Why I Wear a Star of David

When I bought my silver Star of David, in a Holocaust museum in Kraków, it was to be a reminder of my trip. We had heard a Holocaust survivor speak. Moving doesn't even begin to describe that. The strength of the man, to have seen and experienced such horror, and yet to be still full of life and love and forgiveness. I wanted to remember that human ability to survive and to love. 

We visited Auschwitz-Birkenau. What a desolate place. Silent, but for the visitors. No birds overhead. I walked along the train tracks there and prayed. There, where the horrendous train journeys ended; where people thought they were being sent for showers; where the infirm, elderly, disabled, young and pregnant were cut off from the fit and healthy; where people were chosen for extermination or toil. I can't remember all that I prayed, though I know I asked for understanding, naively thanked G-d that we now lived in a world where "Never Again" was the mantra, called for peace to reign.

Striking Ignorance

Tube strikes don't affect me, so I can look at today's Union actions a bit more objectively than your average commuter or Londoner. Perhaps it's easier for me to see the drivers' side, as expressed in this article. Yes, it must be very difficult to get to work, but it must be difficult to not get comfort breaks, and worse to have your relationships break down because of the hours you have no choice but to work. When I was in paid employment, I joined a union that didn't strike. It's not been my preferred method of achieving change, but I support those for whom it is. 

But I just don't understand why people can be so ignorant as to not see that we are constantly being pitted against one another, when we should be uniting. The powers that be want us lower folks to be fighting amongst ourselves so that we don't see what they're up to. 

Let's have a go at train drivers because they earn more than we do, rather than fighting for everyone to receive a decent wage. 

Let's complain about not being able to see a doctor at the weekend, rather than making sure the government can't sell the NHS to their cronies. 

Let's kick out all the foreigners seeking our benefits, rather than going after the politicians and their friends who have taken much more from us. 

Let's get angry about a lion's death, rather than care about human beings who are starving and dying and going through all kinds of torture. 

All the anger is being directed at the wrong groups of people. The media - and I can never remember whether they're in the politicians' pockets, or the other way around - tell us who's to blame and straight away, like mindless sheep, we're there, shaking our fists, complaining of injustice, and hurling abuse. And all the time the powers that be are sitting smugly, rubbing their hands together with glee, as they watch the minions destroying one another, oblivious to the rich and powerful getting more money and more power. 

We need to open our eyes, soften our hearts, and use our brains. We can't, we mustn't, believe everything the papers and news channels serve up to us. And we must unite with our co-humans, and go on strike from believing the lies, rather than fighting for the scraps our rulers deign to throw at us.