#I didn’t grow up with immediate contacts to much of the Jewish community but I did grow up with my grandfathers ghost

[rotzaprachim]

this would be a fantastic time for community leaders and Jews in general to recognize the intersectionality of many Jewish experiences and that community members might have deep intergenerational scars brought up by both the deaths of Israelis and Gazans actually

[thelazyeye]

oh okay, internet famous Losers, like they're all youtubers and insta famous kids doing really different stuff around the nation, what do each of them do? who connects with who and how?

Ooff I love this idea. I used to be moderately into youtube people. Mamrie Hart anyone? She cracks me the fuck UP. Anyway this got super long so its under the cut. I hope you enjoy anon! Thanks for sending something it!!

Okay. Here we go. 

Richie 

is a youtube personality. Duh. He started out vlogging and his Voices and somehow his channel picked up. He writes comedy bits, does personal blogging, and tests his voices. 

When he was starting out he had a bit where he was a weatherman that had multiple personalities (Voices) and it got insanely popular. He received some backlash due to the offensiveness of the bit and has since retired it, but references it from time to time to credit his fame. 

Now he focuses a lot on his comedy routines and improv acting with other members of the community. He does challenges from time to time as collabs as well

People are super invested in his personal life (bc people seriously get like that with youtube people) and started speculating about his sexuality. It took him a few years to address all the rumors that he wasn’t straight and how he was probably dating this youtuber or that youtuber. 

Eddie 

is an LGBT Activist that has a youtube channel as well (think Laci Green but LGBT and not sex ed, though he does do sex ed work)

He got his start when he was in college. He became the president of the LGBT club. He wanted to reach a large number of students and he figured the best way to do that would be youtube

The entire club helped him out. Every week he would have another club member on the channel to talk about their sexuality and experiences

It didn’t get big at the school but he got lowkey noticed by the HRC after about 6 or 7 videos. He was contacted by a social media manager on the team to commend him on his work

From then on out he started to work harder on his videos, including more in depth information and he included links to more resources

Eventually, his videos started to rack up views from young LGBT kids thanking him for his channel

He started to collab with famous LGBT youtubers (troye sivan, hannah hart) and that’s when he really blew up 

Bill 

actually got his start on Vine. He mastered the art of the 6 second story and when the platform went down he migrated to youtube, snapchat, and twitter. He’s got profiles on almost every social media platform and he’s written a couple of webseries, as well. 

His first webseries (pre-vine) focused on comedy. He and some college friends got together and wrote the script/acted it out. It wasn’t very big but the following for it had a cultish feel. 

It blew up after he became famous on vine

After that, he started writing more webseries and partnering with other youtube actors

He wrote and completed two successful comedy webseries before he got bored of it. He decided to make the jump to horror work 

Think Marble Hornets

He ended up getting a scholarship to a film school and has been working on becoming a movie director ever since

His youtube work is on a hiatus but he still posts blogs and updates of his life. He’s active on Snapchat and Twitter the most. He still does dumb, funny shit from time to time and tweets out very random jokes

Stan 

is an adventure youtuber. He travels all over the world, seeking thrills and exploring nature. His videos usually have some kind of educational component but they’re always entertaining. Stan has explored the Savanah and Rain Forrests, he’s sky dived and scuba dived. He’s done a lot

He has a side channel for his love of birds because how can I not throw this in here?

When Anti semites started showing back up in the world Stan started to dedicate more of his channel, and his other platforms, to Judaism. He’s uses his popularity and fame to educate people and create awareness around the issues Jews face

As a result, he blogged his Birthright to Israel. It was a weeks worth of videos, some candids that he just uploaded on the whim, and some he took the time to edit. They were adventurous, educational, and full of his personal journey

Stan has also faced a lot of backlash for his involvement with the jewish community. He voices this in his videos. To combat the threats against him, he recruits other members of the youtube community to collab with and talk about issues. He makes it fun. He’s cooked Jewish foods, celebrated Jewish holidays, and had fun discussions with other personalities. 

Bev 

is a famous fashion designer and makeup artist. She got her start on Instagram, posting her designs and outfits that she created. Sh started young. Like 15 years old. As she grew up and went to school, her fashion instagram grew. People got to see her skills improve and they watched as she turned into a teenager designing clothes in her bedroom to a design student to a professional

She gives fashion tips to people and her favorite hobby is making posts that help girls and boys create fun, new, and exciting clothes out of what they already have in their closet

She firmly believes that you don’t need to have money and status to dress well. She wants fashion to be accessible. 

She started a youtube channel out of request from her followers. She got a lot of comments about her makeup and she started to do makeup tutorials there (Think Sailor J)

People really started to see how funny she was, then. She would always throw little bullshit videos onto her story but this was the first time she posted video content that didn’t disappear after 24h

Her youtube is not nearly as active as her instagram. That’s where you can find all of her content

She is also a vocal activist against child abuse on her insta. She frequently donates to various organizations and she does it very publicly. She runs clothing drives for those in need and has even hosted makeover days for young girls whose families can’t afford good clothes/makeup. 

She has recently expanded her fashion designs to male clothing, promoting Non Binary, Trans, and other identities in her lines. She says “Clothing has no gender” and pushes that despite advice to lay low on the issue. 

Mike

is a super unlikely case of internet fame. His instagram is composed almost entirely of his farm animals. He really didn’t think he was going to get famous from it. He just loves his farm so fucking much

The first half of his internet fame just consisted of pictures and videos of his animals. Namely, his dog Mr. Chips and his cow, Barely. They were best friends and Mike posted pictures of them napping together, playing together, and helping him run the farm

Once he started to gain an unreasonable about of followers he would pepper in posts that were educational. He talked about the importance of farmers, the work that he does, and how he maintains his animals. He worked to debunk a lot of myths about farming and really promote the work that he does. 

He still posts a lot of videos of him with his animals being all cute, but he uses his activism to reach large numbers of people at a single time. 

He also promotes healthy eating on his instagram. He talks about balanced diets and how to moderate sweets intake. 

Eventually he talks about working out (because Mike Hanlon is ripped sorry I don’t make the rules) and helps build an all around healthy lifestyle for his following. He kind of accidentally becomes a life coach of sorts. Motivation, healthy living, and cute animals. 

He has no idea how it happened but he doesn’t regret a single minute of it

Ben

is a singer! This sweet old mother fucker started out on youtube when he was 16. He bought a Ukulele and started writing love songs for the girl he was pining after

We all know that one mother fucker who owed a Ukulele in high school

His voice was like velvet, though. He wasn’t popular enough for anyone to really see it so he didn’t get teased in high school for it. His first couple videos got only a handful of views

What kick started his fame is a cover video. When he decided he wanted to do an acoustic cover of Lady Gaga’s Love Game

He did it on Ukulele

It ended up being such a fun and unique cover of such a popular song that he got noticed. Like. The video fucking blew up. He ended up getting over 5 thousand views overnight and the number just kept growing

Ben ran with it. He covered other popular songs (I Kissed a Girl, Viva La Vida, So What, etc) 

He blew up so hard and fast that people started to notice his original works

He got noticed by a label and signed the summer after he graduated high school

His first album was a love album because it’s Ben come on

He doesn’t have much of a social media presence after his youtube channel. He has the mandatory instagram and twitter that all famous people seem to have but they’re fairly inactive

Collabs

Richie and Bill

Richie and Bill were the first to collab with each other. Richie acted in Bill’s first webseries and it built a friendship that lasts a lifetime. 

