Martin Luther King

Well, Reverend Martin Luther King's dream has now become a nightmare. The federal army, National Guard and highway patrol have arrived. The mighty government forces are here to defuse the rioters' mayhem. When observing the total rebellion against law and order, one senses apprehension taking hold of the city. The air is filled with the foul smell of burning structures and the sounds of citizens cursing. Schools and businesses are closed; buses are at a standstill. The spirit of fear and panic is everywhere. Dread fills the air. Flight to the outskirts may now be the only answer for those living in the Los Angeles area.

Our mayor, governor and city officials have expressed trepidation and dismay wondering when this will end, as they witness outright murder taking place in the city of Long Beach. And all this under the guise of protesting against a system that doesn't work.

Here in the South Bay, schools are now closed and education has been stopped dead in its tracks. Yet, little children and students who attend my daycare and school facility are busy playing outside in the playground, free from anxiety. True, I know that safety is important, but I do not believe that we are to allow the children to become hostages to violence. Instead, we must expose them to the calming environment of an organized school atmosphere that remains free from terror.

I have often heard from family and friends in Israel that the schools of Torah almost never close. When a state of emergency is declared on account of the Arabs' "intifada," children are kept in school for even longer hours of Torah study. "The world exists only because of the innocent breath of school children," as stated in the Talmud Shabbat.

If children remain home, they'll most likely end up huddled together with parents, grandparents and cousins at the mercy of unrelenting T.V. coverage which will quickly go to work on their imaginations causing them to become unnecessarily petrified. The routine of daily life will cease to exist, and as fear and dread tighten their grip, everyone will become suspended in terror wondering if and when the riots will reach their homes and businesses. Nobody is naive enough to sit still and watch The Bill Cosby Show, depicting the happy black family, and foolishly believe that the illusion of Cosby may be more real than the actual reality that is taking place in Los Angeles.

Although we may not as yet be able to put all the pieces of this tragic reality together, we do know that violence breeds further violence. In the Talmud we are told of a great injustice done by one of the rulers of Rome. He had stopped the Jewish people from performing certain commandments. Thus, the Jews gathered together in groups and protested peacefully around the senate exclaiming, "Are we not of one father? Do we not have equality in this country?" The prohibition against the commandments was revoked. True, protesting may not always be successful, but rioting is always bad.

When Meir Kahane's murderer was on trial, he was acquitted of murder. Jews did not respond by burning down the court buildings nor by carrying on with looting as a protest against the system. They protested peacefully, and eventually the judge managed to punish the culprit for another offense, possession of a dangerous weapon!

How ludicrous it is to think that all this unrest will come to a stop by a show of force on either side. What monumental psychological damage is being experienced. The impact on people, especially the young and impressionable, observing these events will have far reaching consequences.

In Ethics of Our Father, Chapter Three, we find the following statement attributed to Rabbi Chanina, the deputy high priest, "Pray for the welfare of the government for is not for the fear of it, men would swallow one another alive." (A message of old for today's generation). For Jews the best way to protect a city is through the prayers and Torah words uttered by the pure holy children.

By keeping schools open and allowing our children to play outside; by taking them away from the television and showing them that education can prevail at all times and under all conditions we are showing them that Martin Luther's dream can be a reality in which children from all races can reside.

Children from all races live Martin Luther King's Dream. It's a shame that society has used an episode with another King, Rodney King, to obscure that dream.