute to do a search for “Jews canary in the coal mine”.  You will see articles going back years documenting this.  It’s not post-October 7th.  It’s history.  When we allow this to happen, we encourage it to happen to us.

Just last week, an illegal migrant from Lebanon was caught at border.  He admitted that he is a Hezbollah terrorist and was hoping ‘to make a bomb’ and was headed for NY.  Terrorism is in the United States.  It’s just a matter of when and where the event happens. Or events happen. We are worried about planes that have issues with maintenance and construction while nobody has died in a major airline plane crash since 2009. How will we reconcile our priorities when people die in America at the hands of terrorists? Who will we blame? One thing we know for sure is that nobody will take responsibility.

Two weeks ago, a grenade was found in the back seat of an Uber in New York. As the bomb squad tried to get to the car to assess the situation, defuse the grenade, and save lives, Anti-Israel protesters blocked the police from reaching grenade in the Uber during a Times Square march. Luckily the grenade was inert and nobody was harmed by it. The hatred for Israel and Jews was more important than saving the lives of people in the area from a possible live grenade. We were lucky this time that it was inert. Next time?

People climbing on the police care as officers try to address a grenade in a nearby Uber
Protesters climbing on the police car and blocking police from getting to a nearby Uber with a grenade in it.

Last night was the ZOA gala in Hollywood, Florida. Peopel who support the existance of a Jewish homeland gathering together to celebrate it. We have many nation states in the world for people of all backgrounds, faiths, cultures, etc. There is only one Jewish state and that’s what Zionism is – the belief that we should have. Zionism is not colonialism as there is no desire to expand beyond our historical homeland. There is no aparthaid. The declaration of independence speaks clearly about being a home for all peoples. Zionism isn’t about Bibi Netanyahu, merely the most recent elected Prime Minister. His time will end and there will be a new Prime Minister. And a new one after that. And so on and so on. At this wonderful event last night, in order to ‘help Palestinians’, people assaulted a Jewish person with an Israeli flag. How does that help Palestinians? How does that help the people of Gaza? We know they don’t care about the hostages because they are Jewish. Instead of listening to the people of Gaza about Hamas and working to create a place where Palestinians can live peacefully with their neighbor Israel, instead of building a country with hospitals that are not armories, schools that teach math and science, not hate, these people merely want to hate. Watch th video and see hatred, see evil. If they really wanted to help the Palestinians and the people of Gaza they would listen to them and push for an end to Hamas.

Violence outside the ZOA gala just because he has an Israeli flag

Last week, I heard Senator Chuck Schumer speak passionately about Israel and Israel’s right, as a sovereign nation, to defend herself. He spoke about the evil of Hamas and how they must be defeated. He spoke about the special relationship between the United States and Israel. He was animated. He was passionate. Three days later, he completely backtracked, calling for early elections in a sovereign country. He let partisan politics overtake his moral, ethics, and values. I was disgusted. Not just disappointed, not just angry, but disgusted. Here is one of our elected leaders, in one of the most high ranking positions in our government, a self identified Jew, talking out of both sides of his mouth without integrity. This isn’t about likeing or not liking Bibi. This isn’t about thinking he is the problem or the solution. This is a democratic country that has free elections and has a process for them. Unlike the Palestinian Authority, where Mahmoud Abbas is now in year 19 of his 4 year team. Let that sink in for a minute. No calls for elections in year 19 of his 4 year term. I’m not sure Senator Schumer can regain my trust. Our leaders continue to lose our trust based on their lack of integrity, lack of morals and values. When our leaders don’t have them, how much longer can we exist as a democracy (or a republic for those who want to be critical).

Beware of Dangerous Advice: An Urgent Letter to President Biden

A TikTok trend in 2023 asked women to ask men how often they think about the Roman Empire.  Women were shocked that men think about the Roman empire so often. I think men think about it so often because it was an amazing, powerful empire. It gave the world so much. When we look back on it, we don’t understand how it ever fell. It was so powerful. It covered all aspects of life. It was on the cutting edge of everything. It was simply the best of the best. How did it every disappear? How did the Roman Empire fall?

I think we are seeing it firsthand now in both Europe and the United States. We are so full of ourselves that we have lost all common sense. Instead of striving to look at people as people, to find our similarities and focus on them instead of our differences, we now highlight our differences and minimize our similarities. We fill ourselves with hatred towards those that are different. We allow babies to be hostages. We allow women to be raped if it supports a cause. There is no right and wrong any longer. In the words of the Presidents of Penn, MIT, and Harvard, ‘it depends on the context’. It never depends on the context. Evil is bad. Period. You cannot justify evil. There is good and evil and there is a difference. The world is now attempting to justify evil. The world is ignoring the definitions of words like genocide and apartheid to make them into catch phrases that sound powerful and allows people who use them incorrectly to feel superior.

Rome fell for many reasons. The three most common reasons cited are corruption, the division of the empire, and invasion by Germanic tribes. We are filled with corruption in our world today and in our country. We are as divided as we have been since the civil war. All that is missing is the invasion. As we saw last week when a Hezbollah terrorist was caught with the intention to set off a bomb in NY, the invasion has begun.

Can the fall of the United States be that far away? Will future generations study us and the Roman empire and see the pattern and do better? Do we have a chance to save our country and our world? I don’t know but I get less optimistic each day as we sink further and further into the abyss of hate, divisiveness, and stupidity.

May the hostages come home safely and soon. May the war in Gaza end soon with the surrender of Hamas. May we wake up from this bizzaro world and return to one of sanity where, in the words of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.:

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

The great Dr. King. We need him now more than ever.

Right now, our nation and the world is getting a failing grade on the content of our character. And I fear for our future.