#neutral good and neutral evil alliance my beloved

[ride-a-dromedary]

You know, I was kinda robbed of a Halsin and Minthara surface enemies to tentative alliance under the player character arc, and that the two of them will likely never see fully eye to eye on anything, and primarily seem like complete opposites of one another, but fundamentally they are both born of tragedy and shaped by a robbery of agency and loss, and their similarities ghost begrudgingly in and out even as their differences scream the loudest - Son of the Sun and Daughter of Darkness and all that.

And they both think Baldur's Gate is the pits so they could have just been mad about that together.

[capriciouswriter207]

Predictable Copper is predictable, tell me more about this one?

- Evil WRA (who don't know they're evil) need to deal with rebellion and a demon in their land

It's already jumping out to me I may or may not write it when I finish my current corrupted Gem fic (if that's ok w/ you ofc!)

-🦊

Copper, I wouldn't have expected any different from you. /pos

It's definitely okay with me if you write this when you finish your fic! Feel free to take or leave what I had in mind and explained down here, you do you with this idea.

So, big country! It envelops basically all of Grimlands, Crystal Cliffs, Mythland, the Overgrown, and Gilded Helianthia as well as their leaders. Rivendell is an ally; Mezalea, Cod/Ocean Empire are not; Pixandria is neutral (though allied to Codfather Alliance). Lost Empire neutralized. Undergrove off doing its own thing because it’s just Shrub leading the good life.

Gem, fWhip, Sausage rule as a trio; Pearl and Katherine go wherever to keep the peace (i.e. to make sure troublemakers don't make trouble). They do visit sometimes, it’s pretty good. Joey is a vassal and believes he’s in charge of his country, when he’s really not. He’s just a puppet and blissfully unaware.

They’ve been trying to wage war against the non-allied countries and claim their territory, hence rebellion and Codfather alliance rising against them. Pixandria hasn’t been attacked yet because it’s so remote.

The people aren’t too happy with the rulers. They believe their trio of rulers are not necessarily evil, but have fallen under an evil influence. Which... they’re not wrong, but two of the three have no idea about that. They just believe they’re doing what’s right so why are their own people calling them evil for defending their country, what’s that about?

The latest theory is wild, though. People have been saying there’s a demon who’s corrupted their beloved leaders and made them cruel and vindictive and evil. That demon is the reason they’re waging war against the Codfather Alliance, because they normally wouldn’t do that. A preposterous theory, but it could be used to their advantage and regain the favor of the people.

Gem is pretending to be just as innocent as fWhip and Sausage. She’s not full-on mind controlling them, but she does nudge their minds to agree with her and her actions quite often. She wants power, but she’s told them the Codfather Alliance attacked first, and the two are more than willing to trust Gem on that front. That’s what you get when you’ve been influenced by her magic for all this time. Though she’s not happy with the rumor that a demon is roaming around and controlling all three of them, because that does interfere a little with her plans and comes awfully close to the truth she’d been trying to hide from basically everyone.

She has a similar hold on Pearl, Katherine and Joey. Meetings with Scott and Pix have proven they also could be influenced similarly if the need arises, but she hasn’t done anything major (yet). Just laid the groundwork for major overhauls, if need be.

So, that’s the basic premise I had in mind for this idea. There is one more... secret/twist that I'm not quite keen on sharing here in the open, which relates to what I’ve been calling this story in my mind, in case you like it and would like to implement it in your fic (if/when you write it), and it’s okay if you don’t want to do anything with it. Will send a DM with the twist shortly.

[megatontiddies]

2, 3, 13, 19, 28, 34 and 42?

NUKA BOLT YOU HAVE MY HEART MY SOUL <3333

2. Which faction(s) did they join and which did they destroy? Why?

Alwine was temporarily in the BOS genuinely believing that they may be the best chance at finding her son. After visiting the institute, however, and seeing the damage that her son has caused, as well as the broken ideologies of the BOS, Alwine leaned towards the Minutemen to try and fix as much damage as she could feeling heavy responsibility for many of the atrocities that the institute committed. She also brokered a tedious alliance with the railroad which lasted up until the events of "The Nuclear Option". After which the Railroad cut communication with her with one short interaction with the railroad agent "Charmer".

Evidentially the Institute got nuked.