The two of them do stupid youtube challenges with each other whenever they’re in the same city

Bill used to guest on Richie’s channels and play improv games to help both of them work on their comedy. They always turn out ridiculously funny and normally involve some level of alcohol

When Bill lost his younger brother in a car accident (sorry georgie dies in like every single universe) Richie flew out to see Bill and spend time with him. The two of them filmed a vlog together where they talked about the loss and then they both donated to anti drunk driving campaigns and urged their followers to do the same and never drive drunk

Richie and Eddie

They met for the first time at vidcon when they were first starting out. Richie was already pretty big but Eddie was working on his following. They hit it off immediately and they filmed a video for Eddie’s channel that focused on Eddie debunking stereotypes surrounding the LGBT community. Richie added a tasteful comedic flair that brought in views and he taught Eddie that things don’t always need to be serious 100% of the time

They kept in loose contact after that, always meeting up at vidcon and filming a ridiculous video for Eddie’s channel

2 years later, Richie reached out to Eddie and asked him to film a video for Richie’s channel

He wouldn’t tell Eddie what it was until they were in front of the camera, but Eddie readily agreed. He loved working with Richie. He thought he was fun and witty

When they got in front of the camera Richie revealed that he was bisexual and that Eddie’s videos helped him learn about bisexuality and come to terms with it

They spent the video talking about Richie’s journey to self acceptance, why he decided to come out, and Eddie’s knowledge surrounding sexual identity development. The video ended up being 15 minutes long and had the highest comment numbers Richie had ever seen. Not every comment was positive, but he took the experience in stride and started doing little bits of advocacy here and there for his and other channels 

Richie and Eddie end up dating, but not for a long, long time after that video when they’re both living in LA and well established in their youtube careers. 

Bev and Mike

An unlikely combo for an unlikely youtube star! Bev and Mike do a collab that focuses on self esteem and loving yourself!

Mike gives health tips and Bev gives fashion advice, but both of them talk about the importance of self worth and how external image means nothing if you don’t love yourself first. They both talk about their own journeys. 

The collab starts because Bev finds out about Mike through insta and she ends up contacting him about wool. They partner up business wise and Mike helps provide wool for her fashion line while Bev promotes his farm work. 

They don’t do many intentional collabs after they one, but they do show up on each others stories and in pictures together very frequently. The two become best friends

Ben and Bev

They don’t collab. But they do get married. 

They meet through the fame and bustle of L.A. Ben’s music career makes him end up at the same Gala as Bev, where they’re introduced to each other. They hit it off immediately, connecting with their childhoods and such. 

They date for 3 years before Ben proposes via Flash Mob and song written just for Bev

Bev loves the song so much she insists Ben release it. It becomes a Billboard hit

Eddie and Stan

Stan finds himself in NYC where Eddie lives and he reaches out to do an educational collab on LGBT politics in the Jewish community. 

He takes Eddie rock climbing and the two film the video with go pros. 

Eddie is terrified at first and it makes for a funny introduction but he eventually gets his bearings and the two of them scale a cliff together, talking about issues and getting to know each other. 

Stan and Richie

Eddie introduces them after the Coming Out Video. 

They collab as frequently as they can

They do ridiculous shit and Stan films Richie’s commentary. Its hilarious

They have a natural chemistry and they feed off of each other. Stan didn’t know he was a funny guy until he met Richie. Then it just kind of came out of the woodwork. Richie really highlighted Stan’s eccentric sense of humor. 

Everyone

Richie and Bev are childhood best friends

Eventually, they all end up meeting. They don’t really film videos with each other. Sometimes there’s a vlog that includes more than two of them but very rarely are they all in the same video at the same time. 

It happened intentionally once. It was chaos. Everyone was drunk. The video had to be edited so severely that it was only 1 minute and 30 seconds

They do however show up in snapchats, insta stories, and pictures as a group. By the time they’re all 30 they’re very, very good friends

[mishaledddd-blog]

unreal relationship #4

Bowers was found near the front door; he stood in the middle of the living room, to Stan's surprise, leaving his shoes on the rug. This is… Pretty sweet of him. The guy smiled at his own thoughts, awkwardly waving his hand at his guest to follow him. Henry looked awkward surrounded by expensive furniture and tried once again not to touch this or that thing. This made Stan fall in love with him even more. He is incredible.

— In general, Henry, — upon arrival in the room, the curly donkey sacked onto the bed, getting down to business. His companion looked around in surprise, expecting to see in the room of a pedantic Jew the same as in the whole house. White empty walls and fragile vases, for example, but not the room of the average teenager at the height of the transitional age. — My parents don't believe that I have a boyfriend…

Henry folded his arms over his chest, looking at him with disdain and skepticism.

— Because you don't have it, I think.

— Yes, but they don’t know about it, and we just need to make them believe it, you know? And when I say this, I mean… — Stan buried a trembling hand in his curly dark hair, afraid to utter the following words and see the reaction of Henry. — I mean everything that lovers usually do, you know. They have to see… — He faltered again, swallowing the sticky drool of anticipation. — Our love.

Bowers did not look surprised and did not show disgust. Surely, when making a decision, he thought about it more than once, about his forced actions concerning Uris and those words that he would have to say to him in adults. How will look at him. So he just nodded in response, awaiting further explanation. Stan had enough of that; the lightening sigh he himself broke from his weathered lips and he even smiled. Next to Henry, his body was always tense, because this man didn’t fit into his world at all, you could expect anything from him, and it aroused all of nature. Henry was a wild beast, and Stan was just a stupid man who cherished the hope that he could tame him.

— In-in general, in front of them, we will hold hands and kiss.

— As you say.

Stan was even more surprised when he looked at Henry with his eyes wide open.

— But if anyone ever finds out about this, — he looked back at him threateningly and the guy was relieved to understand that Henry was still the same, he just really wanted money. — To your end, loser, you know that I'm not joking.

He came up to Uris inadmissibly close, so much so that he could even feel warm, heavy breathing on his cheek with the smell of cigarettes and Juicy Fruit. His strong hands forced the mattress to bend with a creak, he did not take a warning look from Stan, who had become frozen by such unexpected contact, and then he grinned altogether, recoiling.

— If you are going to play a couple that have been together for quite a long time, shouldn't you be more cold? Or do you just like me?

— Not at all, — Stan immediately waved his hands often, feeling the blood inside boil with adrenaline and excitement. — It's even better, right? Parents should see my sincere feelings… And yours too.

— Yes, yes, I will work on my loving look at the mirror, of course, all for the sake of money.

— How much did Richie promise you? — Stan asked suddenly. His family was quite rich and he could pay any price, however, Bowers answer did not explain this to him.

— Not so much. Consider that I do it for free, it will cost you nothing.

For some reason, the brown-haired looked at the same time a little sad. However, not only Stan had the ability to change masks like gloves, and Henry immediately pretended that everything was in order. Stan was not sure that he could ask him about his state of health, because they are not friends, but rather former school enemies, but this still has weight. A heavy, even weary sigh itself escaped from the lips. They still had a lot of work and he was not sure that three days would be enough, because to communicate with Henry, even despite his agreement and willingness to cooperate, it was still difficult. His heart… «Created all sorts of garbage and threatened to arrange for him to meet with death ahead of time», strictly speaking.

