This is the second part of a 2 part letter. The first part can be found here.

A few days ago I wrote to a friend that it feels, the world over, that we are seeing a dark cloud and some are looking for a fight with some “other” as a response to that. I doubt that there is some definable good and evil in reality, but if there is it is most likely a divide between those looking for violence and those looking for peace. The problem with that theory is that the truth is that there is no such thing as violent “thugs”; there is only us. 

Life would be much easier if we were fine with the world as it is. We could be firmly focused on taking of only ourselves? After all taking care of only one’s self is built into the ideology of the current power structures – and a core component of the pain inflicted on us by capitalism, racism, and supremacist ideologies. 

Much of this is taken from an email to a good friend. This is the first part of a 2 part letter. The second part can be found here.

I am glad that you got this conversation started. I need to be thinking this way about making a positive impact on the world as humans and as Jews. I have been working hard lately, getting the next round of “Achvat Amim” participants ready, and covering the situation from the border areas with Gaza, Ashkelon, and Tel Aviv. I’m sorry it took me this long to write back. I’ve been learning an enormous amount about me and about the media. Writing and sitting in the studio gives you a chance to go through an analytical process, not a complete one – TV may not be built for thorough analysis at all – but something. Being in the field involves a lot more communication about what you see around you, what others say around you, and how it feels. It’s a strange and interesting world. The other day, I was walking to work and cool breeze, unusual for July, was blowing in from the West. It reminded me that I needed to write you back and it reminded me of all the pain and progress over where you are and the overbearing feeling of chaos over here.