A Passover Message from Doug Weinstein

Passover is about remembering that we were slaves once in Egypt, but we are now liberated and free. Or at least we hope we are. We Jews in the U.S. are fortunate to benefit from guarantees enshrined in the Bill of Rights and other unenumerated rights. We are free to practice our religion as we see fit, for example. Yet, we as a country are always striving for a more perfect union, and we all play a part in bringing that about.

We have secured Franklin Roosevelt ’s outlined first and second freedoms: freedom of speech and expression and freedom to worship G-d in our own way.

But we are still working on achieving his final two freedoms: Freedom from Want and Freedom from Fear. So long as people in our country lack access to basic medical care, they and we live in fear and want.

When Nazis march with virtual, social impunity, and even sanction, in Charlottesville, we live in fear.

Let’s all work toward making a more perfect union and freeing our fellow Americans from fear. Then, we will have made major steps toward freeing them and ourselves. Until then, some of us remain enslaved by fear.

Doug Weinstein is an intellectual property lawyer and a former board member of Democrats Abroad-Taiwan.

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