The Nuka World raiders are a different story. Alwine met them relatively early on while she was still mainly associated with the BOS. Unlike how one would naturally go to Nuka World in game, Alwine was investigating a missing caravan and followed the Nuka World tram tracks to the outpost. Alwine also never did the gauntlet choosing to scout around the outskirts of the theme park. After some scouting Alwine realized the raiders were a mammoth force to be reckoned with that could cause some serious damage if they were to ever invade the commonwealth in a coordinated attack. After some contemplation she decided to attempt to broker an alliance, or at the very least negotiate, with the raiders, understanding that full scale war with them would produces massive casualties for both sides as well as civilians.

3. What is their S.P.E.C.I.A.L.?

Strength: 10

Perception: 9

Endurance: 7

Charisma: 10

Intelligence: 7

Agility: 7

Luck: 3

13. What Wasteland threat do they fear the most? (ex. Deathclaws, super mutants, raiders)

Behemoths, they're huge and they can cause a whole lot of damage. She is also terrified of Mirelurk Queens, not so much their appearance or threat but just how they could be implicative of other, even larger, sea creatures lurking beneath the ocean.

19. What natural alignment are they? (ex. Lawful Good, Chaotic Evil)

Chaotic Neutral. I was gonna say Chaotic Good but Alwine isn't afraid to do certain dirty work when necessary and on more than one occasion has made morally questionable decisions. She lives by her own set of rules. Her idea of morality is gray and situational.

28. Would you describe them as selfless or selfish? Does it depend on the situation?

Selfless. Despite her morally gray alignment Alwine never does anything for self gain. Everything she does, questionable and honorable, she believes is for either the better of the commonwealth or to protect those she loves.

34. What weapon(s) do they always carry with them?

Her laser rifle is an absolute must. She treats that gun like a beloved pet. She also has a small obsession with collecting knives. If one were to shake her upside-down it would be like a comedy skit with a blade falling out of every possible nook and cranny.

42. What’s their favorite location?

Far Harbor. Despite being terrified of the sea, she loves the ocean air and the dense woods. She dreams of building a small homestead on the island to live out the rest of her life.

[azems-familiar]

SWTOR character masterlist

i had a couple people asking me about this, so under the cut is a list of my swtor ocs, who they romance, some basic info, and reference pictures!

1) Lia Vhoss, Jedi Battlemaster and my canon Outlander - she and Lana are very married and extremely adorable together, and in my canon they’re actually in a polycule with a vaguely redeemed Vaylin (who Lia refused to murder)

2) Master Vreila Lanar, one of the youngest masters on the Jedi High Council, Barsen’thor of the Order. she and Felix are together and by the time kotfe happens they have a son together. she’s the Republic’s official representative to the Eternal Alliance before the merge.

3) Myiar Denon, pirate king of the criminal underworld. he’s not really with anyone, per se, but that’s mostly because he’s sleeping with like five different partners right now (including Senator Dodonna, who he freed, and at one point including Darmas, who he murdered). he’s definitely chaotic neutral leaning evil and follows the money.

4) Kal’vaela Corrin, commander of Havoc Squad, one of the most decorated soldiers in the Republic military. will commit war crimes if ordered to. Garza loves her, others hate her, but she’s gods-damned effective. married to Elara.

5) Avaanla Ki, Darth Nox, Empress of the Sith Empire in my canon - one of the youngest Dark Councilors in recorded history, she took over the Empire after Marr’s death and is very happily married to her disaster pirate husband. they’re the bane of half the Empire but she’s a gods-damned good Empress and so powerful nobody actually dares to go against her. (she uses a lightsaber pike and i love her so much god)

6) Vyl Kivan, formerly the Emperor’s Wrath, literally more Light than either of my two Jedi, defected to the Republic and joined the Jedi after Ziost’s destruction. he’s dating Theron and they’re a pair of dumbass sappy idiot dorks. he’s gay and also trans, we support him (he, Lia, and Avaanla are my favorite characters ask me about them they have BACKSTORIES and shit i adore them so much, especially this dumb sweet boy)

7) Karca Cadera. she’s the most recent winner of the great hunt and she’s very Mandalorian, married to Torian (in case you couldn’t tell by the name lol), bounty hunts for the money but also for the challenge of it. honorable warrior type.

8) and, finally, Averr’iis’aloh my beloved, Riisa, my agent who i adore. she activated the Eradicators to catch Jadus and extremely regretted it, spent her time undercover in the SIS really struggling with how they never treated her like a number, let Ardun Kothe live, and finally ended up choosing to become a double agent after she defeated the Star Cabal. after the Eternal Empire attacked, she ended up installing herself as Keeper of the restored Imperial Intelligence, where she served for seven years before eventually getting caught. she pulls off some incredible shit that gives the Republic a huge edge and they end up freeing her and bringing her to the Republic, where she joins the SIS openly. she’s technically with Vector but i’m also very very attached to shipping her with a friend’s chiss OC so she also sort of has a girlfriend back on Csilla.

