← Autodidact Archive · Original Dissent · Robbie
Thread ID: 11111 | Posts: 2 | Started: 2003-11-16
2003-11-16 21:52 | User Profile
Note what Prager says about America being the only [B]Judeo-Christian[/B] country in the world.
Prager on 'isms' -- Judaism, anyone?
By LARRY HANKIN IJN Associate Editor
Not long ago, a Jewish Republican was about as rare as a 1943 steel penny. The term was practically an oxymoron. Almost all American Jews were Democrats, and liberal Democrats at that.
In the past decade or so, there has been somewhat of a shift -- more Jews are out-of the-closet Republicans. Leading the pack of these renegades is Dennis Prager, radio host, author, columnist and teacher.
Prager was in Denver last week as the headliner at two Allied Jewish Federation events, the Lion of Judah-Pomegranate women's campaign luncheon, and the Men's Event -- which drew 1,200 -- making it the largest gathering of Jewish men in the history of Colorado.
Prager is well known in Colorado. His column appears bi-weekly in the Intermountain Jewish News; his radio show airs weekdays on 710 KNUS, 10 a.m-1 p.m., and last week's speech was his second Men's Event appearance. Despite his popularity and success, it's not always been easy for Dennis Prager to break into the Jewish community, he told the IJN in an interview following his Men's speech.
"In Jewish life, being an out-of-the-closet Republican, does not exactly ensure huge numbers of lectures. I know for a fact that a great number of liberal synagogues would not invite me. The Orthodox don't invite me because I'm not Orthodox; the Reform don't invite me because I'm [lower-case "c"] conservative." Now Prager is not complaining -- he loves Judaism and the Jewish community. "Jewish life has been beautiful to me." He is proud to have close ties with the three largest branches of Judaism: "I am a member of a Reform temple, teach at a Conservative seminary, and send my children to an Orthodox day school.
Prager's life's work, as a crusader for tikkun olam, the Torah's concept of repairing the world, is ingrained in his personality. "Very, very early in my life, I was obsessed with people's suffering unjustly. I have no explanation. I mean obsessed -- to the point that I even cried a lot when I saw people hurt. It's never left me. I have a deep anger at people who hurt people, from the schoolyard bully to Saddam Hussein. Just read one of my columns about the miserable treatment the Jews mete out to Palestinians and you'll see what I mean. "I never thought that doing good meant being passive, or not fighting. The idea of 'fighting for good' strikes many people today as a bad idea, because they think that fighting is intrinsically bad. I have always known that you have to fight for good. That's been a very big part of my psyche and soul."
Prager also learned early on that he had the gift of clarity of thought, and that he could communicate his thoughts effectively. "I had a strange experience when I was a teenager, living in my parents' house in Brooklyn. My father was a CPA; he had an office in Manhattan and an office at home. A lot of his clients would schedule their visits to his home office on Sundays an hour early to have time to talk to me. I remember thinking, 'Why do they want to talk to me? They think that I, at 15 or 16, have something to say?' So I discovered that people are interested in what I have to say. I am very humbled by it. That's the word: humbled.
"That's why before I speak, I usually say a prayer to G-d that may I only do what He would like me to do, say only what He would be proud of me for saying; that it's not for me or for an ovation, or glory or anything like that. It's kept me on a very good track." While getting his word out to the Jewish community may have been an uphill battle in the past, his message is being received more warmly today. "Since 9/11, every single Jewish group I have spoken to has been extremely responsive. I'm not saying things to please them. These are things that I have been saying all along, but now I can say things that, before 9/11, would have been unhearable by a lot of Jews."
High on the list of concepts now being accepted by Jewish audiences, according to Prager, is that of "fighting evil, and that G-d wants us to fight evil. It's not just an emotional thing; it's a theological thing." Prager is often asked how he can be a committed Jew, and not be a liberal. In response he has recorded and made available his talk, "Why Are Jews Liberal?" "My whole life I have asked myself that question. Most of your readers who are liberal will say, What do you mean, why are Jews liberal? Because Judaism wants us to be kind to the poor, clothe the naked, feed the hungry and pursue social justice. And that's what they think liberalism does.
