Sunday, February 16, 2020
My Legacy
I have been thinking about my legacy a lot lately. As many
of you know, I have never met my biological father and so I recently had my DNA
done. I was curious as to my ethnicity, curious about my history, wondering
about the family I never knew.
Well, let me tell you I discovered I was 50% Jewish. And
although I was not completely surprised, this discovery has caused me to think
a lot about my ancestors, the past, and also reflect on the state of the world
in this moment.
My family, the family I didn’t know, came back with very few
“hits” when I looked up my DNA. Why you ask? Because my family was murdered,
destroyed, brutalized, and lost as a result of WWII. Over 6 million Jews were
killed. 1.5 million of those children. I
recently sat in the Holocaust museum and there was a visual depiction of those
who lost their lives, and the numbers are unfathomable. And that is my legacy….
 |
| My Grandfather before WWII |
On my mothers side, my Grandfather fought in WWII. Doing not
just one tour, but two. That is also my legacy….
I come from a family (parents, aunts, uncles, etc) who
epitomized the free love and hippie culture. I was raised by a family who
believed in equality, free love, freedom, and fought (both literally and
figuratively) for what they believed in, what they believed was right. My
father was very active in the Civil Rights movement and my mother was so ahead
of her time in terms of love, non-judgment, and gratitude. And that is my legacy….
I have to admit that I am struggling right now, along with
many Americans, as we are living in a country divided. And it breaks my heart
to see this amazing country, with even more incredible people so divided. We
are letting one person, politics, a difference in beliefs and opinions straight
up fucking win. I see my own family and friends divided and upset about the state of the
world, but it destroys me to see them point fingers, throw blame, get embroiled
in political rants, be overcome by anger instead of love, and use the weapon of
hate instead of love. They taught me growing up to love my neighbor, love the stranger, just straight up love, yet we just aren't seeing enough of that today.
In my opinion, that is not what my family and my legacy
fought for or died for. This is the time we should be uniting, loving one another,
celebrating the incredible differences that made us, and this great country. I
for one am so grateful for those who came before me. They have created a
country that allows me to write this blog because I have freedom of speech.
They have created a country where I can vote, even though I am a woman. They
have created a country where I can live, even though I am 50% Jewish. They have
created a country where I can love who I want regardless of race. They have created a country where I can worship the God of my choosing. They have
created a country where I can live without fear of imminent death.
And for those who are continuing to fight for all that I
have, thank you. I have friends and family who continue to fight both on domestic
and international soil and straight up fucking thank you.
This is not about food, because this morning I just want to
take a moment and celebrate life. I want to take a moment and be grateful. And
I want to take a moment and remember my legacy and choose love. Thank you for
reading!
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