[minervacasterly]

First Protestant King of England, Henry VIII or Edward VI? (And why Edward VI's reign was no less important than his father's)

It is important to dispell myths about the most popular English dynasty, so I decided to briefly take on this topic. A common misconception until recent decades is that Henry VIII was the first Protestant King. In reality, it was his son who was the first true Protestant King of England. I’ve written about this before on my blog, building upon the research by great scholars like Chris Skidmore, Loach, and the short introduction to his reign by Kyra Cornelius Kramer. Besides taking after his father in intellect, Edward VI was fairly concerned with the state of the church of England but unlike his old man, he thought that the time had come to make it into the first true Protestant church of England, agreeing to the issuing of the book of common prayer and a revision of it two years later. Edward VI also frowned upon improper clothing. He loved to dance and watch sports, but didn’t think t0 was a good idea to indulge in these frivolities since the Evangelicals believed that this was a gateway to moral decay. (Don’t you just love those who interpret the will of god so good, that they conveniently forget about the passages where their savior rails against the rich and so on?) Edward’s actions had consequences and these, like the contributions of his reign, are often brushed aside in favor of his more famous father and sisters. One of them, was a rebellion in the North and his half-sister’s resistance to his new laws that forbade people to hear the Mass and forced the new English service on everyone. Long story short … lots of people hung, punished and lots of enemies that his councilors (who as always since people couldn’t point fingers at the king unless they had a sick death wish of some sort) were blamed and were punished for during his half-sister’s reign. Some of you might be pointing out that since Henry VIII was excommunicated and labeled a heretic by most of Christendom, that technically he was a Protestant king but no, seriously, he wasn’t. Henry was, despite these labels, still a practicing Catholic. He agreed to Gardiner’s articles of faith that criticized the church and validated his claim as supreme head of the Anglican Church, and God’s representative on Earth, and surrounded himself by obvious Reformists, but other than that, he forcefully kept everyone in line. Catholics who practiced the Mass or adhered to his new rules while still being loyal to their beliefs were tolerated, but if they pulled a ‘Thomas More’ where they denied the king’s supremacy or insulted one of his beloved wives (before he got tired of them, that is) then yes, off to the block with them!

As for Protestants … Ever heard of Anne Askew? She defended Henry’s actions, she thought he was some kind of Moses as his last wife -Kathryn Parr whom she was closely associated with- would paint him as in her two books (primarily in ‘Lamentations of a Sinner’) and then she defied her husband and Henry’s establishment, pushing for a more Evangelist agenda, and what happened? Oh nothing big … she just got tortured and then burned. As long as you played Henry’s sycophant you were fine. There is also a spiritual aspect that ties into his megalomania. As Henry became more obsessed with securing his dynasty, his focus on spiritual matters also grew. By the end of his reign, nobody could predict what the king would say or how he would act so everyone walked a fine line when they discussed important subjects. Kathryn Parr is one of them who learned this lesson early on during their marriage. If it weren’t for gentleness, and the friendship she established among prominent ladies in her household, her accusers would’ve succeeded in convincing Henry VIII that she was a heretic. She would’ve had a sham trial like Anne Boleyn and then beheaded or worse, burned like Anne Aske. Luckily for Kathryn Parr, she was one step ahead of them. Humbling herself before her lord and husband, she told him that she never intended to change his religious views but just challenged him as people did at the beginning of his reign, so he could stir her towards the right path since she was a woman and these things were too complicated for her to fathom, let alone choose on her own. She lived and continued to be a major influence on future Protestant leaders, such as Jane Grey, Elizabeth I and of course, Edward VI.

Edward VI was greatly influenced by his beloved stepmother’s religiosity and mourned her deeply. He referred to her as his mother. Kathryn encouraged his passion for books and aided his Protestant tutors in stirring him towards their faith, ensuring that he’d become the king they’d all be waiting for, that would transform England into a fully Protestant nation.

