Happy Inauguration Day!

Today is a great day for America.  The strength of our democratic system, the envy of the world, was on display as our 45^th President was inaugurated.  (We still said tachanun, the penitential prayer, at morning services.)

Regardless of who you voted for, each of us should thank God for America and her many blessings for our people, all Americans, and all humanity.  Let’s not forget what US support means for the State of Israel.

And Americans are, by and large, positive.

According to this week’s Gallup poll, as the nation prepares to transition to Donald Trump's administration, solid majorities of Americans are satisfied with the U.S. quality of life, the opportunity to get ahead by working hard and the nation's military strength.  80% of Americans are satisfied with quality of life.  Challenges certainly remain.  Just 31% are satisfied with the current moral and ethical climate; and 22% satisfied with race relations.  Overall, though, Americans are satisfied.

With so much promise and possibility, why does the news seem so negative?  If we, according to polls, are so optimistic, then why doesn’t it feel that way?  Why is it that so many people feel anxious or left behind?  I sat with a group of rabbinic colleagues last week, and many seemed dazed and confused regarding how to address the issues in our country now that our 45^th President has taken office.

Part of the reason for many people feeling out of sorts is disappointment in having voted for the candidate who lost the election.  Losing hurts.  Some would say that people need to get over it and move on.  There is truth to encouraging such an attitude, but it isn’t easy and not always enough.

I would suggest a different approach.  One reason we may feel discouraged or disconnected or why we worry about the future is that we live in echo chambers.  At times, we get wrapped up exclusively in our own opinions and positions. We need to have the courage and the patience to leave the safety of our echo chambers.

Rabbi Marc Angel recently wrote about “echo reasoning.”  This refers to what can happen when people only listen or speak to those with similar views.  These views are echoed from one person to the other.  It becomes increasingly difficult to think beyond the specific idea, which becomes the only conceivable truth.  Members of the closed circle become more extreme, less able to reason independently.

There is nothing wrong with being confident in one’s own position.  To be morally strong and intellectually sound, however, we need to be open to hearing criticism of our own views and listening to opinions different than our own.

We need to think; to challenge and be challenged; to express our views and listen to the views of others.  This is, in fact, the Jewish way.

The Talmud (Eruvin 13b) famously teaches that the bat kol (heavenly voice) sided with Beit Hillel in their disputes with Beit Shammai. Even though “eilu v’eilu divrei Elokim chaim - these and these are the words of the living God,” the law follows Beit Hillel.  Why is this is so?  If both sides are the words of the living God, why follow one and not the other?  The Talmud answers that Beit Hillel would study and teach both their opinion and that of Beit Shammai, and moreover, they would teach the view of Beit Shammai before their own.

We can be committed to our view, but we are more effective when our view includes consideration and even discussion of the opposing view.  It worked for Beit Hillel, and it can work for us.

There are many reactions to today’s festivities.  Some people are celebrating, while others are boycotting.  Some people are revising the prayer recited in synagogues on behalf of America, while others are marching.

I suggest we embrace Beit Hillel.

Choose one issue about which you feel passionately and try to put yourself in the mindset of someone who would disagree.  If you find yourself reacting negatively to a story or an opponent’s behavior, stop and think why they may be acting that way.

After a bitter campaign against John Adams, Thomas Jefferson won the presidential election and gave the first-ever inaugural speech in Washington.  Despite the contentious victory of his Democratic Republican Party, Jefferson called for unity in the wake of the election.  Demanding that both parties express loyalty to the Constitution, Jefferson noted that “every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle.”  

More than two centuries later, we live in similarly divisive times.  We cannot change the minds of those with whom we disagree, but we can decide how we are going to move forward.  We can choose to leave our echo chambers and find a way to engage other people and other views.

Regardless of your political leanings, I am confident that this will most definitely keep America great.