Everyone knows that family relationships are important and require a great deal of investment of time and energy.
What people don't appreciate is how important it is to understand the very complex and most often problematic relationships they have with money and food.
Think about it.
Years ago, the world-renowned Viennese psychiatrist and existential philosopher Viktor E. Frankl, M.D., Ph.D., warned that freedom threatens to degenerate into mere license and arbitrariness unless it is lived responsibly. Although he enjoyed his time spent in America and admired much about it, Dr. Frankl was not shy about criticizing the popular understanding of some cherished American values, such as our notion of freedom. He took exception, for instance, to what appeared to be a commonly accepted view of equating freedom with a license to do virtually anything one wants. To Frankl, freedom without responsibility was an oxymoron. That is why he suggested that the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor on the East Coast be supplemented by a “Statue of Responsibility” somewhere along the West Coast.
"Freedom, however, is not the last word. Freedom is only part of the story and half of the truth. Freedom is but the negative aspect of the whole phenomenon whose positive aspect is responsibleness. In fact, freedom is in danger of degenerating into mere arbitrariness unless it is lived in terms of responsibleness. That is why I recommend that the Statue of Liberty on the East Coast be supplemented by a Statue of Responsibility on the West Coast."1
I’ve always been intrigued by Dr. Frankl’s idea for a Statue of Responsibility. Such a monument makes sense to me and, in my view, would be much more than just a “book-end” to the Statue of Liberty. It could serve, among other things, as an important reminder to everyone of what is required to safeguard true freedom and a democratic way of life. Moreover, it would be an extraordinary way to celebrate Frankl’s life and legacy. It would be a meaningful, everlasting symbol of his contributions to humanity.
A nonprofit foundation exists to advance Frankl’s idea with the goal of completing the statue, which would be a 300+ foot national monument complete with a large event venue and campus similar to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in a major metropolitan area somewhere on the West Coast by the year 2023.2 A model of the proposed Statue of Responsibility, consisting of a pair of clasped hands oriented vertically, has been designed by commissioned sculptor Gary Lee Price. The model and associated renderings are being used to raise awareness of the initiative and help raise private funds for the project.
Importantly, the late Dr. Stephen R. Covey, who wrote the foreword to my book, Prisoners of Our Thoughts,3 was a member of the original committee formed by Viktor Frankl in the 1990s to bring the concept of the Statue of Responsibility to life. After the initial release of Prisoners of Our Thoughts, which I was honored to write at Dr. Frankl’s personal urging, I also became involved in the nonprofit foundation’s efforts in an advisory capacity as well as was invited to be one of contributors to an anthology it sponsored entitled, Responsibility 911: With Great Liberty Comes Great Responsibility, published in 2008.4
This book examined the role that responsibility plays in a free society. In this regard, I was honored to be included among a very distinguished group of contributors, including Warren Bennis, Jack Canfield, Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, George S. McGovern, Barack Obama, Ross Perot, Tom Peters, Bob Proctor, Anita Roddick, Peter Senge, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bishop Desmond Tutu, Denis Waitley, and Oprah Winfrey.
“The price of greatness is responsibility.”—Sir Winston Churchill
As you can discern from this list, the Responsibility 911 anthology embraced a wide spectrum of ideologies and political persuasions. Indeed, making a strong and diversified case for the role of responsibility in a free society belongs to no one political party or a particular group. Rather, responsibility is a manifestation of the “ability to respond” and, in this context, requires rules of engagement that include both civility and agreement to disagree on matters of common concern. Diversity in all of its various dimensions, especially the diversity of thought, must be respected as a sine qua non of “responsibility” in the collective. Otherwise, we will never be able to reach common ground, a meaningful objective requiring, first and foremost, that we are willing and able to go to higher ground.
References
1. Frankl. V.E. (1992). Man’s Search for Meaning, 4th edition. Boston: Beacon Press, 134.
2. For more on the Statue of Responsibility, including the monument project, see: https://statueofresponsibility.com/.
3. Pattakos, A., and Dundon, E. (2017). Prisoners of Our Thoughts: Viktor Frankl’s Principles for Discovering Meaning in Life and Work, 3rd. edition. Oakland: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
4. Shelton, K., and Bolz, D.L. (2008). Responsibility 911: With Great Liberty Comes Great Responsibility. Provo, Utah: Executive Excellence Publishing.
----
This explains why Moshe was told "בהוציאך את העם ממצרים תעבדון את הא-להים על ההר הזה". Leaving Egypt isn't enough. We need Torah to guide us in our state of liberty.
משלי ט"ו:ל"א
אֹ֗זֶן שֹׁ֭מַעַת תּוֹכַ֣חַת חַיִּ֑ים בְּקֶ֖רֶב חֲכָמִ֣ים תָּלִֽין׃
The ear that listens to reproof which gives life will be at home among the wise.
The GREATEST favor you can do for someone is to help them become a better person. That is worth TRILLIONS. I wouldn't give up my few positive qualities or adopt negative qualities [I have more than enough of them] for all of the money in the world.
Yet, I have been asked thousands of time to give others money but am never asked by anyone to give them mussar. [When I have some for an individual - and I do all the time - I almost always keep my thoughts to myself. In order to have the proper effect one has to want the reproof]. Mussar is the medicine of self-improvement. Why don't people want mussar??