It was Edward who began to force religious codes on his people in a way that hadn’t been done before. His father cracked on religious houses on the basis of cleansing them from corruption and because of their disloyalty, and open defiance against his supremacy; but Edward made things worse. The monasteries that were sold to his father’s noblemen left many people begging on the streets while forcing others to adapt to their new environment. When people could no longer handle it, they rose up in open rebellion and like in his father’s time, these were brutally squashed. But here is where it gets interesting … Whereas Henry VIII is blamed for all the evils of his reign, Edward VI is not and the reason for this? He was a kid, don’t be so mean. Leave the poor tot alone. Fact: Edward VI died at the age of fifteen and by renaissance standards, he was not a little boy anymore. Even if he hadn’t come of age, he was not an innocent boy anymore who was oblivious to the world around him. In fact. When Edward VI found out that his uncle had been executed, he was like ‘meh … okay’. And sure, Thomas Seymour was a brash individual who thought he could get away with everything but even after he tried to kidnap his nephew, to act in such a manner and for an uncle who was married to your favorite stepmother and someone you claimed to be your favorite relative, that’s pretty cold. But it gets better. After Edward VI finally got rid of his tedious uncle and his irritating set of rules, Edward wrote in his diary (showing no emotion at all) that the former lord Protector died and that was that. Getting rid of Edward Seymour probably made the little critter sigh in relief because out of all his uncles, the Lord Protector was the one who always reminded him of his duties and responsibilities, not to mention all those rules and not letting him be king! How unfair! And then there was also that issue about the rebellions. Edward VI saw these people as traitors and agreed with Northumberland that they should be dealt with immediately but his uncle didn’t think that was wise, which was why people called him the ‘good Duke’ because they saw him as a friend of the people. Now that he was out of the way, his kingdom would not have to suffer any more dissenting voices, nor any threats of isolation or future skirmishes with Scotland. Edward VI was fully committed to the Protestant cause but convinced by Northumberland, he realized that he would not go far if he did not have any allies. And the whole campaign in Scotland had gone awfully wrong and with Mary, Queen of Scots in France, the only way to neutralize that threat was making an alliance with that country, betrothing him to Henri II and Catherine de Medici’s daughter, Elizabeth Valois. Sadly, Edward VI did not live to marry her or do more for the Evangelicals. He died and before he did, he wrote a paper called “my device for the succession” which became the basis to disinherit his sisters in favor of their cousin, Jane Grey. That opened a can of worms that could have easily escalated into another civil war like the wars of the roses but thankfully for everyone involved it didn’t and his sister won her crown fair and square. But as with every Tudor, once her sister became Queen, she began to make good use of the propaganda machine to portray her sibling as a puppet of Northumberland and other evil lords who had corrupted him and turned him against her. Why was this done? Same reason why people who rebelled against their kings often pointed their fingers at their councilors -because doing so against an anointed king meant that they were upsetting the natural order. It was only in extreme cases, when someone had enough support and belonged to a different dynasty, that they would point it directly at them. Edward belonged to the same dynasty as Mary, and a dynasty divided was bad business for everyone, especially for the first Queen Regnant of England who had inherited a divided country.

Mary I also did something else and that was appropriating some of Edward VI’s religious achievements in an effort to make Catholicism appealing to those who were still unsure whether or not they wanted to return to the church or side with the various groups within the Protestant movement. Sections from the book of the common prayer were added to a new set of prayers in Latin and English, and adapted in a way that didn’t contradict church doctrine. During his reign, Edward encouraged many poets and artists to express themselves. These would reenact passages from the bible, or create allegorical paintings that depicted Edward as England’s messiah, and all those who followed him as true Christians as opposed to the decadent Catholics who were portrayed as heathens.

Edward’s religious reformation became the basis for Elizabeth I’s reign who continued with many of these reforms. Although she did not go as far as Edward or his chosen heiress, Jane Grey, would have liked. Elizabeth I was far more pragmatic, recognizing that if she wanted to rule over a divided country she had to maintain some of the older traditions or else, she’d risk losing everything she had. Unlike her siblings, Elizabeth I wasn’t thought of as legitimate by many of her Christian peers. Ideological purity was a luxury that she couldn’t afford and in any case, she did not want because many Evangelicals didn’t like the idea of the supremacy of kings (or queens). Nevertheless, Elizabeth I built her religious establishment upon her brother’s by issuing a new revision of the book of common prayer and encouraging artists and poets to create works that extolled the Anglican Church and the Tudor Dynasty.

[lilac-5ky]

Main Boys as members of Game Of Thrones’ houses

•Kyle: Kyle would fit in house Stark.He’d be a junior version of Ned Stark,diligent and righteous.He’d always seek out justice and whenever someone wronged his family he’d defend them whatever it took.Sometimes he could be a bit of a workaholic,considering how he’d value the peace of the seven kingdoms more than himself/family.Maybe his ethics would sometimes make him cross lines and even have his head (almost) cut off.Chaotic good.

