Sal's Reflections

No one knows what the answers are regarding the minimizing of gun violence in our society, but I am totally supportive of the Newtown families. I will do whatever is possible to support these marvelous people in the midst of their grief. Every day they are willing to publicly share their pain in order to make the rest of us aware of how personal this could be for all of us. Not one single person in this land tonight can go to bed and feel completely confident that it will not happen to them, or someone they love.This is an issue that has no perfect solution, but that is no reason for not being involved in trying reasonable ways to safeguard all of our loved ones.

Many of the survivors of the Holocaust have died, and their witness must be carried on by those who have heard their stories. I was privileged through my mentor Viktor Frankl to meet many who had lost so much.It was most painful to hear the tales of whole families being wiped out in a matter of hours. The pain and anguish of those memories lasted a lifetime, and many were silent for years. Fortunately toward the end of their lives they shared the images which allowed us to tell others, and become secondary witnesses. Today there are those who have never heard about the Holocaust, and even more disconcerting those who deny that it happened.It must be more than one day a year when we decry what happened, and stand against any form of bigotry which allows anyone to be an object of hate and violence.

The loss of life in Newtown has devastated the lives of so many people, and the faces of those innocent children and their teachers will stay with us forever.From 1939 to 1945 horrors like Newtown happened to Jewish children every day all over Europe. Over one million Jewish infants and children were murdered by the Nazi’s during that period. As with the victims of Newtown, we the living must pass on the stories of these horrors so that the possibility of future tragedies will be lessened..The loved ones who have lost children live every second with the pain of those losses, and their only comfort is that we aid in the prevention in any way that is possible to prevent. future tragedies.

Visiting my family in Iowa I am struck by how friendly and kind total strangers behave. It appears that this part of the country has an infectious way of greeting everyone with a smile and kind words. It reminds me that there are no isolated acts of kindness that merely exist by themselves. When you experience any act of kindness it seems that you are more available to create your own acts of kindness for others. I also realize that when you perform any act of kindness it may be the only one that the other experiences that day.

Yesterday was a most delightful experience visiting my Granddaughter Erica’s class. I had the good fortune of reading a story to twenty five beautiful wide eyed kindergarten enthusiasts. Their wondrous expressions,giggles and ability to make spontaneous remarks during the reading made it so enjoyable for me. However, at one point the realization of what happened to children of similar ages at Newtown made me keenly aware that we must do all in our power to protect these wonderful treasures in every classroom.It is not maudlin to remember that event even when enjoying the precious moments that are such a vital part of our lives.

One profound concept that makes life more fulfilling is community.Today there are tons of challenges that require all of us to bring wider views to the table.Unemployment,poverty and a range of fiscal issues require every person to think and behave wider than purely personal interest.I must be willing to entertain some sacrifices in order that others may benefit.A sense of fairness and caring about all is what makes any society a living example of what is the best in humanity. Each of us willing to be more vocal about our relationship to the wider community in the long run benefits all.

The overruns by the defense military complex last years totaled over 78 Billion dollars. The congress spends endless gyrations on cutting policies that benefit the most marginalized while we continuously feed the defense industry. Our military budget is so out of whack, and does little to protect our wonderful men and women who serve. All it does is waste resources that could make America spend money on opportunities that would better position us for the future. If we cut out these overruns it would not make us less safe than with them. It is another example of the deaf ear of our pleas because we do not have the bribery money of the lobbyists.

Everywhere in the government people serve as those who guard us against all sorts of evils and then go the sector that they were supposed to enforce. Their performance often is less than stellar while they serve us, and they get cushy jobs, and teach others how to get around the rules. The S.E.C. leader did absolutely NOTHING to prosecute all those that caused our financial meltdown ,and now she has been hired by those who have gone off Scott free. Another example is former Senator Scott Brown who was flooded with Wall Street money ,and is now a consultant for Goldman Sachs. There are literally hundreds of these transitions to the candy store for former members of Congress and Federal offices. Enough is enough, please make your voice heard so that the fleecing may be moderated,

I spoke about my novel “Hitler’s Priest” at the Liberty Museum in Philadelphia last night ,and had the opportunity beforehand to visit the exhibits. There were wonderful tributes to women and men throughout world conflicts that stood up to injustice and bigotry. Many paid the ultimate price for their heroism, but today we remember them proudly, and reject those in their eras who stood for injustice and hate.Parks,Truth,Bonhoeffer,Wallenberg,and King bring memories of courage that sustain and inspire, while the names of the puny villains are held in revulsion.

I had the good fortune of spending Easter Sunday with Fannie who happens to be 96 years old. Alert and filled with zest she is a marvel that makes you realize that age sometimes is merely a number. At one point during the meal she said ‘I have learned one thing in my life. Everyone wants the same thing regardless of their color or sex.Give people a chance to have a decent life like mine, and most will positively respond.”She may need a walker to get around, but I hope that my mind and spirit are half as wise as she is.