Never doubt that a small, group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”That pronouncement from Margaret Mead, widely quoted, is true. But its truth makes it a double-edged sword.
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Time for a Reality Check
Your ex-husband told you he was a great money manager, but when he left, you discovered that the house had been refinanced and all your credit cards were maxed out. Your line of credit at the bank is near its limit, and interest takes almost a third of your paycheck. You’ve been deferring maintenance on the house, and the small problems have become costly repairs. You are paying for multiple home security systems, although your neighbor only pays for one; you and your sisters support your retired mother, but you pay 70%, a sister who is richer pays 30%, and another sister who could help pays nothing.
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Mayonnaise on White
“Mayonnaise on white bread.” That was what we called Indianapolis when I was growing up—when we weren’t calling it “India-no-place.”
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Defining Families
In 1960, 44.2% of Americans lived in “Ozzie and Harriet” households, defined as a married couple living with their own children under eighteen. (Okay, so maybe mom was hitting the bottle in her suburban kitchen and dad was smacking the kids around when he came home from golfing with his buddies, but in Ozzie and Harriet time we didn’t ask such impertinent questions. They were married, the kids were theirs, God was pleased. End of story.)
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Justice
My religious tradition has a lot to say about justice. Beginning with the Talmudic injunction “Justice, Justice, thou shalt pursue,” the nature of our obligations to ourselves and others has been an abiding preoccupation of Jews..
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