Slavery is wrong. It’s practice is amoral and constitutes a crime that inevitably leads to malignant social, economic and political consequences. This is one of the problems our contemporary minds face when reading the Bible that contemplates slavery, a condition that the Talmud regulates to an extent that it proved to be a burden to own a Jewish slave. At the same time, the greatest story of the biblical narrative: the Hebrew’s exodus from Egypt, their transition from slavery to freedom has become the clarion call for human dignity that points to the lasting message about the equality of all men in the eyes of the Law. The Bible posits the creation on one man in the beginning, maybe to show that we all have the same ancestor and, therefore, are equal in rights, and in the eyes of God. The fundamental lesson of the exodus is that slavery is immoral. As a sign of the intrinsic spiritual value of all men, these same slaves merited to hear the manifested will of the Almighty at Mount Sinai sculpted in Two Tablets of the Law.

Mankind had to travel through centuries of history to come to the conclusion that slavery is evil. Yet, we still face vestiges of slavery in certain parts of the globe even today. Nowadays, no country legally tolerates the enslavement of man by other men. Yet, one could still argue that contemporary slavery has muted, it has become more subtle. And these modern manifestations of unadulterated evil have to be addressed and eradicated.

In this process, we should reflect as to whether present day society should assume responsibility for the misdemeanors and crimes perpetrated by previous generations? I do not think that it is proper, let alone legal or moral, to blame children for the sins of the fathers and vice versa. The Bible thinks so. On the other hand, society should make manifest a sense of responsibility and make every effort to alleviate and redress the damage, the hurt and shame, the evil consequences of slavery. And of discrimination as well.

What about the children of the oppressed, those whose ancestors were the victims of slavery and manners of discrimination, because of racial motives or religious identity. What should their attitude be?

Today’s generation, especially the descendants of the aggrieved should be on guard, in the forefront of the fight against these immoral tendencies and deeds that continue to plague us. It seems that discrimination and unethical behavior is an evil virus that doesn’t disappear, it only keeps mutating and, therefore, must be dealt with, even if it were determined that it is genetically part of our DNA.

It is a moral duty to protest, to confront and remedy all evil. On the other hand, the rule of law and of what is right, should not be confronted by lawlessness. Regardless of the damage that was done, the future of society demands we behave within certain parameters. Otherwise, new evils will supplant the old ones we try to eradicate. Justice must be achieved through means that are just in themselves.

Rallies and protests that turn into wanton destruction demean the purpose of the demonstrations and are surely to produce a negative effect that feeds the misguided original motives of the discrimination it purports to fight.

The middle class and small merchants suffer most from the indiscriminate, and many a time purposeful destruction of storefronts and looting. Powerful economic enterprises are able to absorb vandalism with greater ease. On the other hand, the neighborhood store built with hard work and limited resources finds it hard or impossible to recover from plunder and destruction. So that, the sympathy and empathy for a just cause ends up producing pain as well as eventual rejection.

Moreover, protests have a tendency of attracting many who reject any kind of rule. It appeals to those who want to be free to express themselves, including without consideration of any hurt they cause others. Anarchists and malcontents attach themselves to authentic and honest protests and taint their rightful motives.

On the one hand the fight against discrimination is meant to assure that it not be repeated again, but simultaneously it may give a springboard and create an environment for new or repackaged evil.

We end up in turnstile. In our endeavor to right wrongs, we wake up the light sleeping discriminators and haters.

Protests are necessary and healthy. However, to point out the sins of the past is insufficient if it does not, at the same time, signal to a different future. Discrimination and hate seek out the weakest sectors of society. It is, therefore, of utmost importance for these same sectors to address their shortcomings. We must remember that hate is a virus that has been present for centuries in humankind. We should continue denouncing it with energy, but it may also be a time for introspection, for improving our own social and moral standards.

I want to be clear. There is no justification for hate and discrimination. Period.

Yet, when we examine our own behavior and become conscious of the fact that we also commit some, if not many of the crimes we associate with hate mongers, our arguments become weakened. And what is most important, we fail to contribute to real and tangible solutions to this evil.

At this stage of American history most of us are on the same page as far as equal opportunity for all. However, reality may be different, and discrimination is still present in many areas.

We should consider that instead of tearing down statues, we concentrate in adopting new norms of conduct. Let us strengthen our root family units, reward fidelity and loyalty. We are firm in denouncing public figures for any racial slur, yet tolerate marital infidelity, and don’t castigate publicly those who abandon the children they brought into life.

Don’t the leaders of these protests and of BLM that is by now a movement, know all the above, that violence will only engender violence, that destruction will only result in a negative attitude of all those whose property was violated?

It would be very naïve to think so. I remember a rabbi who was my teacher of oratory: “always underestimate the knowledge of you audience, therefore tell them all the details, always overestimate their intelligence, they most likely will see through you.”

Who was behind the protests in Chile of a couple of months ago? We are speaking of one of the most successful countries, if not the most successful country in Latin America with respect to social benefits, inflation, progress, exports. Protests that include the torching of subway stations had to be very well organized and funded. Who suffered by this irrational destruction? Obviously the poor and middle class. They are the most vulnerable sectors of society. The successful and rich always mange to overcome these situations. They are usually temporary obstacles for them.

One begins to wonder, what is behind all the manifestations of revenge and hate of many of these protesters? Who provides the means to carry them out? Protests require thought, organization, preparation.