"On policy after policy, I don't think what is currently called 'liberal' promotes goodness. Nat Hentoff, who is a man of the left -- he writes for the Village Voice -- doesn't understand how you can be on the left and regard abortion as anything but a serious moral dilemma. I agree with him. What is 'liberal' about killed a fetus because you didn't use a condom? Why is that liberal? Why is it liberal to advocate separate ceremonies for Blacks? Those are radical concepts, but they're not liberal."
Prager calls himself a "John F. Kennedy liberal, which means that I am a Republican. I did an article on John F. Kennedy's major speeches, including his inaugural address, and said that if I asked people today who said this, they'd say, 'George W. Bush.' Things like how incredibly important it is to lower tax rates because that saves the economy; and how American has a role to fight evil in the world anywhere it is. That was in JFK's inaugural address."
Prager says, "liberal" now means, "America come home. Under Franklin Roosevelt, it was "American go and fight evil." "I didn't leave liberalism. I am a liberal. Liberalism left me," he declares. "Liberalism used to be opposed to the right and the left. Now it's only opposed to the right. Liberalism lost its self-perspective. It meant you understood the threat from the left as much as you understood the threat from the right. Now, liberals only see threat from the right."
Prager says Jews are liberal for another reason: "Most Jews are not religious, in terms of Judaism, but almost every Jew is deeply religious in terms of other 'isms.' Jews cannot live without an 'ism.' And if it isn't going to be Judaism, then it's going to be liberalism or socialism or feminism or environmentalism or Marxism. Jews love 'isms.' The tragedy is that it isn't Judaism." Dennis Prager counts many friends in the Christian community. "I love Christian America," he declares, differentiating Christian America from the anti-Semitic Christianity of Europe.
"If this country is saved, [the Christians in Middle America] will save it. America is the only Judeo-Christian country in history. There have been many Christian countries, many secular countries, but only one Judeo-Christian country -- the United States. It is Christianity rooted in Judaism, rooted in the Torah. I have said that I wish Jews would believe in the Torah as much as Christians do." Despite 150 speaking engagements a year and a daily radio program, Prager is an involved family man. When he is not on the road, he broadcasts his radio show weekday mornings from Los Angeles, where he lives, and is done by noon. This allows him to be at home the rest of the day with his Fran, his wife of 15 years, and their son Aaron, 11. Prager also has two grown children.
"I'm very lucky to say we're a happy family. Because my internal life is quite stable, it really does allow me to concentrate so many efforts on my macro-life's work." When asked what would surprise people about his personal life, Prager says it's his parenting style. "People would be surprised how easy-going a parent I am. Love and making a stand on what truly matters is what's important. A lot of things parents take a stand on don't really matter."
Case in point: Prager brought 11-year-old Aaron to Denver with him for his speaking engagements. That meant two days out of school. In the long run, Prager says, what is going to be more memorable and character-building for Aaron? Two days in school, or two days spent with his Dad? A sleepy Aaron, in bed in the hotel room where the interview is taking place, pipes up, "Two days with Dad!"
[url]http://www.ijn.com/stories1.htm#story2[/url]
2003-11-16 22:36 | User Profile
[QUOTE=Robbie] Prager says, "liberal" now means, "America come home. Under Franklin Roosevelt, it was "American go and fight evil." [/QUOTE]
What Prager REALLY meant to say is that it was "America go and fight the enemies of the Jews."
[QUOTE]"I love Christian America," he declares, differentiating Christian America from the anti-Semitic Christianity of Europe.[/QUOTE]
Ah, thanks for the clarification there...
Also note how Prager sends his children to an Orthodox school. Typical Jewish double standards at work...after all, even the most 'conservative' personalities today will lecture us all on the evils of school segregation (unless, of course, the noble Jews are keeping their children away from the stupid goyim, then it's kosher).
Prager is one of the most obnoxious faux conservative radio shills out there today.