— In this case! — he got up from a soft bed, embarking on confused looking around the room in search of the right. A drawing album, old and with several yellowed pages, has served him for many years. There were many drawings of birds, and just nature in general. Henry himself, without noticing it, looked first at the graceful lines of drawings, although he had not been interested in art before, and then at Uris's beautiful hands. His long fingers took a pencil and began to draw a plan of action. — I’m sure my father heard about you. No offense, but we will have to try to be accepted… — Stan muttered something quietly under his breath, so the guy with the earring in his ear had to sit next to him and bend down to his face almost closely. — Are there any provocative questions? Let's invent a beautiful, but realistic love story. We find out each other's interests… — when Stan lifted his head slightly to ask Henry about something, he was frightened to see his face so close to his. Again. — Discuss the scope of what is permitted.

— The framework of what is permitted is good.

However, the bully was not in a hurry to move away. He liked to see the confusion on the face of the usually calm and unshakable Uris. A guy from a good Jewish family who, it turns out, has dirty thoughts about people of his own sex. Surprisingly, in the modest opinion of Bowers, but definitely nice. He had his reasons for thinking that. Stan was embarrassed and fell out of bed due to the awkward movement, although usually he was just an example of confidence. He, red and disheveled, got up from his seat and brushed off his pants, as if there could be rubbish at all. This is his room, after all.

Henry grinned at that, feeling the heat in his chest. Yes, such Stan is unusual, more homely and absolutely exactly cute, he liked. He immediately tried to stop thinking about it. His goal is to simply do what is required and get the money, it's not even a pleasant pastime. Totally.

— I think you should come to work with me tomorrow. There we will be able to discuss everything, it’s just that the time is already late and I’m tired — Stan, clinging awkwardly to the castle, was looking for reasons to stay alone and calm down, because Henry Bowers along with his strong hands and pleasant smell should not be, made him worry. — It would be better if my parents did not see you. Mom now cleans the pantry, and the father is in the office in the morning, so you need to be careful

Bowers got up after him, looking the guy from head to toe. Standing in the middle of his own room, he suddenly seemed small and frightened. Henry would feel like a real bastard, not noticing it and staying here. He nodded shortly, looking away to the side and noticing the window, which could not be seen from behind the curtains that matched the color of the wallpaper. It was not so high, and besides, a tall tree growing nearby gave him a strange, but interesting in its riskiness, idea. Without further ado, he began to open the window, followed by the panicked look of the room owner and his questions. The window sill met his hooligan ass with cold. Before barefoot touched the rough bark of the tree, Henry looked over Stan with a grin. Devils danced in his gaze.

— Go out the door and give me my shoes, be so kind, — with these words, without any grace, he tried as carefully as possible to jump from the branch to the next, and then to the soft, slightly damp grass. Stan was anxiously watching this action, and when gray eyes glared at him in response, he hurriedly retreated into the room. His heart was beating loudly in his chest and with each of his blow Stan's world was crumbling to pieces due to the awareness of his own feelings. He was a smart guy, but right now he was simply a standard of idiocy. As carefully as possible, he went downstairs, bypassing the living room and empty corridors. Thank God, no one ever found out about the arrival of Henry Bowers.

— Here, — Stan handed over his faded sneakers to the above, thinking that he would definitely buy him a new guy, albeit unreal. He can not let this handsome look in front of older Uris, as if a ragged from the street, but that is exactly what Henry was.

By the way, he looked like he didn’t want to leave at all — he looked at his former classmate with an unreadable look. On one side, Stan understood him because quite a lot of time had passed since Richie arrived; it was noticeably darker and cold in the street, but before he could say anything, Bowers fell from his stupor. He grunted something quietly, and then awkwardly pulled on his sneakers.

— I'll come closer to dinner when the break starts at work, — hearing this, Stan glanced at him blankly, with a little respect. — What? You didn’t think that one of them is so correct and you are running around looking for money, jewish ass?

Stan chose to leave the appeal to himself unnoticed, silently radiating waves of interest.

— I'm fixing the car. Well, you know, poking around in the engines and maraya hands in engine oil. It fits me.

Perhaps this is true. In any case, only with one view of sweaty, half-naked Henry, who strains his muscles in order to tighten some part, Stan’s whole body trembled. He blushed more and more, as his thoughts became more and more frank and cheeky, and when he came to himself, he realized that he was left standing on the street completely alone. The singing of crickets and the chattering of cicadas tore the silence of the night as he slowly realized one thing. Henry Bowers does not know the address of his work, and Uris himself forgot to tell him about it. Fuck.

[sea-lilli]

Breisheet Bara Eloheem

My first post as an anonymous blogger- how exciting! It’s so freeing to write while knowing I’ll never reveal this to anyone. Most of my other work is all attached to my name: because it focuses on trauma, and I think it’s healing to attach a name and a face to those things, for the people who are still working through the fears of revealing their trauma. But, I’m tired of trauma and I have healed from it fully, and I don’t think my audience is ready for what I’m putting out. It’s just so healing, and people are so scared. I have limited myself for a year, just posting memes instead of real content on my social medias. But now, I am free because I am anonymous :)

So, an intro to me: I am fairy. I'm not “out” to the people in my life, but it’s a big part of who I am right now. I have been writing since I was 14 years old, and my writing (and art) can heal, sometimes too fast for people, but I am learning control, and it’s all for the better, anyway. I am “exclusive” with someone who I’ve been on & off with for about a year, and I’m secretly in love with him.

My trauma is that my bio-dad tortured my immediate family and me with mental, verbal, emotional, spiritual, physical and sexual abuse (you name it, he did it, and regularly!) for all of my childhood years. He raped me at 15 years old. He did the same to my sister much earlier, though hers was much more frequent instead of a one time event. I knew, though, going through it and I knew to get help, but I chose to stay for my mom and sister, because of skewed thought processes. 

I finally escaped my abuse at 18 when I got married to my first husband, 21 when started counseling and started setting healthier boundaries, 25 or so when I went “no contact” with anybody in my family other than my sister, 27 or so when I had a spiritual and religious healing experience, which led to a divorce after almost 10 years of marriage, regained healthy contact with my mom through that, and now, at around 30 years old, I am finally phasing out of counseling for the traumas I’ve endured, because I no longer need it. I will never talk to my bio-dad again, but I have worked very hard on forgiving him... with boundaries.

I have gone to college and graduated, but I spent my 20s being horribly depressed, and so I don’t have the 10 year experience others my age have towards working in their desired careers. However, I live off grid on my own land, and so my expenses are so low that it doesn’t matter. I have a lot of freedom that others my age don’t have, though I don’t have the family benefits or career benefits they had.

I am heavily involved in my church (Mormon), though I don’t agree with everything they say. I go to Jesus Church each Sunday for the first hour sacrament and then immediately jump in my car and head to Unitarian Universalist church for a sermon, “social hour” and then, sometimes a class after. I used to go to both hours of Jesus Church, but they changed the timing and this is how it works out for now. It will change each year though, but I spend a lot of time in church between my two churches each Sunday. It’s my favorite day. I also attend any other churches that I feel drawn to: my friend is catholic, and I’m thinking of asking to also attend her Spanish-speaking service every once in a while, and I’ve gone to Pagan rituals, Jewish ceremonies, etc (via UU Church).

