Abe: They thought I was making a judgment ā a negative oneā about their lives and their parentsā lives, and about everyone else in our community. By embracing a radically new way of thinking and living, I was effectively saying the old way wasnāt as good ā or at least not good enough for me and my family. People found that attitude snotty, haughty, and holier-than-thou. They still do. You might even say this tension is the root cause of anti-Semitism.
Iām just hanging out here to see more of your work.
I really appreciate your interest. Please let me know if you have any questions or thoughts.
Iām grateful to you for sharing your posts in this series. My understanding is increasing, thankfully, in these dire times.
Inserting the graphic data showing the spread in numbers of one non-college groupās antisemitic tendencies was a good idea. It made a punch!
Hmmmā¦ I wonder if itās that complicated. Hereās a simpler explanation:
(from my imagined interview with Abraham himself: https://outofbabel.substack.com/p/abraham-our-exclusive-interview-part )
Patrick: So people thought you were crazyā¦
Abe: Crazy AND a snob. An elitist.
Patrick: Why an elitist?
Abe: They thought I was making a judgment ā a negative oneā about their lives and their parentsā lives, and about everyone else in our community. By embracing a radically new way of thinking and living, I was effectively saying the old way wasnāt as good ā or at least not good enough for me and my family. People found that attitude snotty, haughty, and holier-than-thou. They still do. You might even say this tension is the root cause of anti-Semitism.
P.S. Even well-educated people donāt like to be reminded that thereās a better path available ā and they aināt on it.
I think youāre oversimplifying too much. Thatās an aspect of it but thereās much more.
I agree, Pragerās book was great: educational and appalling, but an important read.