Opinion: Ezra Friedlander: Display the American Flag from Every Jewish Home on the Fourth of July!

ezra friedlander tlsAs July Fourth approaches, I feel it is incumbent upon me to properly acknowledge our national holiday of independence. This is especially significant to us as members of the Jewish American community.

Human nature being what it is, we tend to criticize, to complain, and to highlight the shortcomings and inadequacies of our system. But it’s the Fourth of July, and while I will admit that the government in this country is far from perfect, it is a far cry better than that of any other country or government in the world.

The world is in turmoil. There is a real and ever-present danger to Jews in many part of the world. Anti-Semitism is rearing its ugly head and remains largely unrestricted in so many areas. One need not look too far to realize that we can only feel tremendous gratitude that there is a United States of America.

There are those among us, including many Americans, who criticize the United States. They point to the issue of immigration as one of this country’s great challenges. But I say that we have an immigration issue precisely because this country is so great. The promise of freedom and liberty here is so appealing that everyone wants to come here.

My friend Senator Marco Rubio, in a recent tribute presented at the Jewish American Heritage Month, reiterated these sentiments: “Ours is not the story of a perfect country or a perfect people,” he said. “But it’s the story of a county and a people who are struggling to be better and we have the freedom here to accomplish that.” He continued to say that, “In every part of the world there are people who were trapped in difficult circumstances in their country and were able to accomplish great things here. Being an American is not just a title. It’s a blessing and along with that it’s a responsibility.”

As grateful as we are for this country’s benevolence, we sometimes forget that we are still in golus. We don’t have a license to flaunt our successes or to express our dissatisfaction in an excessive manner. Our country allows us to practice our religion and we are thankful for that. But it is incumbent upon us to live in a modest fashion and to conduct ourselves with humility. We need to be careful not to arouse the ire of our neighbors and the general population. There will be times that we will not be successful in achieving our goals, politically or socially. When that happens, let’s not measure our failures by attribute them to anti-Semitism or hatred. Instead, let’s focus on generating goodwill, an affirmative outlook, and a positive demeanor.

Lest I be misunderstood, let me be clear. Just because we need to recognize the importance of living in a subdued fashion, that doesn’t mean that we need to live a clandestine lifestyle. Living a subdued lifestyle doesn’t mean diminishing our allegiance to Torah. On the contrary. We should proudly demonstrate our commitment to Torah. We are grateful for the freedom that has mandated to us by the Constitution of the United States to live as proud Jews.

In years past, there was a feeling among many of our brethren that it was necessary to discard the Torah way of life in order to become good Americans. That was unfortunate and today we know that it is simply not true. Being a good Jew and being a good American are two concepts that work very well together. It’s a balancing act that we need to internalize and understand as we approach this Fourth of July.

As we celebrate this Fourth of July, what goes through my mind? For starters, I believe our community should re-engage ourselves to consider our civic responsibility. That could mean something as simple as registering to vote. Or, perhaps, to engage in civic duty as good upstanding citizens. Let’s recognize that America became the greatest country on this planet because it recognizes innovation and improvement. Our responsibility as citizens is to engage our community in our civic duty while at the same time remaining committed to practicing our Faith.

Here’s another idea. As proud Americans, why not display the American flag from our windows? How delightful it would be if, when I wake up on the morning on July 4th, I would see the flag proudly fluttering in front of the homes of our fellow Jews in Boro Park, Monsey, Lakewood, Williamsburg, Monroe, and elsewhere. Let there be tens of thousands of American flags waving in our communities, testimony to the fact that we are grateful for what this country has provided us. Let there be no mistake about it. The fact that we have today hundreds of thousands of frum observant families raising our children in the pathways of our ancestors is only possible due to the protection of our constitutional guarantee. Waving the flag, a simple demonstration of patriotism, would serve as a tremendous Kiddush Hashem. The nation at large would understand that we are rooted here in the United States and that we take pride in our country. And that we are willing to contribute as proud, loyal, and productive citizens.

There are other steps we can take as well. Our youngsters need to be better educated about the history of this great country. We need to allow them to develop a better appreciation of their duty as citizens. We need to teach them to speak and write properly in English. We need to help them develop as contributing members of the society. And the best way to do that is to make them fully cognizant and aware of the workings of our democratic process.

Finally, let’s bring back the tradition of reciting the ‘Pledge of Allegiance’ in our community’s yeshivos and schools. It’s a practice that was done years ago, but has been abandoned over time. What a difference it would make if our children would recite these timeless words:

“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. And to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under G-d indivisible with liberty and justice for all!”

These are my thoughts as I sit back and reflect upon the many different ways we as a Jewish community and American citizens can celebrate this upcoming Fourth of July holiday.

Ezra Friedlander is the CEO of The Friedlander Group, a New York City and Washington DC based Consulting Firm. Contact Ezra at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @EzraFriedlander or visit www.thefriedlandergroup.com.

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11 COMMENTS

  1. I would have portrayed it but now that they passed the same gender marriage law I see that they have a different definition of freedom and therefore I will not be portrating it nor do I think others should, who stand for true freedom.

  2. to #4, oh how tolerant you are, he is the President and certainly not anti American! It is ok to dislike policies but to question ones patriotisim is just ridiculous. this is the kind of remark that shows a small, bigotted mind.
    to #1 you have every right to your opinion that is what makes this country great. If you don’t want to marry same gender you don’t need to. You can follow your religious beliefs without persecution!

  3. I completely agree with Mr, Friedlander being born and raised in Europe I know that America has its faults . it did not help too much the Jewish people during world war II. but still its is the best country in the world full with possibilities for everyone. I think every Jew should read his article. even if you dont agree with it 100 %, Gut Shabos to clall Yisroel.

  4. Thanx, R’ Ezra for a great piece. This article, for me, is really a mussar haskel on how must utilize his time on earth. Ezra was my classmate in Be’er Shmuel a few decades ago. And look now, yrs latet, Im just a reg shlepper Joe and he’s friends with Sen Marco Rubio. Wow.

  5. The American flag today stands for;
    Do what you want, when you want, where you want. If anyone tries to stop you, sue them. If you get shot doing what you want, no worries, we could riot and distroy anything we want. If you get thrown in jail, we could say you are nuts, too crazy to stand trial or you can always break free. The liberal judges are ruining this once great country, with the help of the liberal president the ones who want to do what they want voted in. This is not freedom, this is a zoo. This is the destruction of a great country. We should have a day to remember this once great country, not a day of celebration.

Comments are closed.