Some remarks on the calls for unity || Asa Kasher
Recently, many have been saying “We are brothers” about me and others. I believe this to be both factually incorrect and ethically inappropriate.
It behooves us to distinguish between a unity of values, worldviews, and ideologies (“macro unity), on the one hand, and unity among individuals (“micro fraternity”).
At the macro level, there will never be grand unity. There can be no unity between liberal, humanistic, moderate, moral, ethical positions that above all demand human dignity qua one’s humanity, and nationalistic, racist, radical positions that reject equal human dignity for all, instead representing nationalist arrogance, at times clothed in religious garb. There will be no unity, because I reject that kind of macro unity.
By contrast, I see no problem with manifestations of unity between neighbors, colleagues, and family members despite differences in values, disagreements, and ideological barriers. I have dear friends who are much farther to the right of me and also much farther to the left of me. And I have dear friends who aren’t Jewish at all – whether Christian, Druse, Muslim, Buddhist, or other.
Micro unity doesn’t cover all of a person’s being because it bypasses one’s stances and ideologies. Nonetheless, it retains sufficient humaneness to support significant unity. Micro unity is meant to be our desirable way of life.
From Asa Kasher’s post on his Facebook page
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