•Stan: Stan would be a Baratheon.He’d be part of the royal family but he wouldn’t exactly give a fuck.The throne was something that he would want to avoid as he’d find political matters boring and unecessary.Would fail to get the concept of allies and rivals and would treat most people equally.Sometimes He’d get the impulse to leave his family and become a commoner but that thought would disappear whenever he’d get a taste of what it is like to be truly poor and dying in the streets.(Lawful) neutral.

•Cartman: No surprises here,Eric would be a Lannister.He’d been the first son or something in the family and he’d have great ambitions regarding the throne.To him power would be of utmost importance and would dare to achieve it using whatever means.Not one who believes in alliances easily.Tends to form friendships and such out of necessity.Would have one or two people he genuinely cares about and wants to protect but all that in his own way.In front of others,he’d be kind,well mannered and wise.Chaotic evil.

•Kenny: Good ol’ Kenny would be a commoner. Kidding. In my opinion Kenny would be fit to be a Tyrell.He’d be full of grace,kind,heroic and most people would adore him.A popular voted-by-people candidate for the throne.Unlike others Kenny would form strong alliances and support the royal family but would always have a back up plan.Smarter than the other houses make him out to be.Good at planning and reading people.Has a mischievous side to him,likes to talk back at people and call them out on their bad doings even when he’s not supposed to.Would do everything to protect his beloved ones.Neutral good.

Bonus:

•Butters: Most likely Butters wouldn’t be part of a power house. Still,he’d be a member of an important banner family in the South,most probably.He’d be good with letters and be sent to the castle in order to assist the Hand or something.He’d be a goody of course and would always try to make the best out of every situation. Would be clumsy and make mistakes at first.Secretly,the royal family would value his advices and he’d get a few bonuses.Loves his family but also is kind of afraid to disappoint them and that’s why he’s an overachiever.Lawful good.

Also some possible interactions:

Kyle x Stan: Allies/old friends

Kyle x Cartman: Enemies but act good in front of others usually.Power game going on.

Cartman x Kenny: Platonic crushes of each other.Cartman approves of Kenny’s ways and tries to look good in front of him.Kenny doesn’t know the length of Cartman’s actions and thinks he’s what he appears to be.Torn apart by ethical differences at some point.

Kyle x Kenny: Not that close but on good terms.

Cartman x Stan: Their families are Allies. Not much trust between the two of them.

Stan x Kenny: Same as Kenny’s relationship with Kyle.

Cartman x Butters: Cartman would totally try to get him into his personal servant. Butters’ eager to please him and respect him.

Butters x Kenny: Huge admiration on Butters’ side.Kenny could be his idol or something similar to that. Kenny doesn’t really know him well.

Butters x Kyle: Butters appreciates Kyle’s earnestness. Secretly thinks Kyle should get the throne.

Butters x Stan: Stan thinks he’s cool.Butters’ usually afraid of him as he serves the Baratheons.Stan May or may not help Butters not lose his head when he does a mistake.

Hope it wasn’t obvious I am a Kenman shipper,heh.Tried to keep it close to Stick of the Truth somehow.My opinions only.Feel free to add your,of course.

[inkni]

“I’m One With The Force And    The Force Is With Me”

Our topic this week was to write about what avenues or ideas Star Wars Rogue One opened up for future movies for the beloved franchise. The Star Wars series has been one of my favorite since I was a child. That passion has only gotten stronger over the years as more and more Star Wars content was released. I will discuss some of the ideas I came up with after seeing the movie and what I would like to see in the next installment. May the force be with you!

I can clearly remember my excitement (along with many others) when Star Wars Force Awakens was announced for release in late 2015. It featured a brand new cast of characters with some veteran characters making appearances to bring that nostalgic feel. When I first watched the movie in theaters I thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread. I was in love with the movie (and Daisy Ridley) and talked about it nonstop with friends. Some of my friends were neutral towards the movie citing that the movie reminded them of A New Hope. I didn’t listen to them and kept clinging to the nostalgic feel that the film brought to fans everywhere. However I watched it again by myself when it came out on DVD and realized that those critiques were correct. There were some huge scenes where the film reminded me of A New Hope. That doesn’t mean the movie was bad however and there were some great ideas that carried over to Rogue One.

The most important idea for me was continuing featuring a female lead character who kicks ass. While Leia and Padame were indeed a HUGE part of the original/new series the main focus was on Luke/Anakin becoming a Jedi (and eventually Vader) and Han becoming a Republic hero. In Force Awakens you have Rey the first EVER female Jedi in the movies make an absolute impression by defeating the baddie Kylo Ren. Rogue One continues that trend and allows Jyn to capture fans heart with her rebellious attitude and perchance for doing the impossible. I can only surmise that Rey will become an even bigger icon in the upcoming movies as she learns the Jedi way. I wouldn’t mind if somehow the franchise found a way to make a stand alone film featuring the lives of Jyn, Leia, Padame, etc. I know that they have already started working on a Han Solo movie as well as a Boba Fett movie so I don’t see why they couldn’t make one for the beloved female characters.

