by Susie
Davidson
Last
week, my brother said to me, “Why do you spend so much time working for the
environment and trying to change the world? It is hopeless.” He then cited an
activist friend who, for decades, has been researching and trying to uncover
the full story behind the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Despite a
History Channel episode on this issue that he helped bring about, he has
virtually gotten nowhere. This is also the case with much of his lifelong work
to expose injustice, fight prejudice, and achieve equality for all people.
“Jay,” he said to my brother, “I'm afraid all we can do is take care of
ourselves and our own. I would advise that you follow that path.”
I
had a ready answer for my brother: Rabbi Tarfon's dictum in Pirkei Avot, Ethics
of The Fathers (2:16), which is one of the 63 short books that make up the
Mishna, but the only one that does not deal with laws, but rather, moral
insights: “It is not your responsibility to finish the work [of perfecting the
world], but you are not free to desist from it either.” 'Nuff said. And my
brother agreed.
I
believe that Rabbi Tarfon's advice is so profound that indeed, he stated what
most of us already intrinsically know. Still, it never hurts to hear it,
especially at this time of soul-searching and new beginnings. It reaffirms what
for many of us is a long struggle that, despite its frustrations, is still one
we would never abandon.
In
June, President Barack Obama exemplified this way of thinking when after years
of fruitless efforts to pass climate change legislation, he actually stepped
aside from the lawmaking body of America and took direct action on
his own. And he did it forcefully, bypassing Congress with conviction and
determination, with little regard as to how his words would be taken. “There is
no time for meetings of the Flat Earth Society,” he pronounced. After laying
out the price in lost lives and great governmental expense already affecting
the world's population, which he said will only become higher, he invited us to
work along with him. "If you agree with me, I'll need you to act," he
said. "Remind everyone who represents you, at every level of government,
that there is no contradiction between a sound environment and a strong economy
– and that sheltering future generations against the ravages of climate change
is a prerequisite for your vote."
And
he also urged other, wealthy nations to join this “coordinated assault” on
pollution. "The United States
cannot do it by itself," he said to a group of young people in Johannesburg. "I
expect it's going to be your generation that helps lead this, because if we
don't, it's going to be your generation that suffers the most."
Obama
then laid out new regulations on heat-trapping carbon dioxide that is released
by new and existing power plants, as he described impending efforts to increase
renewable energy production. These include raising efficiency levels on
appliances and machinery and instituting protective measures for communities
facing higher temperatures and rising waters.
And
the striking part was that none of his plan's components require congressional
approval.
Naysayers,
even from within his own party, have complained and even threatened legal
action, saying that his proposals will kill jobs, destroy the coal industry,
and create other impediments to our usual, carefree way of life.
But
Obama made his weekly radio and internet address and launched his campaign on
his own because he knew it was the right thing to do, and indeed, the necessary
thing to do. His was an ethical action that outweighed any risks.
"The
question is not whether we need to act. The question is whether we will have
the courage to act before it's too late," Obama said.
Rabbi
Tarfon would be nodding in understanding.
===========
Susie Davidson, a local journalist, author, poet
and filmmaker, is the coordinator of the Boston
chapter of the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL). She writes
for the Jewish Advocate, JNS.org, the Jewish Journal, the Jewish Daily Forward,
and other media, and has contributed to the Jerusalem Post, the Boston Sunday
Globe, and the Boston Herald. She coordinated the OccuPoetry series at Occupy
Boston. She is also an active board member of the Jewish Alliance for Law and
Social Action (JALSA) and the Alliance
for a Healthy Tomorrow (AHT).