My religion is pretty eclectic, and I kind of make it up as I go along. But, I have a very strong underlying belief in Heavenly Father. He is the one who healed me from my mental illnesses, after only having been converted for about a year into the Mormon faith, and that was life-changing, because I was extremely secular before. I also believe in Heavenly Mother, who I am now actively attempting to develop a relationship with, after years of being told to shun her. I identified before with my trauma and shaped my personality around it, so when I healed so fast and stopped identifying with it, people were very scared. My healing challenged their own issues, but I pushed through it. I still have a pretty scarred relationship with the people who reacted so badly before.

I am politically very liberal and very feminist, and very much a (lazy) activist. I believe in Marriage Equality, and am pro-choice. I follow the Words of Wisdom, but I’ve reframed the Law of Chastity, because I think the one that’s existing is extremely problematic, and I didn’t see a change happening anytime soon. I follow my own rules for intrinsic reasons, not because somebody tells me to do it.

I love the prophet, though, as most Mormons do, and I pray for him when I remember. I love all the changes he is bringing, and I think he is held back from making more positive changes by some of the more conservative members (looking at you, Oaks!).

A lot of my beliefs make me different from the other Mormons, and I think sometimes if they knew, they would excommunicate me, because I’m not sorry for the differences. This is what religion is for, for developing your own personal relationship with your Heavenly Parents and acting accordingly. I am sorry that more people don’t have the courage to live authentically. I know that I’m not the only one with conflicting viewpoints, but I am one of the only ones who actively expresses it. Either way, even if I did face excommunication for my beliefs, I would still attend regularly. I am a handful. :) 

I love the Mormon church though, for the people. I had a lot of religious pain growing up with my distorted family, but Mormonism has erased a lot of it, because they’re just.. different. And they care, and actively try to be better people, which matches my personal value system.

Let’s see...

There are so many logistics to this anonymity! I’ll need to come up with a master list with all the different aliases so I can keep them straight. Or, maybe not- it seems like a lot of effort to keep up with. I’ll do some research! I also need to get a privacy screen, because I’m kind of digging writing out in plain site. I hope one day to monetize my blog, but that’s so far off. Right now, I just want to focus on building a support community while being able to be freely and uniquely me in an online space, without all of the judgement that comes from attaching your name to your work. I’m going to try to update regularly, as this is going to be one of my healthy supports I’m developing to wean myself off of counseling.

But I’m done writing for now. See you next time :)

-Lilli

[the-record-columns]

Oct. 23, 2019: Columns

Ava Dowell — ‘My Journey’

By KEN WELBORN

Record Publisher

Ava Dowell is truly in inspiration just to be around.

She speaks from the heart, a thankful and faithful heart, of her life with cancer. She has become a nationwide advocate for Breast Cancer Research and help for dealing with cancer and its survivors--which she proudly numbers at nearly four million women. 

A Wilkes native, Dowell has spent much of her life in Seattle, and her tireless advocacy and work on breast cancer awareness is celebrated during "Ava Dowell Day" there.

She is referred to by many as the Wilkes Face of Breast Cancer. This past Saturday she sponsored a Breast Cancer Awareness Luncheon at the Wilkes County Public Library in North Wilkesboro.  Among the various handouts was a copy of what she refers to as "My Journey," It follows below.

My Journey

During my annual mammogram in April 2011, the image did not detect a tumor that was in my right breast.  (As I have learned later, this was due to the density within the breast.)  However, three months later while showering, I noticed this lump-like knot grossly protruding from my right breast.  I was in total shock!  It had been lying dormant and unnoticed.

I contacted my primary doctor immediately, and she ordered a MRI and biopsy.  I was diagnosed with TRIPLE NEGATIVE BREAST CANCER, a very serious Breast Cancer diagnosis.  My awesome medical team recommended that I seek a second medical opinion.  The Seattle Cancer Alliance Center confirmed the original diagnosis. My next step was to meet with the oncology surgeon.  I knew that I needed support to help me navigate this important meeting.  I asked my girlfriend of 30 years to attend the meeting with me.  Also, the Director of the Breast Cancer Survivor Group (Angel Care), who is also a breast cancer survivor, was able to attend as well.

  As you would imagine, the whole situation was overwhelming.  All of us listened carefully and took many notes.  After many long exasperated hours of prayer, discussions, etc., I opted for bilateral mastectomies; followed by eight aggressive cycles of chemotherapy.  The chemo drugs felt like a human mass of fungus flowing though my body.

  Through it all, I knew that I would not let breast cancer, and the negative effects of chemotherapy treatment defeat me!  I was going to FIGHT this Cancer!  My medical team had explained to me about the daunting pros and cons of Triple Negative Breast Cancer.  I didn't allow my medical team, including my primary care doctor of 29 years, influence my thinking.  I was going to succeed.

  The diagnosis of CANCER has made me look at my life and how I want to live it.  I believe I have a God given purpose to be a change agent for spreading breast cancer awareness.  I am now an advocate for breast cancer research and educating women on the importance of early detection.

  I am committed to attending breast cancer symposiums and conferences to further my education.  My mission is to be a voice to women who need the moral support to fight this terrible disease.

  It doesn't matter what type of Breast Cancer or the Stage of your diagnosis.  The bottom line is making sure you get the best treatment possible, and that means EARLY DETECTION!!!!!  Please join me...not only get your examination, also talk to family, friends, etc., to ensure they do the same.

  Support one another with God in your heart.  Together we can find a CURE.

  Many blessings to you all.

   Ava Dowell

  “Attention Please: Halloween Has Been Cancelled”

By HEATHER DEAN

Record Reporter

The words in the headline of this column is exactly what some children across the nation are hearing from their school system administrations.

The reasoning is that Halloween is not an inclusive enough holiday.

Chicago school district said, “As part of our school and district-wide commitment to equity, we are focused on building community and creating inclusive, welcoming environments for all. While we recognize that Halloween is a fun tradition for many, it is not a holiday that is celebrated by everyone for various reasons and we want to honor that. We are also aware of the range of inequities that are embedded in Halloween celebrations that take place as part of the school day and the unintended negative impact that it can have on students, families, and staff. As a result, we support our schools that are moving away from Halloween celebrations that include costumes and similar traditions.”

The scary part? It’s not just in Illinois. This has been taking hold with Iowa, Connecticut, and New Jersey on the list, some cancelling parades, zombie walks, and even trick or treating citing safety issues.  Other states, including Delaware, Alabama, Missouri, California, Virginia, New York and Georgia, have strict rules for trick or treating.

Halloween has been celebrated in this country since the late 1600’s and evolved across the years from America’s melting pot of immigrant cultures. So, it’s under attack why, exactly? Avoiding hurt feelings? Slacking on the part of Educations system?  Nah, just follow the money and the people behind it…

Corporations continue to rack up. Halloween comes in second only to Christmas in spending, with an average $2.5 billion a year and gaining, and continues on the upward slant of becoming people’s favorite (guilt-free) holiday.  And why wouldn’t it be?  It’s the one day a year you can be anything you want, differences don’t matter, and everyone gets a treat regardless.

Halloween is firmly planted in our society; it’s as American as pumpkin pie for goodness sake. But that’s not what many in the Church want to hear.  In 2017, a poll showed that 87 percent of believers feel that Christians should not celebrate Halloween, while 13 percent believe it’s okay. I mean it’s got to encompass at least four of the seven sins, right? Some may consider that percentage low, but I can tell you first hand that many in this county refuse to be a part of our annual Halloween Parade, (even though it’s a fundraiser for a non-profit that benefits kids in this county) citing religious beliefs.  

