On July 10, 1778, at the height of the Revolutionary War, there was a picnic in Paterson, N.J., right by the Paterson Falls. George Washington, the Marquis de Lafayette and Alexander Hamilton were present. We are told of a "modest repast" of cold ham, tongue and biscuits. It turns out that none of these great men kept kosher. Three years later, in 1791, Hamilton was President Washington's Secretary of the Treasury. He started the Society for Establishing Useful Manufactures in Paterson, tapping the great power of the Falls to transform Paterson into a manufacturing hub. According to the historic marker on his statue, "Alexander Hamilton envisioned the great potential power of these scenic falls for industrial development." Today, those two ideas remain linked -- a freedom-loving people must have a strong economy. A robust economy allows America to be the most benevolent nation in history.
For a time, I celebrated the Fourth of July more out of habit than deep conviction. That changed for me when I lived in Britain for 11 years as rabbi to the students of Oxford. I came to realize that what made America special is its eternal optimism and rugged individualism. Britain, much like the rest of Europe, is still encumbered by a legacy of kings and queens, dukes and counts, a tiered society which, though much more equal today, still seems stratified according to social status.
This has led, at times, to deep cynicism. In Britain, your status was determined by your birth. So there was nothing you could do when you encountered the lord of the manor. You could not be him so the option that presented itself was to resent him, an emotion strongly captured in the attitude of so many "servants" in the monster British hit Downton Abbey.
But in America a man could raise himself up by the sweat of his brow. It is not birth but deed that could make the difference. Why be jealous or cynical? You see someone successful -- work hard and that will be you. In fact, the existence of accomplished people with compelling stories does not diminish you but inspires you to emulate the path they have trodden.
For the first time in my memory it seems that this may be changing. I'm surprised today that some would punish those who still dream.
I don't know what Mitt Romney did at Bain. But I do know that it's not a crime to be rich. And yes, I agree. Riches should never be narrowly or physically defined. Life presents a variety of riches, from the transcendent to the merely material. As a father of nine I am blessed, thank God, with the finest riches life can bestow and that no money can buy. But with blessing comes added responsbilitity. A large family requires resources. It's no sin to work hard to provide your family with a decent life.
I am not immune to jealousy and I sometimes find myself being critical of those who have much easier financial lives than I. Indeed, since I have never put making money as one of my foremost priorities -- my own vices lie far more in the search for recognition than wealth -- I find myself sometimes looking down at those who do as shallow and beneath me. But I have to quickly remind myself that doing so betrays not just my own insecurities but also the American values that I hold so dear. This is a land of opportunity. It is a land that rewards hard work and risk. Everyone has a gift, everyone has something to contribute. And rather than wasting my time being jealous of the wealthy and the more materially successful, I am far better off working hard to maximize my own potential.
The new cynicism at success is misguided not only because it has us focusing on others more than ourselves. It is misguided because it diminishes the value of exertion and hard work.
When John Kennedy told us to ask not what our country could do for us but what we could do for our country, he was extolling the virtue of work, participation and giving. A reversal of his healthy ethic is growing, with so many focused far more on entitlements. What can our government give us? What can our country do for us? What can we take from the system.
All this has led to an economy burdened by staggering debt, shackling the very potential of our nation. How did we arrive at a place where debt is something like 80 percent of our gross domestic product?
It has to do with a loss of those two fundamental American ideas. Our optimism is eroding and with it, our belief in rugged individualism.
The more our government gives us the less we ourselves will produce.
When I first got married the Hassidic custom was for parents and in-laws to support you and your wife for a year while you studied. Many of my married friends had significant help from parents. But I did not come from a Hassidic background. My wife and I were on our own. We had almost no money and it put immense pressure on us during our first year. But I had to study in order to complete my Rabbinic degree. I was depressed as financial oblivion stared us in the face. But I had an idea for a book and I approached a publisher who paid me a modest amount to write it. I resented my friends. They would come home from a full day of study and they would spend quiet time with their wives. I came home, ate dinner with my wife, and then sat in front of a computer writing the book so I could pay our rent.
But here we are, nearly 25 years later. You're reading this essay because I pushed myself to write back then. It's become a lifelong passion.
They say that "necessity is the mother of invention." And the necessity of taming the American wilderness bred a rugged American pioneering spirit that even today remains the envy of the world.
Happy birthday, America. Never forget how lucky we are to live in the greatest country this world has ever known.
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach is the Republican Congressional Nominee in New Jersey's Ninth Congressional District. His most recent book is "Kosher Jesus" and his website is www.shmuleyforcongress.com
Follow Rabbi Shmuley Boteach on Twitter: www.twitter.com/RabbiShmuley
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My people came here 350 years ago and settled many states over the years. IMO we are on the verge of losing everything our forefathers fought for.
Time for you and I to get busy. Just look at what our Federal government is doing. It's a monster with it's own mind and we must stop it.
Well, that speaks volumes, doesn't it?
The problem is not that some have become rich but that the rich have now gamed the system to keep the wealth flowing in their direction. Upward mobility is no longer prevalent in the US compared to other nations.
It is not that Romney is wealthy, but that he gained that wealth by burdening companies with debt and "management fees" and by sending some jobs overseas. This predatory behavior is what people dislike, not his wealth in the abstract.
It may have been legal, but was it right? Was it moral? When laws can be influenced by who has the cash, legality is merely a question of expense.
Funny how your ilk always proclaim love for "America" as a concept, but almost convulse at the thought of showing love to "Americans," whom I believe constitute their beloved "America."
"We did not think of the great open plains, the beautiful rolling hills, and winding streams with tangled growth as "wild." Only to the white man was nature a "wilderness" an only to him was the land "infested" with "wild" animals and "savage people". To us it was tame. Earth was bountiful and we were surrounded with the blessings of the Great Mystery. Not until the hairy man from the east came and with brutal frenzy heaped injustices upon us and the families we loved was it "wild" for us. When the very animals of the forest began fleeing from his approach, then it was that for us the "Wild West" began."
Chief Luther Standing Bear,
of the Oglala band of Sioux
We need to remember the native americans on this day, too.
Our leaders have incrementally and soundly crushed our inherent optimism, and "rugged individualism" is the bane of a civilized society if it is the worship of the ego, as it is here.
Play with other ideas, please, some that are less jingoistic and exculpatory of the sins of the wealthy, less concerned with national exceptionalism---maybe some Jewish ones regarding humility and the spirit of collective responsibility, or even contemplation of the living creator of all this drama rather than a defense of excess. Your perspective in this piece is decidedly parochial, even materialistic.
Bingo.
This guy blames the debt entirely on slackers while ignoring the huge debt caused by ruinous wars and tax cuts (Reaganomics and Bushism) -- sounds like he wrote this trash at a Tea Party meeting and tried to slip it in on Independence Day under a "patriotic" theme so maybe no one would notice.
Thanks for noticing whitebeach!.
The reverend never misses a chance to compare Britain unfavourably with the USA...methinks he doth protest too much..
"...But I do know that it's not a crime to be rich. And yes, I agree. Riches should never be narrowly or physically defined."
The Rabbi tears off his whiskers and reveals himself to be an unabashed neoliberal. He thinks endless self aggrandizement at the expense of the larger Society is not immoral or unethical. He fails completely to understand that this is the eternal fount of inequality and everything else inimical to a healthy society.