who's on first?

this is a hard blog to write...not meant to offend...like it or hate it...unfriend me...but my blog is titled "what do you say, sherri darling"...and this is what i have to say...for all the time i may bitch and moan about the minutia of life and the grander injustices...the truth is as a second generation jew...well, history could have shifted ever so slightly and i am not sure i would be here to blog...i am talking about world war II and our country's rather "late in the game" entry...ever stop and wonder how the anguish and death of pearl harbor ultimately saved an entire people from eradication?...we did survive...scarred and leary...and went back to work, and life...but we became complacent...2017...please don't tell me how proud jews should be that a jewish man...kushner...is in such a high position...if you are italian and reading this would you be so proud if the man in that position...ivanka's husband...was the son of a mafia capo...please don't tell me how much our new president is for us jews...that is too soon to call...i don't care that his daughter converted...i don't want to hear about ivanka, and how her rabbi said it's okay for this and that...would that i had a rabbi on call to pardon a lifetime of shabbat indiscretions...and israel...yes, that is a hot button...intertwined with our faith, our history...but as american jews we seem to carry the burden of being good jews there and here...and here...when over thirty jewish community centers received bomb threats this month...and yes, in staten island, one where so much of my love for theater was cultivated...a response was needed loud and strong...president trump...he is not running anymore...he is there...he courted my vote...then, slapped me with america first at his inaugural...an ugly phrase coined by a movement here in america before pearl harbor...while hitler had marched through europe all the way to england...an isolationist group coined the expression...large and supported by many powerful leaders...and virulent anti-semites...urging america to not become involved...negotiate with hitler...america first...president trump was reminded of the connotation and chose to use it...how should i feel about that?...hey, kushner...be a mensch...sit your father-in-law down...disavow the supremacists...condemn the bomb threats...tomorrow is international holocaust remembrance day...and for a generation disappearing...no longer here to remind us...it is imperative to teach...to reach out...to remember...complacency puts you six feet under...

what's new pussycat?

i marched today up fifth avenue...many of you reading this did as well...some of you marched in smaller towns and big cities across this nation...and globe...and some were in the swell of humanity that descended on dc this morning...and others could not make these marches but we carried you in our hearts...in truth, i should not have had to march today...why, in the twenty-first century should i need to assert rights that should be a given?...why should there be a need to validate my worth against those in power who seek to diminish it.?...and for me it was not a choice...it was a need...i had to go...oh, and if you think today was just about planned parenthood, think again...yes, it was an important component...and this is not the forum for that debate...when the crowd swelled and we paused i looked around...all those people...women...all ages...men...children...the signs...the shirts...the determination...and, yes, the hurt under the pink pussycat hats...it was a glorious january day...i felt that it wasn't random that there was sun and warmth in the dead of winter...someone was looking over us in that blue sky...you know who it was?...i think it was the collective spirit of all those women...and men...who marched decades long ago...for causes that have become the very fabric of who we are as a nation...holding us in safety...urging us on...with eyes on the prize...grab this, mr. president...you poked the tiger...now watch us roar...

silence of the lambs...

i read an interesting statistic...and even if it is slightly off, it is horrifying...only 58% of eligible voters showed up this past november...even if you take away those who may have had legitimate reasons...it is sobering...the lowest voter turnout in 20 years...i can hear some of you...you are saying you just couldn't do it...there was no choice for you...and i can understand...to a degree...but look at the bigger picture...spin the globe..land on sudan...no oil there?...keep spinning...land on syria...death and despair...no way out...maybe you think...well, look at putin...look what he did...now there's a cease fire...true...but the cost...google assad and his human rights record...look at a map of syria...see that place called tartus...what a nice port...a lovely place for the russian navy to set up camp...because while putin and his boots slosh through the blood of children, that's what he sees...think of all those people...dead...what they would have done for a fraction of the rights we casually toss with the garbage...today and this weekend, we celebrate martin luther king...time to get beyond a sale day at macy's or afternoon at the movies...time to look at those who marched...and those who are marching this weekend...next weekend...and who continue to march for the respect of basic human rights and dignity...these are days to respect those who do...and for those who do march, to respect those who do not...the coin is two-sided...and different...but it is still the same coin...and for so many on this earth, we, the united states, are that shining coin...ripe with choice and rights...and so on this january 15th i choose to hold this quote from dr. king close to my heart..."our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter"...