My childhood religion was part of the 87 percent to the extreme. Growing up in what I fondly refer to as “the cult” we were not allowed to celebrate any holiday. During class birthday, Valentines Day, and St. Patrick’s Day parties, class field trips to see the symphony perform a Christmas show at the Walker Center, even making Mothers’ Day cards, we had to go sit in the library and do school work. Attending the school’s “fall festival” was walking a tight line, because many of the staff dressed up in costume and handed out candy. Even then, I would never consider it fair to cancel a holiday just because of us three kids who didn’t celebrate.

Here in Wilkes, I know of children who’s only Halloween celebration they will get is in the class, because families can’t afford costumes, or gas to take the kids out.  And what’s next, telling an entire class of elementary students that they can’t color handouts of Hanukah or Kwanza candles, and Yule logs because they are “not a holiday that is celebrated by everyone for various reasons?”  

Since North Carolina is not on this list yet, may I ask a small favor? Don’t be a Halloween Nazi.

If a kid comes to your door, festival or trunk-or-treat, and you judge them to be “too old for this” just give them the candy anyway. At least they aren’t in a gang, vandalizing, or doing drugs. They say it takes a village, so I admonish you to keep “building community and creating inclusive, welcoming environments for all” in your Halloween festivities, not the lack thereof.  

No Peace or Prosperity for the average "Palestinian"

By AMBASSADOR EARL COX and KATHLEEN COX

The Palestinian leadership is basically divided into two entities.  One is Hamas, an internationally designated terrorist organization, which governs Gaza, and the other is the PA/PLO.  The Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) is the national representative of the Palestinian people. It runs the Palestinian National Authority (PA), the semi-autonomous government tasked with managing the Palestinian territories (until it makes a deal with Israel). Fatah, the secular nationalist political party that’s dominated Palestinian politics for decades, controls the PLO and PA.  In practice, the PLO runs the government in the West Bank but not in Gaza, which is governed by Hamas. It also conducts peace talks on behalf of the Palestinians, but its authority to implement those deals has, in the past, been hampered by poor relations with Hamas.

Hamas, which won the last Palestinian election and controls the Gaza Strip, rejected the recent “Peace and Prosperity Plan” being discussed since Hamas is guided by the Islamic principle of “Jihad” – holy war against the non-believers – and openly rejects Israel’s very right to exist. Any plan that does not wipe Israel off the face of the globe is, was, and always will be, unacceptable.  For them to accept any plan that changes the status quo, the PA/PLO would have to give up their eternal narrative of victim-hood and accept Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state with defensible borders.  Somehow the woes of twenty-five years of failed leadership for the Palestinian people are all blamed on Israel. It's time for the world to encourage a new path for those calling themselves Palestinians.  If the Palestinian people truly want a better life, it’s time they end their perpetual discourse which defines them as constantly facing adversity and suffering loss and blaming it all on Israel.  It's time for the Palestinians to move forward toward a future defined by dignity, integrity, honesty and a heartfelt desire for peace and cooperative existence. Their biggest enemy is not Israel nor the United States.  The biggest enemy of the Palestinian people is the evil dwelling within their own hearts, minds, culture and ideology.  For decades they have blamed the Israeli “occupation” for everything deemed wrong in their lives thus absolving themselves of any responsibility. Until the Palestinians change their mindset and embrace values conducive to nurturing an atmosphere of peace, they will never move an inch toward gaining a better and brighter future – with or without an independent state.

So, why has the Palestinian leadership rejected the Peace and Prosperity Plan?  To begin with, the plan demands accountability.  The reforms which the Peace and Prosperity Plan suggested to the Palestinian legal, educational, and health systems reflected deep-seated and wholly justifiable criticism of the failed, biased, and ineffectual systems of the PA/PLO, which has abused billions of dollars of donor aid. But the primary obstacle came when the US authors of the plan dared to state that the financial resources raised would not be given directly to the PA/PLO but rather would be “administered by a multilateral development bank” that would ensure its efficient and effective allocation so that “all the Palestinians – not just the wealthy and connected – share in the benefits of peace.” This is the real reason for the PA/PLO rejection of the plan. It's no secret that for years the Palestinian leaders have fed their own bank accounts with millions of dollars of donor aid. This is how the late Yasser Arafat, president of the PA, was able to maintain a residence in Paris on the Champs Elysees in which his wife resided most of the time.  The current president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, a.k.a Abu Mazen, has an estimated net worth of well over $100 million much of which is believed to have come from embezzlement. 

In order to maintain wealth, power and authority, it’s advantageous to keep the masses poor, downtrodden and agitated.  This, in a nutshell, is why the leaders of the Palestinian people have rejected a plan that would have given the average Palestinian a shot at a life of peace and modest prosperity.

The Cake Went Upside Down

By CARL WHITE

Life in the Carolinas

It was a busy weekend for on location productions. It all started early Saturday at the Taylorsville Apple Festival as we continued our search for some of the tastiest apple pies in the Carolinas. Cameras were on location early enough to see the morning come alive.  

We were aware of the reputation of two fried apple pie makers and were in time to witness the line of people waiting for the pies before the festival officially opened. It was a great visit with the pie makers and those who were in line for not just one pie, but 10 to 20 pies.

The fresh hot apple cider was also a big treat. We watched as the apples we put in a grinder and then into a crusher to make pure juice. It was heated and then served; No need to add sugar, Mother Nature added the perfect amount.

It was then time to join camera crew members already in Hudson, NC. This was the beginning of our two-day coverage and stage production around Jan Karon Days. Jan was born in the Dula Hospital in Lenoir and then lived with her grandparents in Hudson as a child.  

Jan Karon is best known and admired for her New York Times bestselling Mitford novels. Her accomplishments are significant and that’s why the first celebration of Jan Karon Days was so special.  

Our involvement started a few months prior with call from Hudson resident and Commissioner Ann Smith. It was during that conversation that I became more than a little intrigued with idea of doing a segment around Hudson and Jan Karon.

Little did I know from that call the story would turn into far more than a short segment. As our research developed, I filled my Audible book listening line up with Mitford books.    

As many of you know, I spend a great deal of time traveling the Carolinas for story research, development or on location production. All that translates to a lot of time for me to think and listen.

Father Tim and many of the Mitford residents became my traveling companions. There were many moments of laughter, reflection and consideration. While I enjoy reading, I love hearing a story come to life with the spoken word.

After many visits and calls with the dynamic trio of Ann, Cathy and Janice at the HUB Center in Hudson, we were ready for our action-packed weekend.

Everyone was in place for the 11:30 a.m., Jan Parade which featured a blending of local dignitaries and Mitford personalities. Jan rode in a red convertible driven by Father Tim and her car would slow and stop as fans approached.

The parade was delightfully charming with seemingly endless smiles.

And then it was time for a special lunch gathering. The lunch was preset and consisted of very healthy portions of a tasty chicken salad, pasta salad, assorted cheeses and grapes. The center piece of each table was a beautiful Orange Marmalade Cake.

All was going well. I shared a table with our crew and Hudson leaders. We were all enjoying our chicken salad but there was much talk about the cake. I decided that I would cut the cake. Some wanted smaller pieces, and some wanted larger pieces.  Regardless of the size, we all loved the cake and with almost half remaining, it was time for a few smaller second pieces. So…I went in to do my work once again. The thing that I did not consider was the fact that I had already cut half the cake and the weight of the remaining cake was mostly on one side. As I went in for the second round, I touched the side of the cake stand. I’m not sure how, but it was as if time slowed as we all watched the remaining cake turn completely upside down.  

