Pride And Prejudice

I am most proud of my people when tragedy becomes our impetus to help others. I am proud to be a Jew when I learn about the role that many Jews played in the Civil Rights Movement or in the effort to stop genocide in Darfur; their motivation stemming directly from the lessons of hate and injustice that caused the Holocaust.

I am most shamed when we as Jews only utilize those lessons for our own good; when we fail to empathize with other downtrodden people as we have been throughout our history. That stone-faced short-sightedness deeply hurts me.