Flora Rosefsky's 2022 Passover Message

Getting to the other side …

A dilemma for me, without a clear vision so far, is how to break the resistance to hear stories or news that one doesn’t agree with. Personally, I know I have a problem. Who do I listen to for my news? And where are people getting their information in making decisions?

Has social media and the internet taken over reading books and articles in journals? We have to remind ourselves how social media does not demand accountability or facts but is more often just one’s opinion. Like many family members and friends, I have my favorite source of cable news and find it very uncomfortable to hear what another news station is saying.

I absolutely feel repulsed, so I switch the channel. Call it selective listening. Do we listen to what we want to hear? Maybe. So where is the truth or facts? NPR is a gem for sure.

And there are the newspapers – freedom of the press is paramount. Good journalists state the facts. Are people listening to science and academics these days? Where are the philosophers? Is it like diagnosing your health issue by using “Dr. Google” instead of trusting your physician? How can we find that compromise is not a bad word but is good.

What about thinking of ‘the other’ in our communities? And to think beyond where we live, the idea that we are all connected on the planet earth in many ways, isn’t it time to get to “the other side” and pull together for common good – think global warming, think reducing carbon footprints, and think too of the extraordinary brave Ukrainians for fighting to keep freedom alive for them and for so much of our world.

And to give hope to new leadership in the State of Israel as they find more common ground. Each generation wants to leave their legacy to the next one with meaning, and hope that our life on earth is not one to be taken for granted.

A resolve to keep us free and to live in a democracy is something we have to fight hard for in our minds, bodies, and spirit and with our votes.

Flora Rosefsky is an Atlanta Jewish Times contributing writer and visual artist.