Another trend that Star Wars did a great job with was the idea of not having a happy ending and leaving fans with a feeling a dread and insecurity. The franchise has done a great job of balancing feel good endings and oh my gosh we fucking lost endings. The movie did a great job of making the viewers feel connected to the various characters. I still remember in the movie theater how distraught I was when Rogue One started losing their members in the last battle. (RIP Chirrut) Part of me knew that they couldn’t survive because the Death Star data they were retrieving was given to Leia by a no name solider at the start of A New Hope. However I kind of liked that idea of all the heroes dying at the end of the movie. It allowed the fans to experience how desperate the Rebel Alliance was and how much shit they had to deal with from the Empire. I would like to see Star Wars Episode VII feature more character deaths (Luke/Leia) to really hammer home how evil Kylo Ren and The First Order can be when angered. 

To summarize I believe that Rogue One was a great addition to the franchise. It introduced new dynamic characters that each had their strengths and did their part to make the suicidal mission a success. The film did a wonderful job of connecting to the beginning of A New Hope and allowing fans to see how much the Rebel Alliance sacrificed to secure the Death Star plans. I have a lot of faith that future Star Wars movies will have these trends that make me enjoy being a fan of the franchise. I would love to see a stand alone movie featuring one of the lead female characters and how their childhood allowed them to become this bad ass leader that everyone follows and respects. I cannot wait to see what Star Wars has in store for the fans! 

^Also how awesome is this GIF. Leia FTW!

[jewishandmore]

“We are called to live with chutzpah”

Rosh ha-Shanah Morning 1 Tishrei 5778 - Thursday, September 21, 2017 Temple Beth Zion, Buffalo, New York

Shanah Tovah - a good, and God willing, better New Year for all of us.

Under normal circumstances I would never present something mostly from another source. These are not normal circumstances.

The Central Conference of American Rabbis crafted a united message for us to adapt and offer, to bring to our congregations in One Voice, as a Reform Movement and as Reform Rabbis. The events of the last year demand that we come together as American patriots for the sake of our American Union, and for the sake of the Jewish people.

Here is our “One Voice” message as American Reform Rabbis:

The Talmud teaches, “If you see wrongdoing by a member of your household and you do not protest – you are held accountable. And so it is in relation to the members of your city. And so it is in relation to the world.” As Jews we are held accountable in ever-widening circles of responsibility to rebuke transgressors within our homes, in our country, in our world. One bold medieval commentator taught we must voice hard truths even to those with great power, for “the whole people are punished for the sins of the king if they do not protest the king’s actions to him.”

Today I speak words of protest, joining hundreds of my Reform rabbinic colleagues across the nation in fulfillment of our sacred obligation. We will not be silent. We will, without hesitation, decry the moral abdication of our leaders, even when it may be our President, when they fuel hatred and division in our beloved country.

We, like the prophets before us, draw from the deepest wisdom of our tradition to deliver a stern warning against complacency and an impassioned call for action. We call on you to rise up and say in thousands of ways, every day, as proud Jews and proud Americans: “You cannot dehumanize, degrade and stigmatize whole categories of people in this nation. Every Jew, every Muslim, every gay, transgender, disabled, black, brown, white, woman, man and child is beloved of God and precious in the Holy One’s sight. We the people, all the people, are created b’tzelem elohim, in the image of the Divine. All people are worthy of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

Rosh Hashanah is Yom T’ruah, the Day of sounding the Shofar. Its piercing tones sound an alarm, express our fears, and especially in these times compel us to respond with a resounding call for justice.

We sound the shofar with: T’kiah [a single shofar blast]

This is the Sound of Certainty.

As rabbis we are, from sea to shining sea, speaking to our congregations in every accent of America to declare in unison: we will not tolerate acts of hatred, intimidation, and divisiveness. We stand upon the shoulders of the sages, poets, and rabbis in every generation who fought for freedom. We speak in memory of every Jew and in memory of all people who tragically and senselessly lost their lives at the hands of evil oppressors. We call on our political leaders; conservatives and progressives alike, to rigorously uphold the values brilliantly articulated in the founding documents of our country, the “immortal declaration” that all [men] people are created equal. We call on every elected leader to responsibly represent our country’s history and advance its noble visions of tolerance.

