Where Do U Draw the Line?

Bar and Bat Mitzvah gift suggestions at bestjewishkidsbooks.com.


Where Do U Draw the Line?

One of the most disturbing stories of the year appeared last week then completely disappeared.

The New York Times did NOT cover it (except in a blog).

MSNBC did, as did the Huffington Post (don't read if you're squeamish) and of course the macabre-loving BBC.

Here's the headline:

Korea strengthens customs inspections to stop smuggling of 'human flesh capsules" (link)

Since last August, customs officials in South Korea say to have intercepted between 17,000 and 17,500 pills filled with some type of finely ground white powder. The powder is said to be a stamina enhancer and medical panacea in parts of Asia.

The Korea Customs Service said it had found almost 17,500 of the capsules being smuggled into the country from China since August 2011.


Let's put all cultural issues aside. You and I cringe, but maybe that's merely our cultural bias?

After all, no American dog-lover is up and arms about the consumption of dog meat in some Asian countries and by some US presidents....

So aside from our cultural aversion, is anything wrong with this fetus-pill practice?

According to the South Koreans, the pills are objectionable on the grounds that "such pills could pose serious health hazards".

I hear that. Unregulated ground-up-aborted-baby-flesh could be full of nasty "super bacteria", which was the BBC's angle on the story.

In other words, this is a public health story, which is why it only generated a few brief headlines.

Question for your table: Is there anything else objectionable here? Is the health issue the only ethical red-line? Or are all non-health-and-safety red-lines just cultural bias?

And if there is something wrong here that transcends culture, where is tha red line?


Shabbat Shalom


 

Long on Oil

Happy 97th Birthday to Eleanor Rubinstein, my late grandparents’ mechutan (does that make her my grand-mechutan?) who could still beat most readers of this blog at tennis.

Get this: the very same day that we learned about BP springing a leak in the Gulf of Meh-hee-ko, we discovered that our kitchen faucet had a leak. Freaky or what??!!

(For those who have been flabbergasted by our stranger-than-fiction news of late, that last paragraph was said tongue firmly in cheek, or thumb in fist as it were.)

Raise your hand if you'd be willing to pay more to drive in order to avoid these mind-boggling spills.

So is there, you ask, a "Jewish" spin on the mega-disaster?

First of all, be prepared to defend Israel and the Jews for causing this catastrophe, along with the bankruptcy of Greece and the Iceland volcano.

Second of all, in proper rabbinic fashion, why don't I answer the question with a question...for your table of course:

What do the BP slick, the Goldman-Sachs affair, the China real estate bubble and John Lennon's lyrics for sale all have in common?

After you ponder that one for awhile, you might consider this take:

It's actually quite simple. These stories make worldwide headlines because they have worldwide impact. The common thread is that we are all connected to one another. Humanity is like a person with many cells, organs and limbs. To fight each other is like cutting off one's proverbial nose to spite one's proverbial face (to coin a proverbial phrase).

The only way to proverbial Mt. Sinai (or choose your own symbol of human spiritual quest) is by working together, or to quote the modern proverb...

You better recognize your brother
in everyone you meet.

You know I spend a lot of time talking to individuals about their stressed-out all-but-broken relationships. Everybody wants an uplifting, compassionate, loving, unifying relationship. We get stuck in these ruts of resentment and criticism.

What's the way out?

Put your thoughts (and those of your table) in the comments below. Anyone who gets the right answer will win a copy of the new edition of the Art of Amazement.

Shabbat Shalom

"I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat." - Churchill


PS - Two weeks ago, I posted this uplifting Jewish story. It's still uplifting. Don't read it if you don't want to be uplifted:

Soldier, survivor have emotional reunion | The Detroit News

In the fall of 1945, a Soviet soldier hoisted a 5-year-old boy aloft and paraded him through a Lithuanian synagogue that had been closed throughout a long Nazi occupation.

For 65 years, the boy and the soldier carried that moment in their heads and hearts. Unknown to each other, they told the story to family and friends. A Toronto songwriter memorialized it in song. The boy became a man and included the anecdote in his 2003 book.

On Thursday, they met and embraced for the first time since then in Rabbi Leo Goldman's Oak Park living room.

(click to read more)

B + W

If you don’t live in NY, you may have missed this poster campaign on the eve of the election.


Shocking?

Real change, deep change, requires departing from prejudices, stereotypes and biases of the past. Usually these are rooted in people’s childhood, so they are very hard to change.

Obama’s first move as Pres-Elect was interesting... He offered the real seat of power (Chief of Staff) to a Hebrew-speaking, shul-going Chicago Jew. Don’t believe it? Look up Rahm Emanuel on Wikipedia.

Someone in China must have cursed us a few years ago....the are sure interesting times.

Question for your table: If you knew that your family and friends would support you unconditionally and lovingly, what radical change(s) would you make in your life?

Shabbat Shalom