Amazement and laughter ensued; everyone looked our way and the chef arrived with an offer to bring a new cake.

The rest of the day went well and ended with a dinner theater experience.

But one thing is for sure, the Upside-Down Orange Marmalade Cake is best enjoyed with friends and laughter.

Thanks for the memoires Jan.

I’ll tell you about Sunday next week. It was a grand day indeed.

Carl White is the Executive Producer and Host of the award-winning syndicated TV show Carl White’s Life In The Carolinas. The weekly show is now in its 11th year of syndication and can be seen in the Charlotte market on WJZY Fox 46 Saturday’s at noon and My 12. The show also streams on Amazon Prime. For more information visit www.lifeinthecarolinas.com. You can email Carl at Carl@lifeinthecarolinas.com

[all-the-single-psychos]

The Maverick-Verse:  Witches

(Please note:  the Biblical and Talmudic references I use in this post and put twists on are NOT to be taken as fact.  I have merely used them as a basis for the mythos I’ m working on.  Please don't spam me with messages calling me a blasphemer, I’m not trying to subvert the Christian faith here, just using references as inspiration for my own works.)

LONG POST WARNING!

So, in this universe I have created, there are individuals known as witches.  They’re basically what you might think:  mostly women, proficient with magic, and able to curse people.  However, they don't have any special appearance usually.  They look like normal people.

According to lore, the first witch was Lilith.  Lilith was said, in Jewish folktales, to be the first wife of Adam, before Eve was created.  In actuality, Lilith was a demon who tried to trick Adam, which ultimately backfired when he caught her bathing in her true demonic form.

Found out, Lilith left the garden of Eden in a rage and escaped into the rest of the Earth.  Eventually, she settled down, disguised as a human, and started a family.

Her first children, two daughters named Asherah and Naamah, became the first official witches, practicing demonic magic for a profit.  The magical arts and the teachings thereof were hitherto passed down from daughter to daughter, or the nearest female relative if no daughters were available.

However, trouble started when two of Naamah’s descendants, Hannah and Adah, disagreed over the proper use of magic.  Hannah wanted to break away from the whole evil-magic thing and actually do something beneficial for people with her power.  Adah wanted to keep to tradition.

So, the two sisters broke away from each other.  Hannah and sundry others who felt the same way redeemed themselves by using their powers for good.  They became an entirely separate race known as Fae.  I’ll get to the Fae in another post.

Adah’s people remained as they were, as witches using their power for their own gain.  As the earth’s population began to grow and time ticked on into the modern ages, witches began to form little groups, the infamous “coven” concept.  In these covens, rituals were often performed with large groups of witches in order to keep their bloodline going.

(NSFW under the cut!)

In one such ritual called Lilith’s Womb, performed only when the demonic blood was in danger of dying out from the witch population one special witch was chosen in each coven to become the “Vessel of Lilith”.  A special incantation would be performed which would summon Lilith from the pits of hell to possess the witch.  The possessed witch would then sleep with a man specifically chosen for the purpose, ensuring that the “Lilith” would become pregnant and the demonic heritage reestablished.  It didn't end so well for the man though, as he was killed immediately after the act, in order to finish out the ritual.  In fact, the concept of the black widow, a woman who marries a man only to kill him later, was actually a fictionalization of the Lilith’s Womb ritual.

Another tradition of witches was the concept of the familiar, that animal companion that stuck by the witch forever and shared some of their power, sometimes enhancing it.  A witch did not choose their familiar, the familiar chose them.  You know how you just “know” when you’ve found the person you’re going to marry?  It’s a lot like that when a witch meets their familiar.

A familiar can be any sort of animal, from dogs to horses, even a tarantula.  Depending on the familiar, some can speak audibly in human language, while others are merely able to communicate in their natural sounds and be understood by their witch.  In societies where familiars were passed down from mother to daughter/son, some witches often possessed the body of their familiar after death so they could mentor and protect their child.

Some witches chose not to participate in covens and instead attempted to lead relatively normal lives.  One of these was Julia Edith Bishop, the mother of the boy who would later become the infamous CheckMate.  Julia began learning witchcraft from her mother at the age of thirteen, when she began menstruating, as was the custom among most witches.  Various covens do things a bit differently, with some beginning instruction of their children at a certain age, others when they start puberty.  

As for Julia, when she reached age eighteen, the age of choosing, she chose the mortal world.

See, at eighteen, a young witch is forced to choose between their coven or the mortal world.  If they choose their coven, they spend the rest of their life like their foremothers in evil practice.  If they choose the mortal world, they are turned out and forbidden from ever seeing or contacting their family again.  Needless to say, the idea of being shunned makes most young witches choose the coven.

Those who choose mortality and the human world are stripped of their demonic immortality, though they retain what magic they have learned.  They go on to live normal lives, have families and jobs.

How do you tell a witch from a normal person?  You really can’t.  There could be one right next to you and you wouldn't even know.

However, you know those people who seem to have special little quirks?  That girl whose eyes seem to change to match her outfit?  The boy who can slip into a role so easily in drama class?

What about that kid who always seems to know how you’re feeling even if you don't say a word?

Yeah.

Now you know why.

Most witches identify with a certain element by a certain age.  Not only does this include the four basic elements (fire, water, earth, air), but also other “elements”, for lack of a better word.  The six most common are Mind, Soul, Time, Space, Reality, and Morality.  A brief explanation of each “element” is below:

Fire:  The witch has an uncanny relationship with fire.  Most fire witches are able to manipulate fire without burning themselves, though there are a few who are completely fire-resistant.

Air:  Some air witches have the ability to fly.  The stereotypical image of a witch on a broomstick came from mortals catching glimpses of air witches.  Those air witches who cannot fly have the ability to manipulate the winds.

Earth:  These witches are incredibly in tune with nature, being the ones with the proverbial “green thumb”.  They tend to have a lot of plants all over the place and spend a lot of time hiking in the woods.

Water:  The swimmers.  Some water witches can communicate with fish and/or manipulate currents or tides.  The legends of sirens and mermaids sprung up from sightings of highly advanced water witches who learned how to partially transform into fish and lure sailors to their doom.

Mind:  These are some of the most powerful and feared witches of all.  Many mind witches have green eyes that often glow when they channel their powers.  Mind witches can control the mind to do anything they want, most commonly through hypnosis induced by eye contact.  This is also the most common type of magic to be passed down through bloodline.

Soul:  Another of the “Big Four” (Mind, Soul, Morality, and Reality), Soul witches have the ability to control life and death.  Often called “living Oujia boards”, these witches have the power of speaking with the dead and often serve as vessels for dead witches to do their will.  Soul witches are very highly honored, as they are usually most suited to become vessels for Lilith in the Lilith’s Womb ritual.  Some soul witches, after death, possess the body of their familiar in order to continue their existence.

Reality:  These witches can manipulate reality, usually through the act of lying, much like the “rumor” ability of The Umbrella Academy’s Allison Hargreeves.

Morality:  Witches of the Morality element have the ability to manipulate the concepts of right and wrong to their own ends.

Time:  These witches have the ability to manipulate time, whether to speed it up, slow it down, or sometimes stop it completely.  SOme more powerful witches have the ability to travel through time.  You know the feeling of deja vu?  There’s probably a time witch messing with you.

