September 2000 Living With Our "Castros" By Rabbi Alvin Kass The Elian Gonzalez melodrama earlier this year reminded us that Fidel Castro is still around. After 40 years and nine presidents who tried to get rid of him by fair means or foul, Castro survived them all. Neither assassination teams, proxy invasions, sabotage, financial strangulation, and economic boycotts have weakened his control over Cuba. Nor is Castro the only "bad guy" we've been unable to dislodge from power. Sadam Hussein is still in charge in Iraq nine years after we sent an army of half a million men and women against him. Then there is the nasty Slobodan Milosevic, whom we bombed into withdrawing from the rebellious province of Kosovo, but whose hold on the reins of government in Serbia is stronger than ever. Osama bin Laden, the notorious terrorist, has likewise eluded capture, notwithstanding his culpability for having bombed two United States embassies in East Africa. The United States of America has done a lot of things. We've spent the Soviet Union into oblivion, transformed China into a capitalist bazaar, made American English the world's lingua franca, turned the dollar into the universal currency, and removed all challengers to the status of preeminent superpower. But we've been unable to get rid of these pesky rogues that are always causing trouble. There's an important message in all of this that we would do well to ponder especially at this sacred season of the year: the finiteness of human power. If even the world's strongest country can't always get its way, how much more so do we as individuals need to recognize our limited capacity to alter the circumstances of our life. We live in an imperfect world. There is virtually nothing we can do to prevent natural disasters like hurricanes, earthquakes, and tidal waves. In spite of tremendous progress on many fronts, death, disease, and disability in one manifestation or another are here to stay. Some problems like dandruff, acne, mosquitoes, roaches, and rodents likewise have a way of defying all solutions. We are also limited in our ability to deal with repugnant and unsavory characters we encounter in the workplace, family, neighborhood, and other contexts. To be sure, our faith exhorts us to build bridges and resolve conflicts. In some cases, we'll be successful; in others, we won't. Regardless of the reception we get, our ineluctable obligation is to do what we know to be right. No one articulated the proper philosophy for healthy and moral living more accurately than the eminent theologian, Reinhold Niebuhr: "God grant us the courage to change what can be changed and the serenity to accept what cannot be changed, and the wisdom to know the difference." We certainly have a duty as we enter this new year to change in a proactive way whatever is susceptible and potentially responsive to our sincere efforts. That includes saying words and doing deeds that promote reconciliation between hostile parties. At the same time, we need internal equanimity of spirit to recognize that there are objective facts and realities that cannot be transcended. The really difficult challenge is to know which is which. There is no pat formula for resolving that dilemma. Each situation has to be carefully assessed as we do our best to arrive at a sensible and mature judgment. We may not always make the correct decision. It is a lot easier to be a Monday morning quarterback than a sage predictor before the fact. But our duty to forgive involves not only the mistakes of others, but our own as well. May America achieve its noble destiny in the world even if it can't do everything to which it aspires. May we also pursue our dreams and aspirations with resolve and confidence despite our limitations and with the realization that, notwithstanding our imperfections, problems, and failures, life can still be beautiful and satisfying. Miryom, Sarah, Lewis, Danny, and Debby join me in the hope and prayer, L'shanah tovah tikatevu v'techatemu, may you be inscribed and sealed for a happy and healthy 5761.