COLUMN: Freedom in the comet's wake

From Yoni Slonim's, "Taking My Turn At Bat," Fall '97 From Yoni Slonim's, "Taking My Turn At Bat," Fall '97 A Jew. A Jew. Look on your left, a Jew. Interesting, I thought. A young girl passing by me with what I assume was her mom and brother wanted to inform the rest of her group she had made a sighting. Of late, the proper response to this girl would have been to say, "No darling, don't see that boy as a Jew rather as a human being, just like you." Or, in political-speak that has filtered down, "we want to emphasize sameness not differences." Used appropriately this view can be beneficial. For instance, when desegregation took place there had to be an acceptance of sameness on the human level before real progress could be made. However, there is an inherent danger in this approach, which has taken on significance in the national plain. The danger is that we are all not the same. Politicians, such as President Bill Clinton, like to emphasize we are all Americans. They say we shouldn't vote out of selfish, private concerns but national ones. By stressing achievement through sameness there obviously has to be some definition of "sameness" -- a norm that we should all be striving for. It is within the defining of this norm that lies the danger. People have been quick to offer their ideas of the norm, or as some like to say, values. In fact Clinton, in his second term, has been stressing the role of religious leaders in reinvigorating the national spirit. America's problem has been reduced to a country whose moral compass has gone awry. If only we could go back to the days of yore when people respected each other, we wouldn't have problems. As William Bennet -- editor of (the ridiculously titled) "The Book of Virtues" -- argues in the introduction that his "book reminds the reader of a time -- not so long ago --when the verities were the moral verities." I wonder if he would include in his idyllic past verities such as "whites only." Those who are preaching the loudest probably need the lessons the most. By emphasizing the role of "moral" leaders and their teachings, politicians have reduced our national problems to those of faith and morality and thereby displacing their own responsibility. It is through this warped lens of having to fit in the norm that many have judged the mass suicide of the "cult" -- The Heaven's Gate. News programs blare out with the sensationalist tune of "The question on everyone's mind -- why?" They then answer this by saying in a condescending voice that "They were looking for something, they were unfulfilled spiritually." As if this were such an uncommon trait, or for that matter as if there were something odd and wrong with having such feelings. When looked upon by an outsider almost all religions can look like a cult. There exists a dangerously fine line between religion and cult and it is one we should be wary of crossing. As long as the leaders of Heaven's Gate did not invade the personal liberties of those involved what is wrong with what they did? As one brave surviving family member said about their lost loved one, "He wasn't going to judge those who took their lives. They made that decision and they didn't physically hurt anybody else in carrying it out. Who is he to judge if they made the right decision for themselves?" It is unfortunate 39 people decided to take their own lives. What is even more unfortunate is the way we have judged them. We declare there must have been something wrong with them -- they couldn't have been normal! We are not all the same and we should be happy about that. Problems don't arise because we are different, but rather in part because we avoid that we are. There is something to be said for being eccentric. It is those who are different that enable the rest of us to reflect on our lives. Yes, I hope I would not have made the choice that those in the cult did if placed in their situation. But, to suppress that choice, to eliminate those on the fringes not only hurts those individuals but society as a whole. We don't have to agree or for that matter understand each others differences, as many would like to suggest. I do not request the young girl understand why I choose to wear a head covering. That is not necessary. All I ask is for that girl to understand is yes, I am different. And thankfully so is she.