We sound the Shofar with Sh’varim [3 separate shofar blasts].

This is the Sound of Brokenness.

Something crumbled inside us when we watched the televised images of Charlottesville’s beautiful streets filled with hate-spewing marchers. The wound reopened when anti-Semitic, neo-Nazi, racist, and homophobic graffiti appeared again, and then again, on the grounds of two of our local elementary schools, Windermere and Maple East - even after we had thought such displays done with last fall.

How much more vandalism, how many clashes, which other cities? We must not accept or become inured to some warped version of “normal,” of racist and anti-Semitic acts or rallies popping in and out of breaking news cycles.

Let us never grow numb to the brokenness. Let our pain fuel our vows to respond – with peaceful protests and with public calls for healing, yes, and even more by building alliances and by speaking in unison with other minorities and faith communities. Neither silence nor complacency nor waiting anxiously and fearfully for the next wounding event are options.

Not for us.

Elie Wiesel, of blessed memory, possessed a rare understanding of unfathomable brokenness. His memorable words sound a warning to us today, “We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”

May we never be neutral, never silent in the face of threats or of discrimination toward any. Let us fulfill the call of our Psalm, let us strive to:

רֹפְאֵי לִשְׁבוּרֵי לֵב

“healers of the broken-hearted”

and

מְחַבֵּ֗שִׁים לְעַצְּבֹותָֽם

“binders of their wounds.”

[Psalm 147:3 הָ֭רֹפֵא לִשְׁב֣וּרֵי לֵ֑ב וּ֝מְחַבֵּ֗שׁ לְעַצְּבֹותָֽם]

We sound the shofar with T’ruah [9 short staccato blasts].

This is the Sound of Urgency.

The events of the last few months have been a wake-up call.

Racism is wrong whether or not it seeps into explicit anti-Semitism. The Talmud teaches that God created us all from the first Adam so that no human being could ever say, “my lineage is greater than yours.” But just in case we thought the white supremacists were after someone else, or that the Confederate flag has nothing to do with modern day Nazi sympathizers, those fiery torches illuminated another truth, and starkly remind us again: if one minority group’s rights are threatened, we are all threatened.

As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. taught us, “We are all tied together in a single garment of destiny,” whether we are the least powerful or the most powerful person in our world.

We sound the shofar with T’kiah G’dolah [a long single blast].

This is the sound for the Endless Pursuit of Justice.

Tzedek tzedek tirdof the Torah admonishes: “Justice, justice you shall pursue, so that you may live and inherit the land which I, God, give to you” (Deuteronomy 16:20). Our sacred text reminds us that for a community truly to inherit its place in the world, thoughtful leaders at every level must be dedicated to equality and to unity, to fairness for everyone. Every community relies on passionate and engaged citizens; it relies on you to be insistent advocates for tolerance and enduring kindness between the diverse peoples of our nation. To pursue justice is to create a society that protects and enlivens every citizen. Let us be relentless, tireless builders of that society in our city and in our country -- in this New Year, and in every year.

 That was my adaptation of the statement from the CCAR. Not surprisingly, I have a few more things to say.

A few years ago, one of my students attempted to end an argument by saying “That’s just an opinion, not a fact.” He thought that would end any reasonable debate. The rest of the Seventh Grade class supported their peer and lectured me on their rock-solid assertion that there are only two options: “opinions and facts”.

Strange. These were Jewish students - how could any one of them think that merely calling out: “That’s an opinion!” would somehow defeat an argument?

The rest of the class then instructed me about the basic differences between “opinions” and “facts” and the clarification that everything seemed to fall into these two categories and they were quite sure of this because they had all successfully passed the tests on these topics as taught in their schools according to the National Common Core curriculum.

Googling “fact and opinion common core” leads to links and lesson plans, including a summary for Sixth Graders that talks about facts, which can be proven true, opinions, which as they are a person’s feelings or views, cannot be proven true, and reasoned judgments, which are a mix of the two. The students didn’t remember the bit about “reasoned judgments”. It is easier to retain the “either-or” proposition so they got opinion vs. fact, and left out the interesting middle of “reasoned judgments”.

I then asked the students about laws - were they facts of opinions? They thought about it, and then quickly agreed that, since they were made up by people, laws must be opinions.

“What about ‘Thou shall not murder’?” I asked.

This got them talking about the middle ground - the area between facts and opinions, and the students eagerly embraced a more complicated understanding of things.

