I now appreciate the many lectures from my Dad- History Does Repeat Itself

Throughout my life,  I was raised with a very strong sense of ethical values.  My now deceased Dad taught Jewish history and ethics at a synagogue in Newton Massachusetts to 6th grade Sunday School students.  He had an in-depth knowledge of both American and Jewish history and a very strong sense of Judeo-Christian values.  His knowledge of history was mostly self taught and he was very proud to embark both cultural and religious history to both Jewish and Christian students through an acumenacle program with a local church.  As an American he was proud that much of the laws governing our Country were based on the values based on the Ten Commandments.  He always emphasized the importance of history and said it was cyclical.  If people didn't study the past the same mistakes would repeat themselves in the future.

When I was in the 6th grade as awkward as it was I sat in my Dad's class.  As a student I would often appear to zone out to him when I would glance or pass a note to a friend.  He once called me out for not "paying attention" and yelled at me when we got home from class because he thought I wasn't listening.  Perhaps during that one lesson I missed a few words concerning the Pharisees and the Saducees, ancient Jewish sects, but overall I actually was a good student and now realize close to fifty years later that I did absorb much of what he taught.

My parents generation grew up during the hard times of the depression, WWII and McCarthyism as well as the Korean and Vietnam War.   As the country rebuilt itself after these wars,  they experienced a sense of freedom and renewal.  They were proud that they could bring children into a war free world and began to focus on ways to improve the life for citizens within the US.  They were the generation that fought for many of the liberal freedoms and rights many of us share today.  They began fighting for individual freedoms including the Civil Rights Movement and Women's Lib.  They fought hard to ensure that our generation would grow up free from the economic and policy burdens of their generations.

Highly principled both of my parents were actively involved in community and educational programs throughout their middle age and retirement years.  After retiring from teaching at the Temple,  my Dad taught adult education classes in both Newton and later Florida where they retired in 2001.  My Mom was active in B'nai B'rith and Jewish Women International, a large fundraising organization benefitting a Children's Home for orphan children in Israel.  Although they didn't have a lot of money they would always be the first to donate to worthy causes to help people out.  My Mom had a Z'dakah box where she put change every evening and when my Dad passed she bought a special one to put donation money in memory of my Dad.

In addition to teaching,  my Dad was a major collector of historic artifacts and ephemera.  He built a museum quality collection that defined his life.  He was extremely proud of each item and understood the history and original of both his Judaica and Americana Collections.  Each time I would visit him he would have me spend time learning the significance of his latest acquisition.  To him, the collection represented his way of commemorating the past history.  Many items were displayed behind glass cabinets and he had documentation detailing the history and how the item correlated to history.  Some items were commemorative to honor heroes and some were ephemera to not forget the troubled past.  I admit my brain was not able to absorb each of his lessons but their significance was part of who my Dad was and he was able to use his collection as a tool to impart his knowledge.

Sadly many of my parents generation are starting to pass away.  I have lost both of my parents over the past three years.  As I watch the changes going on in the country they had loved and found hard to build for us I am saddened to see the world they built disappear.  Many of the hard fights that defined their generation are being reversed.  There has been a strong move back towards conservatism and many of the current government policies are reversing the progress of the past 50 years.  It is a challenging time and I am hopeful that I am able to carry on my parent's legacy as best I can by continuing to stand up and confront the challenges to the values they fought so hard to embrace. 

It all starts at the local level

I started this blog to talk about local life in the area in the place I call home.  I have been immersed in the "local" Needham, Newton, Dover and Metrowest area most of my life albeit a detour to New York City for a few years.  I am proud to call Massachusetts my home and have been involved in all aspects of community life since birth. The values my parents instilled in me and my brother included respect, honestly, loyalty and a high level of ethics.  They always said we need to be able to look ourselves in the mirror each morning.   In fact, my mother told this to my daughter as one of her last words of advise while near death last year. This philosophy has always resonated with me and perhaps sparks much of my inner MO.  I am not one to sit back and let things happen around me, particularly if I am bothered.  I need to get involved and have been told that the word "rest" is not in my vocabulary.  That is why I am proud to be a local one.  I am constantly reading local newspapers, blogs and social media in my community and embrace opportunities to volunteer and participate in events as deemed interesting or important to better daily life.

Although this blog is not a political focus,  since the 2016 election I have learned that our voices start at the local level and we need to speak up if change is warranted.  It is our freedom and first amendment right to speak up but it is also our obligation to keep informed.  I have expanded my reading habits to include the New York Times, Twitter feeds, the Slate, CNN and other forms of social media to keep a balanced informed overview of what is going on in our rapidly changing world.  

Many changes are initiated at the top level but in a democracy, citizens at the lowest level have the right to be heard.  Town Halls and local representatives want to know their constituents concerns .  They are our representatives and their jobs are to represent our interests.  It is up to us to keep informed and be able to advocate for our interests in a well informed respectful way.  This means engaging in conversation.  Violence and rudeness to our opponents is not only harmful but it also makes it difficult to work together toward progressive change. 

One easy way to make your voice heard is to subscribe to the DAILY text feed.  A DAILY text each morning informs readers of relevant issues impacting U.S. policy and then based on your zip code  will connect you to your local government representatives where you can voice your concern.  As a result of this activity Senate offices are getting an avg of 1.5 million calls/day.  This week alone Senate offices have cited calls as an influencer in their votes. Local voices are being heard and this only takes about 5 minutes a day.  If you would like your voice heard text DAILY to 228466.  Join the "locals" to make a difference.

Wendy recently joined Coldwell Banker Needham.  She has been a realtor for over 8 years and knowing the area quite well can share a hands on local perspective.  She has also recently earned the SRES  designation and looks forward to helping other baby boomers as they approach their next transitions.  Feel free to contact her directly or click here http://www.wendybcb.com if you would like to learn more.