Space:  These witches are attuned with the stars.

[kalamanthana]

No one deserves your assumption, before you meet the person

Obama : Did you guys see Hilary leave?

Ben      : Yeah, she came out after a few minutes.

Obama : We went in, ordered some food, took pictures with the staff, and then  

               she left. I ended up shaking every hand in there. Most of the folks in  

               these places have been watching Fox News and think I’m the   

               Antichrist. But if you show up, shake their hand, and look them in the  

              eye, it’s harder for them to turn you into a caricature. You might even 

              pick up a few votes.

A conversation between Obama and Ben, his Deputy National Security Advisor. Took place in Charlotte, during the presidential campaign trail in 2016 when he was endorsing Clinton.

Assumption can lead to prejudice, or vice versa. And it’s an unfortunate thing when it limits human interaction.

In fact, our brain is hard-wired into certain assumptions, even prior meeting a person. It is inevitable.

But if you let it, you can always give a chance to the person—and to you as well—to see how chemistry works between you.

Growing up, I was raised in an environment whose majority thinks Jewish—as a nation and religion—and Israel, as a country, are enemies to us. 

I didn’t ask why. It just had been like that since the beginning, sometimes you don’t ask questions when they’re already presented on the table to you. And I didn’t develop any personal opinion on it either. I was ignorant.

Then came the time when I went study abroad to Tokyo, where I made a new friend from Israel, Nave. We were part of the same thesis group (Zemi, from “seminar”) consisting of around 5-6 people (which grew bigger with new students coming in each semester).

The environment at the time really encouraged each of us to be open; share your culture, share everything about your country, share about what brought you to Japan, etc. The more differences we brought to the table, the more cherished the moment was. It was a big gathering of nationalities.

Me and Nave, being a Muslim and a Jew, always made fun of the situation back home—not in a degrading way—just some anecdotes about “wow we really shouldn’t be friends, we can’t be friends.”

If I hadn’t come to Tokyo, I wouldn’t have met Nave, who turned out to be one of the kindest—not only nice, but kind—guys I have ever met.

Though we didn’t develop the closeness that I would claim as “best friends”, we’ve had encounters enough for me to think that he has the quality of not having any pretension when he interacts with people. Sometimes—I’m not happy with this and I’m trying to be a better person—I still treat people differently depending on my own ulterior motives. But Nave was not like that. He treated everyone with equal attention.

One time, me and my friend spotted him on the streets outside the Uni. Beside him was a striking, long-wavy hair lady with a stroller (I believe a baby was inside). Me and my friend immediately thought the same—jokingly—“Oh My God, is Nave having an affair with a married (and with a baby) lady?”

Next day at school, I relayed the circumstance to Nave, adding me and my friend’s deduction of his “allegedly affair”. “With the woman with a baby?” he asked amusingly. We just laughed at the irresponsible accusation. (Turns out she was just a visiting Israeli friend, with her husband nearby).

On our graduation day, my family came over to Tokyo and we were gathering in a room inside the Uni, where the faculty had reserved for the graduating students and their relatives. We introduced our family to friends, teachers.

Me and Nave had a bit of chat that day. I was about to introduce him to my family, when I saw a slight change of air on his face; I think the fact that “we don’t have a good history with each other” thought kind of stroked him at that moment. The way I saw it, he had thought it would be awkward for my Muslim parents to meet an Israeli.

But all went well. No bloodshed.

After he shook my father’s hand, he made the two-hands gesture (namaste-like) to my mother, a precaution that perhaps to my mom, since Nave was not her mahram it was inappropriate to have skin-contact. A very thoughtful gesture, I thought to myself.

To this day, I almost never have contact with him again, given that I’ve returned to Jakarta and he’s still in Japan.

But I do know for sure that if I had let that centuries-old assumption in to my brain—that Muslims and Jews just don’t work—that I wouldn’t let myself open to be friends with Nave, I would have missed a friendship. It would be such a waste.

This made me view the intricacy in a different way. Indeed, the complication of Muslims and Jews (or the situation that forces them to “have a situation”) is a mix of entangled histories, political agenda, and clashing interests. It’s unfair to speak on behalf of the entire Muslim community, but I do think befriending “the Other” is so much easier than to swallow all the assumptions, prejudice that were passed on to you about the Other.

And I would forever not understand what’s at stake: true, it is such a complex situation, but what we can do to be better?

Assumption can lead to prejudice, or vice versa. And prejudice can lead to war. Records of history show prejudice as the root of clashes and conflicts.

At times, the root of clashes, conflicts doesn’t lie on the fact that they have differences; they just don’t know each other yet. They let the hard-wired assumption ruled out the chance for them to give out some space to know each other. We conveniently assume, because we don’t know.

But today, I can see the environment we’re living now is embracing acceptance of differences. Not every time and every where, though.

But then again, what is civilisation without progress?

We will always encounter setbacks for every progress that we’ve achieved.

As said by Obama himself (paraphrasing it a bit), “Progress doesn’t follow a straight line. It zigs and zags.”

Life is tricky.

You had no idea that that girl you despised on first meet just because she looked snobbish; today would be the first person you run to to share even the tiniest, unimportant details of your experience.

You wouldn’t know in the first place that that girl you hated so much because you had thought she was a bully; years later you would take the earliest train from out of town on the break of dawn just to attend her wedding.

You can make cherished relationships with people you didn’t think of before, if you just let it.

Let’s try to be more unassuming. Embrace uncertainty.

[hollywoodjuliorivas]