Mussar Haskel: If you want to be great - learn mussar, preferably from a good Rebbi. Money flows like water - here today - gone today. Good character is an eternal kinyan and achieving it is one of your main tasks on the planet.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Further controversy erupted on Capitol Hill today at the start of a hearing on antisemitism on college campuses, as Columbia University president Nemat Shafik accidentally gave a Nazi salute when being sworn in before her congressional testimony.
The mix-up occurred as Shafik was asked to raise her right hand to testify about her institution's culture in the face of accusations of hate and discrimination, with the university head inadvertently raising her arm into the well-known "Heil, Hitler" sign as though it was second nature to her.
"Oh, my goodness! Sorry! Force of habit!" Shafik said after realizing her mistake. "I don't want anyone to think that Columbia University in any way supports or affirms hate speech or antisemitic behavior of any kind, and I ask that the fact that I accidentally performed a Nazi salute there for a moment not be held against me or misinterpreted as me harboring any negative views toward Jews."
Members of Congress and reporters in attendance paused awkwardly as Shafik attempted to further explain her gaffe. "It's just an arm motion I'm very used to doing. Muscle memory and all that," she said. "I don't think the president of a major university giving a Nazi salute should be misconstrued as evidence that accusations of antisemitism on our campus are true. We love the Jews. All about those Jews."
At publishing time, the committee chair told Shafik it was alright and to proceed with her testimony, to which she responded "Death to Isra — I mean thank you! I totally meant to say ‘thank you.'"
WASHINGTON, D.C. — After workshopping several potential slogans with Democratic focus groups, the 2024 Biden campaign has settled on "Death To America".
"This is what the Biden Presidency is all about," announced President Biden as the campaign banner was unfurled. "Death to the Great Satan!"
According to sources within the campaign, Biden began considering the slogan after hearing his supporters organically chanting "Death To America" at his speeches. "Nothing fires up a Biden crowd like calling for the violent destruction of the United States," said campaign manager Steve Roscoe. "It's like how whenever Trump needed to juice the crowd in 2016, he would start saying 'Build The Wall'. For Biden, it's 'Death To America'. That really sends the crowd into a frenzy."
After weeks of considering alternatives such as "Allahu Akbar" and "From The River To The Sea", Biden chose "Death To America" for its inclusive messaging. "It's a big-tent slogan that encapsulates the heart of the Democratic Party," explained Roscoe. "Maybe you want to bankrupt America through entitlements - death to America! Maybe you want to murder the next generation in the womb - death to America! Maybe you want to brainwash children into a suicide cult that amputates healthy organs - death to America! Maybe you're an Islamist terrorist that want to literally bring about the deaths of Americans - death to America! Maybe you want to have open borders and allow tens of thousands of illegal immigrants to enter [may with drugs] - death to America!! Everyone who wishes the destruction of this country is welcome in the Democratic Party."
At publishing time, the Biden campaign had reported excellent sales across the Middle East of their new "Death To America" t-shirts.
מבחינה דקדוקית אין כלל מחייב בבחירת סיומת הנקבה – ומכאן ששתי הסיומות כשרות: דתית וגם דתייה. בימינו מקובלת הבחנה ולפיה בהקשר של תואר מובהק, במיוחד כשאינו מוסב אל אדם, אומרים דתית, כגון ‘שכונה דתית’, ‘אוכלוסייה דתית’, ‘השקפה דתית’. ואילו כאשר שם התואר מוסב אל אדם ממין נקבה משמשת הצורה דתייה, כגון ‘אישה דתייה’ (לצד ‘אישה דתית’), ובעיקר כשהמילה באה בפני עצמה, כגון במשפט ‘היא דתייה’.
בדומה לכך יש בזמן האחרון גם שימוש בשמות התואר חילונייה, חרדייה באותן נסיבות שבהן משתמשים ב’דתייה’: ‘בחורה חילונייה’ (לצד ‘בחורה חילונית’), ‘חרדייה מבני ברק’ (לצד ‘חרדית מבני ברק’) לעומת ‘חתונה חילונית’, ‘שכונה חרדית’ וכדומה. אליהם אפשר להוסיף את שם התואר ‘חופשייה’ – שגם הוא משמש בנסיבות דומות: ‘אישה חופשייה’ ואף ‘ציפור חופשייה’ (לצד ‘אישה חופשית’, ‘ציפור חופשית’) לעומת ‘צניחה חופשית’ וכדומה.
יש לציין שההבחנה שנוצרה בלשוננו היום בין ‘דתייה’ ל’דתית’ אינה נובעת מן המצוי במקורות. במקרא אנו מוצאים “וְאָנֹכִי נָכְרִיָּה” (רות ב, י), וגם “בְּאֶרֶץ נָכְרִיָּה” (שמות ב, כב) – כלומר הסיומת ־ִיָּה משמשת הן שם תואר לאדם ממין נקבה הן שם תואר כללי. לצד סיומת זו רווחת יותר הסיומת םִית, ואף יש חילופין בין שתי הסיומות: “רוּת הַמּוֹאֲבִיָּה” (רות א, כב ועוד) לעומת “שִׁמְרִית הַמּוֹאָבִית” (דברי הימים ב כד, כו). בספרות חז”ל יש “גיורת מצרית” ו”מצרי שנשא מצרית” (לאדם) וגם “דלעת מצרית“.
נעיר לבסוף שצורת הרבים של כל הצורות הללו זהה: דתיות, חילוניות, חרדיות, חופשיות, נוכריות, מואביות, מצריות.
