Twenty-oh-two

Editorial

As we begin the new year, never have we felt more ardently American - or more intensely Jewish. Old Glory waves and the strains of "God Bless America" echo, signaling a heartening patriotic fervor. We feel a surge of pride in being American and heartfelt gratitude for the blessings of freedom we share.

And share we do, as American Jews who are one of an array of cultures and religions that comprise our nation. As dazzling as Joseph's coat of many colors, the fabric of our lives has never shone more brilliantly than during these troubled times. Shades of difference are blurred by shared pain and sorrow and a fierce determination to triumph over those who seek to rend the ties that bind us. Colors and creeds coalesce in a united response to evil, and extraordinary acts of kindness, courage and generosity renew our faith in the innate goodness of the human spirit and our capacity to prevail.

Our unbridled optimism, a hallmark of American life, is a product of the very mix that animates our national consciousness. The openness of American society and the diversity of our nation's religious and cultural richness propel us ever forward. It is the very lack of uniformity in American life that makes it so alive, the very intermingling of its assorted religious and cultural communities that makes it so real, and so vital.

And it is the diversity of American life that those who seek to destroy us loathe. It is the expansiveness of American society they fear. It is the exhilaration borne from transformation and change that they seek to impede.

So, this year, just as we fervently affirm our identity as Americans, so, too, we must celebrate our identity as Jews, resolving to preserve our precious religious and cultural heritage for what it means to us and for what it means within the context of vibrant American life.

In these troubled times, we are buoyed by our multifaceted dual identity, bolstered by the strength and resilience of our legacies.

Twenty-oh-two, we're ready.

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