Every good teacher knows that a great education depends on asking the right questions. Since we are living in a time in which the president of the United States has made an issue of American greatness, it behooves us to ask: Well, just what is it that makes a country great? I would argue the answer depends on how we choose to answer a few basic questions. So allow me to propose four of them. The first question is, How do we treat foreigners? A more academic way of putting that question is to ask, What is our attitude toward human capital? Do we recognize its inherent value and potential? Or do we tend to see people, especially immigrants, as liabilities: likely criminals, costly additions to the welfare rolls, threats to our cultural integrity, would-be terrorists, and so on? Because the subject of the DACA program for illegal immigrants brought to the U.S. as children has been in the news this year, I’ve done some research on this subject for my column. A few findings: Did you know that immigrants account for 35 percent of all U.S. Nobel Prize winners? Did you know that 83 percent of the finalists in the 2016 Intel Science Talent search — widely known as the junior Nobel — are the children of immigrants? Did you know that 40 percent of all Fortune 500 companies — accounting for $4.8 trillion in revenues and 19 million employees — had founders who were immigrants or the children of immigrants? Did you know that immigrants start businesses at about twice the rate of other Americans? Did you know that without immigrants we would have had no population growth whatsoever since 1970, putting us on a path to a Japanese-style demographic death spiral? It is, of course, true that immigrants put strains on their host societies. It is also true that in any immigrant population there will be thieves, rapists, killers, scallywags and layabouts — though, by the way, did you also know that the incarceration rate of illegal immigrants is nearly half that of U.S. citizens? But the important question Americans must ask themselves isn’t whether there are liabilities. There are. It’s whether the liabilities aren’t vastly outweighed by the benefits. Do we see newcomers as an opportunity for us to grow? And do we believe our welcoming of them is evidence of our abiding faith in our founding creed, created equal? ADVERTISEMENT Continue reading the main story The second question: What is our attitude toward independent thinking? It is no secret that it is becoming increasingly difficult to express a controversial thought in many parts of the United States today. A software engineer at Google writes a well-researched memo politely suggesting that the company is going about its gender policies wrong, and he gets fired. Football players take a knee during the national anthem to protest what they see as racial injustices and the vice president ostentatiously walks out on them. A liberal professor at Evergreen State College objects to student demands that all white people leave campus for a day, and he is hounded from his job. Oh, and a center-right columnist at The New York Times suggests that perhaps we should be less than 100 percent certain about our global-warming predictions, and 40,000 people sign an online petition demanding that he be fired. All this has been accompanied by multiple efforts, on campuses and in corporate life, to criminalize or aggressively marginalize certain types of speech in the name of such worthy goals as civility and inclusiveness. Yet what begins as soft censorship rarely ends there. What starts as an effort to deter outrageous speech inevitably has the effect of quashing genuinely original thinking. Just as the path to scientific discovery is a matter of trial-and-error, so too the road to an original idea, a great book, or a transformative social movement will always be littered with foolish thoughts, indelicate statements, and all kinds of verbal rubbish that may offend all kinds of powerful people. Newsletter Sign UpContinue reading the main story Sign Up for the Opinion Today Newsletter Every weekday, get thought-provoking commentary from Op-Ed columnists, the Times editorial board and contributing writers from around the world. Sign Up You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. SEE SAMPLE MANAGE EMAIL PREFERENCES PRIVACY POLICY OPT OUT OR CONTACT US ANYTIME The United States has always been a land of invention — technical, political, and social — because it has given wide latitude to indelicate statements the ultimate value of which is often far from immediately apparent. We have also thrived because we have a cultural disposition in favor of the gadfly, the contrarian, the upstart, the entrepreneur, the late bloomer, the disrupter, the activist, the social nuisance. We have an inner sense that ripe fruits always start as sour ones, and so we nurture them. This is not how it is done in China, with its explicit forms of censorship and prescribed opinions. It is not how it is done in much of Asia, which often suffers through excessive deference to the opinions of elders. It is not how it is done in parts of Europe, with its polite political fictions. ADVERTISEMENT Continue reading the main story But it is how we have done it in the United States. It is why we’ve been able to maintain an international edge in the “Think Different” category. And the question is whether we can maintain that edge knowing that it is ultimately our tolerance for the opinions that offend us most that’s the most vital ingredient in the preservation of our national institutions and the perpetuation of our national greatness. The third question: What is our attitude toward failure? Several years ago, the great historian Bernard Lewis made an important observation about the destiny of nations. “When people realize things are going wrong, there are two questions they can ask,” he wrote. “One is, ‘What did we do wrong?’ and the other is, ‘Who did this to us?’ The latter question leads to conspiracy theories and paranoia. The first question leads to another line of thinking: ‘How do we put it right?’” Lewis is an expert in the Middle East. Why are so many countries in that part of the world such failures? Why have they squandered their national energies on hating their neighbors, instead of thinking a little more critically about their own behavior? What might Syria, Iraq or Libya have looked like today if they had respected their Jewish citizens instead of scapegoating and persecuting them, both out of appreciation for their contributions and as a guarantee of tolerance for other ethnic or religious minorities? True, there’s a point at which self-criticism can become neurotic, paralyzing and perversely self-satisfied. But it’s also true that individuals, communities and nations that habitually ask “What did we do wrong?” instead of “Who did this to us?” are also the individuals, communities and nations that, in the long run, succeed. Lately, I’ve wondered: In which camp do we Americans fall? For many years there has been a grievance culture on the left, with a habit of turning statistical inferences into allegations of systemic biases, and treating bad personal habits as syndromes or diseases beyond the control of moral discipline. Now that’s been joined by a grievance industry on the right, which seems to think that every factory closure in Ohio is the result of devious trade negotiators in Beijing, and that everything else wrong in the world is the fault of Goldman bankers, Beltway “cucks” and the Fake News Media. This is a turn that can only be described as un-American. For generations, one of our advantages over our competitors in Europe and Asia is that we have had a greater tolerance for personal or business failures. We’re a country of second chances. But tolerance for failure has to be predicated on an acknowledgment of failure, a sense that we must first blame ourselves before we can hope to do better. ADVERTISEMENT Continue reading the main story My fourth and final question: What is our attitude toward global leadership? This year marks the 70th anniversary of the Truman Doctrine. That doctrine put an end to our disastrous national experiment in blind and self-defeating isolationism by promising that America would come to the economic and military aid of embattled nations facing insurgency or aggression. In the following year, Truman came to the military rescue of a blockaded outpost of freedom, West Berlin, and he came to the moral rescue of another embattled outpost, Israel. In both cases — as, later on, in our defense of South Korea Truman put our national values ahead of our narrow self-interests. He didn’t ask, “What do we get out of this deal?” He asked: “What is right?” How extraordinary have been the moral and strategic dividends of these investments in principle! In West Berlin, Truman created what would soon became the world’s most visible rebuke to Communism and, not by accident, the scene of its demise. By fighting for South Korea, he saved its people from the Orwellian despotism that rules on the other side of the 38th parallel. And by recognizing Israel he gave Jewish civilization a chance to reclaim its roots, the Jewish people the possibility to stand up against its enemies, and a Jewish democracy the opportunity to wrestle with, and perfect, itself. For America, the dividends have been even greater. We have had 70 years of unparalleled material prosperity and technological advances. Seventy years of global leadership and trendsetting. Seventy years without another great war. And we have been able to do it because, for all the vicissitudes of the Cold War and globalization and the war on terrorism, Americans have broadly understood that great nations, like great institutions and great citizens, lead by example: by inspiring rather than coercing loyalty; by a decent respect for the opinions of mankind; by steadfastness of purpose and evenness of temperament; by the understanding that a policy of magnanimity and benevolence will, if nothing else, provide us with the friends, and the self-belief, needed in times of adversity. That is “the world America made,” as my friend Robert Kagan put it a few years ago. And yet this, too, seems to be under threat, thanks to an economically transactional and morally blinkered species of a foreign policy whose only question is “what’s in it for us?” and would trade all that we’ve gained, all our idealism, for a mess of pottage. In short: Do we understand that our greatness ultimately depends on putting our values first? That we do best when we define our interests according to our values, rather than — in the style of every fallen empire defining our values according to our interests? ADVERTISEMENT Continue reading the main story So those are my Four Questions. How we answer them matters a great deal to how we fare in the future. It’s a responsibility that rests especially heavily on the shoulders of educators. Because the questions I’m asking are only secondarily about policies, over which honorable people can disagree. They are primarily about habits of mind and virtues of character: about hospitality and openness; intellectual independence and tolerance; forgiveness and responsibility; magnanimity, courage, and fair play. I believe a university such as Yeshiva, with its proud embrace of religious wisdom with secular knowledge, can meet that responsibility. Not a generation ago we were the strangers in this land, just as we had ourselves been strangers in Egypt. We know what it means to be the foreigners. And we know how much we have contributed on our road to our American belonging. We are the children of Abraham, the original idol smasher and iconoclast: We know what it is to hold fast to unpopular ideas in the face of opprobrium and persecution — and to see those ideas vindicated in time. We are the people of King David, a man of many flaws. We know what it means to struggle, fail, and try again. And we are the followers of Moses, who also put values first as he steered his people through a wilderness toward a promised land he would never enter. We believe that our morality is a long-term investment, whose benefits only our children may reap, but is the wellspring of our self-respect and survival.