Windows & Doors

There's that word again: maverick. Used in Thursday's Vice-Presidential debate, by Gov. Sarah Palin six times to describe herself and her running mate, Senator John McCain, who she described as "the consummate maverick." But where does the term come from and what does it mean?

According to John Schwartz' New York Times article, it's a name that belongs t0 a family with proud progressive political roots that date back to the 1600's in Boston, and to the 1800's in Texas, where the family now lives. And apparently one member of the Maverick family, Terralitta Maverick is pretty disgusted that John McCain and Sarah Palin keep referring to themselves as mavericks. But the joke is on her. And the Times should apologize to its readers for allowing this very interesting editorial to pass for news.

Turns out that Ms. Maverick's great-grandfather was a Texas rancher who refused to brand his cattle, and it became common practice to refer to all unbranded animals as mavericks. Now Terralitta is upset because she claims that McCain has violated the family tradition by appropriating the term even though he has branded himself a Republican.

"It's just incredible -- the nerve! -- to suggest that he's not part of that Republican herd. Every time we hear it, all my children and I and all my family shrink a little and say, 'Oh, my God, he said it again.' He's a Republican," she said. "He's branded."

And she is not?

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The answer is, yes. And the real issue is how supporters of Israel understand what it means to "support Israel". Is it a function of pressuring the State of Israel to do what it "should do" from the perspective of those who do not live there? Or is it about supporting the decisions of the only real democracy in the Middle East and our best ally in the region, even if it makes decisions that some of us see as too much to the left or too far to the right? Frankly, I could make a case for going either way, but we should be honest and clear about what we are doing when we make claims about which side in this election would be "better for Israel".

This situation is further complicated by the fact that the Democratic and Republican candidates have different understandings of what it means to support Israel, as recent comments from each campaign indicate. In fact, it may be that the candidates don't even agree with their own running mates, let alone those against whom they are running. During last night's Vice Presidential debate, Sarah Palin said that peace between Israel and the Palestinians would be at the top of the McCain/Palin agenda. But recent comments by top McCain advisors indicate otherwise.

Of course, it's not like Obama and Biden necessarily agree either. Senator Obama has been clear about both his commitment to bringing peace and to the fact that he has a vision of what that peace would look like. But last night, Senator Biden suggested that the American policy should not insist on specifics about negotiation, but should back Israel. So which is it, senators? Frankly, it probably doesn't matter and both sides should stop making political hay out of this issue.

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How can a candidate proclaim a faith which teaches about all aspects of life but tell us that those teachings will not shape their approach to governing the rest of us, who may not share that faith? If they genuinely believe, how do they bracket those beliefs when it comes to making public policy? And if they do bracket those beliefs, what does it mean to genuinely believe?

My questions for both Senator Biden and Governor Palin focus on how they balance religious traditions that would dictate every area of life, which each of their faiths would, and their obligation to respect people of all faiths, including those with no faith at all. Too often that balance is either a function of politicians claiming to believe more deeply than they really do, or of their harboring a genuine desire to see their personal beliefs drive public policy. The first is disingenuous and the second is dangerous. Can these candidates avoids the pitfall of either position?

Questions for the candidates:

What is the greatest threat we face as a nation right now, and how do your religious beliefs help you to address that threat?

On whose side is God in the Iraq war? And if you rely on Lincoln's response that we should pray to be on God's side, please explain what it means to "be on God's side".

How do you justify enforcing laws which violate your personal beliefs, such as abortion, or would you prefer to see the laws mirror your beliefs? And if you would not, why not?

Do you think people are better off if they believe in God?

Does religion have any proper place in American public life? And if it does, how does that not violate the Constitution's establishment clause?

Religulous is to religion as rape is to sex. Like the versions of religion and religious people in Bill Maher's Religulous which opens Friday, rape is a terrible thing which must be recognized and combated. But it hardly defines the range of possible sexual experience. Neither do the violent, small-minded, fear-driven forms of religion upon which Maher focuses define religious experience. So for starters, let's stop giving Maher credit for attacking all religion. He doesn't.

Instead, Maher selects the worst of religion and compares it to the best of secularism -- hardly a fair fight. But he does make some very important points in this wickedly funny, if totally lopsided analysis of religion. And it's the people who will be most offended by what he has to say that should listen the most. Why? Because religion shouldn't get a free pass and it certainly hasn't earned one.

Maher doesn't have to go far, or look too hard, to find examples of truly frightening versions of religion, versions which are likely to get most of us killed. In fact, more people are dying today in the name of religion than any time since the crusades. And the more religious you are, the more that should bother you. It's up to the faithful to clean up the mess that we have too often made of faith. Simply saying things like, "that isn't real Judaism, Christianity, or Islam" is no answer. Religions are, as their adherents live them, and history will judge if we brought honor or shame to the tradition we love.

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There are many customs on Rosh Hashanah: blowing the shofar, eating apples dipped in honey, and long hours of prayer and meditation. But until I watched the cartoon adventures of Todd and God on You Tube, I never knew that taking communion was one of them. What else would you call the practice of God appearing to a young man and offering him the chance to consume God's body as a way of experiencing spiritual renewal in the New Year?

Actually, I love the fact that this very funny video (complete with allusions to the Simpsons as well as Beavis and Buthead), produced to teach the practice of eating a new fruit on the second night of Rosh Hashanah, does so by taping in to the power of a practice that is synonymous with Christianity. It demonstrates the universal urges that we meet with particular practices. There is no such thing as a "Jewish spiritual need", because Jews are not essentially different from other people. But there are brilliant Jewish practices which meet fundamental human spiritual needs, and this new fruit thing is one of them.

Boredom and lack of spiritual connection are challenges we all face. They are the root causes of so many problems in our lives, from cheating on our spouses (over 50% of Americans admit they do), to misery at work (over one third of us report that) to just feeling empty and lonely inside. Eating a piece of fruit, no matter how good it is, will not solve that. But we all need practices which renew us and help us feel that renewal is always possible. And it doesn't hurt that this one acknowledges that even by the second day of the New Year, those feelings can set in.

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