The really interesting thing about all of this is the way the students forgot all about the alternative to the easier view - the “reasoned judgment” fell away in face of a convincing “fact vs. opinion” alternative.

Psychologically, we have an intuitive preference for an easy answer. If we can find an easier story to explain everything, that’s preferable to a more difficult explanation, even if the easy story ends up being inaccurate, or even wrong.

Our minds have an intuitive preference for easy solutions and will even come up with a false answer to avoid working on the longer, more complicated, question. I am beginning to believe that all of us, all of American society, have fallen into this way of thinking.

I think this may be one of the difficulties of the past year that inspired Reform rabbis to offer today’s message in One Voice.

Here’s a big part of it.

We start with the idea that anything I say is an opinion. If I say it, it’s my perspective, it’s an opinion. Notice how stuck we become here. As soon as I say it, somehow it is no longer a fact. It can be challenged as an opinion.

Even when we admit the middle ground, the reasoned judgement that those Seventh Graders had forgotten, there are still opinions in there. If there’s an opinion we can cast doubt on the whole thing. After all, it’s only an opinion, and everyone has one.

Everyone has an opinion, and there are no facts.

If there are no facts, then what happened to truth?

Think about this.

It is terrifying.

In some ways, this is worse than the big lie.

This undermines the very idea that we have common ground, that there is truth that we can all agree about. If nothing is true, then we can never even have a real conversation.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident…” - Thomas Jefferson understood with these words that only when we agree on certain shared ideals can we then go ahead and discuss the details of how we will put them into place together.

In order to make progress, in order to work together, we have to agree to common ground. We must accept that there is some idea, some assumption, some basic framework that all of us can agree is true.

As Jews we will argue the very nature of truth. What we can often agree about is that when we say “true”, what we may really mean is “too important to ignore”. And that the start of the discussion, the very foundation of why we care about each other’s truths, is that we see each and every one of us as potential speakers of truth. The Talmud teaches that respectful disagreement is useful, even more than that, it is a holy cause, literally, “l’sheim Shamayim”, for the sake of Heaven.

It’s why I reacted so strongly to the idea that an argument could be defeated by calling it “just an opinion”. I am my opinions. The good ones, the well-thought out ones, the less-thought out impassioned wrong ones, all of them. My truth is in my opinions.

We have majority and minority opinions in Judaism, like the U. S. Supreme Court. We know how to share an opinion, argue an opinion, and give ground when a better idea comes along. This is what we have to offer our fellow Americans.

We American Jews have a mission - we must bring our respect for each other’s opinions, for our individual truths, back to the public conversation about who we are as Americans.

We are experts at living with and learning from people with whom we disagree.

In a beautiful collection of stories, Rabbi Goldie Milgram teaches that “we stretch each other with our differences”, and continued:

“Loving our tradition while wrestling with it through changing times is how the Jewish people has continually functioned - as a research and development team on behalf of the Jewish and human future in every generation.” [Mitzvah Stories, page 5]

On of our most important contributions to American civilization must be the reawakening of real discussions about issues. We know how to acknowledge a good idea, and give ground when it comes from someone else, even from someone with whom we have historically disagreed.

On this holy day, on Rosh ha-Shanah, we encounter one a central question of Jewish civilization: the idea of sacrifice. What does it mean to give up something that we value? Whatever we feel about Abraham and Isaac, we learn from Abraham and from the rest of our Torah, the importance of giving something up for our community - to sacrifice for the greater good.

For me this includes a Jewish idea about a most difficult sacrifice - giving up my own belief that I am correct.

The key to progress everywhere may be accepting that we must occasionally, even often, retreat from the place where we are always correct, as one of sages of modern Israeli poetry, Yehuda Amichai wrote [The Place Where We Are Right]:

From the place where we are right flowers will never grow in the Spring.

The place where we are right is hard and trampled like a courtyard.

But doubts and loves dig up the world like a mole, a plough. And a whisper will be heard in the place where the ruined house once stood.

Some of you may come to me, later today, tomorrow, or next year, and share your concerns with me about what I have said today. Please continue to trust me with your heartfelt and deeply concerned disagreement with me. Please don’t hesitate. I am so honored by your trust, especially when we disagree.

The Talmud says that “Chutzpah is effective, even towards Heaven” (BT Sanhedrin 105a).

We are called to live with chutzpah. 

We must be bold in the face of injustice, and bold in the face of authority.

We must even be bolder in the face of our own convictions. When we look inside and with chutzpah say, “You know, they may be right, and I may be wrong?”, then we may plant the seeds for a better year, and a better future, for us all.

Shanah Tovah!