In Venezuela, a statue of Christopher Columbus was decapitated 20 years ago. USA is behind in this relentless effort to rewrite history. Is it really moral and ethical to judge figures like Washington and Lincoln, Jefferson, Hamilton and Theodore Roosevelt by today’s standards? If some of the Southern generals should not receive this kind of recognition, let these statutes be relegated to a museum. Or do we want to destroy every museum in the world that has relics from antiquity, such as the mummies of Egyptian Pharaohs who practiced slavery?

Shall we castigate some of the black slaves of those years for not rebelling against their masters and who failed to cry out: “Give me liberty or give me death” and subsequently act accordingly? They most probably experienced great suffering and personal demeaning so that it was impossible for them to even think about it, let alone do it.

We should rather marvel at our civilization by recognizing that it has relentlessly embarked on a road of greater equality.

I arrived in the US in 1947 and remember that schools were segregated in many places, blacks had to ride in the back of buses in some cities. That was not the case in New York City where I lived, but I know it was different in some southern cities.

Personally, I was the object and subject of religious discrimination when seeking a position as an apprentice to be an actuary in a small insurance company after obtaining a Master of Arts degree in Mathematical Statistics from Columbia University. I opted then for another career and am not sorry for it. Yet, I was very hurt at the time and consider to this day that it was a great social injustice for which there is no moral justification. Illegal in a modern society.

There may be sufficient reasons to think that there are hidden motives present in today’s protests, motives that may even be unknown to the majority who participate in them. It is turning to become a matter of rewriting history in order to recreate our nation under different parameters and principles.

The persona and sanctification of George Floyd, whose murder is inexcusable, is being used by some influential and occult forces as a springboard to bring about the downfall of our society as it is presently constituted.

The USA is the best, the greatest country in the annals of History. Is it perfect? No! But its system permits that it be perfectible, it can be changed and for the better via the instruments and rules that are on its books, its Constitution.

I lived in Venezuela for over 44 years and witnessed how an imperfect democracy was unseated and replaced by a curiously denominated “Socialism of the XXI Century” that only ended up in a corrupt, autocratic regime governed by criminals who have the blood of children and adults on their hands because the sick and hungry could not receive the necessary drugs for the cure of their ailments. A system that imprisons congressmen notwithstanding the immunity granted them by the law, that torture military personnel and also murders some of them because they dare question the legality of this regime.

We are not dealing with iconoclasts who want to destroy idols. We are facing malcontents, anarchists who want to lead us to a road of destruction that will cause misery and poverty, even slavery for most. 

Why do many people knock on our doors asking for entry? If this society is fundamentally evil, many of its citizens should be looking to reside in other places on the planet. But this is not so, fortunately, because they recognize the basic freedoms and opportunities the USA offers. We never had nobility nor social classes. Of course, we all discriminate, we chose our friends, school. However, we believe in basic human dignity and rights for all, regardless of color, faith or origin. We are all equal in the eyes of the Law.

We should, therefore, be on guard. We may be facing an organized movement to undo our way of life. It goes to the bases of our society. When we look at those nations that have brought about fundamental changes, such as the old Soviet Union, China, North Korea, Venezuela, Nicaragua, we observe that there is no change of the guard in these places, there are no powers that alternate. Once in power, you remain in power, at all costs. If not, ask the Cuban people.

The Venezuelan government recently passed a law against hate, that is against inciting or provoking hate. This law has been used to arrest congressmen. Who defines hate? What are its parameters? It is obviously not well defined and left for judges to apply in any manner or reason they wish, in order to comply with previously received instructions.

As I write down these thoughts, I read in EL NACIONAL, the most prestigious Venezuelan daily that is now available only in its digital edition el-nacional.com reports that Nicmer Evans, director of a news and analysis site puntodecorte.com was apprehended by government forces because he disseminates hate, i.e., he reports what goes on the country, including the numerous daily popular protests that take place.

I read that FACEBOOK is trying to identify hate speech postings. And who will decide what constitutes hate?

Senator Bernie Sanders does not project a likable image in the media that has become so powerful in influencing our thought processes. Why does he have so many followers? In his case, I conclude because of the appeal of his ideas and not the false make up that hides the facial scars of other political leaders. Bernie may have lost the primaries to become the Democratic Presidential Candidate, but he won with regard to the substance of the agenda, his views are now defining a great part of the democratic platform.

I was amazed to find that this same ambiguous and subjective criterion of hate is being applied in American Universities where free speech should reign even if it even in the case of the absence of a constitutional amendment that guarantees it. So that instead of continuing with the sacred tradition of the free confrontation of ideas, without restriction, we see that speakers are interrupted and booed, unless they conform to the “accepted” criteria of the extreme groups that insist on conformity instead of diversity, that rightfully criticize discrimination, but only when practiced by others.

The notion that hate speech should be barred and prohibited is obviously not a spontaneous reaction to some esoteric views. It is an integral part of an international concerted effort to exile any alternate thought, view or agenda from what is perceived to be the exclusive territory of a self-proclaimed intellectual elite. University grounds are sacred only to the ideas of groups that conform and fortify a revolutionary route that wants to rewrite history and reinvent our civilization by eliminating voices and opinions who think otherwise.

Western society is far from perfect. There is no question we can improve. Only God is perfect. We humans should be perfectible. Let us, therefore, set guidelines for excellence, recognize and reward community service.

Let us stop requesting so much and start contributing and producing.

Happiness is a function of what you give to others.

The response to the pandemic that keeps us circumscribed to our homes and forces to give up some liberties and the depression this may cause, can be alleviated by extending a helping hand to others.

Think less about yourself and more about your neighbor.

Do for others! That is the basic principle for feeling well with oneself, of giving purpose to your existence.

And when you wake up tomorrow morning, don’t forget to thank God for your health and family and for giving you the privilege of living in the greatest country History has known. The United States of America.