Mark Twain and the Jews

Mark Twain was a literary giant, a great American humorist, essayist, and novelist.  Some have called him a friend to the Jews.  But others have said he was an anti-Semite.  I’ve read and heard both sides.  I set out to form my own opinion.  What I discovered was not straightforward.

In 1897, Mark Twain observed the Austrian parliament in session.  In a magazine article he wrote that its members came from all walks of life, all classes of society.  He added, “They are religious men, they are devoted, and they hate the Jews.” Subsequently, Mark Twain received a letter of inquiry.  “Now will you kindly tell me why, in your judgment, the Jews have thus ever been, and are even now in these days of supposed intelligence, the butt of baseless, vicious animosities?”  Mark Twain answered in an essay “Concerning the Jews,” published in 1899.

It is clear to me that Mark Twain was not anti-Semitic, certainly not when judged in the context of his times.  However, it is less clear that he was a friend.  There are no Jewish characters in any of his fiction.  Except for a single essay, there is little evidence that he gave much thought to the Jews, one way or another.  Mark Twain’s essay about the Jews was filled with respect and praise, but it was also filled with the biases and stereotypes that pervaded gentile America.

Mark Twain admired the strong Jewish family.  He praised Jewish support of charitable institutions.  He acknowledged the disproportionate contribution of Jews to art, literature, science, music, and medicine.

Unfortunately, in offering praise, Mark Twain often resorted to conventional stereotypes.  “The  Jews have the best average brain of any people in the world.  The Jews are the only race in the world who work wholly with their brains and never with their hands.”  Twain urged Jews to unite politically, writing that if Jews organized, as Zionist leader Dr. Theodor Herzl proposed, they would become a “concentration of the cunningest brains in the world.”

In his criticism of the Jews, Twain resorted to unflattering stereotypes.  He saw Jews as disinclined to fight as soldiers, and he repeated an old charge, “you feed on a country but don’t like to fight for it.”  Twain later wrote a gracious apology when he learned of the large number of Jews who had served, fought, and died in the Civil War.

Why are Jews hated?  Mark Twain wrote that economics, not religion, was the source of anti-Semitism.  Jews were hated most in the marketplace.  “The Jew is a money-getter:  and in getting his money he is a very serious obstruction to less capable neighbors."  Twain seemed to be commenting on the relatively affluent and assimilated German and Austrian Jews.  He said nothing about the millions of Jews living persecuted within the impoverished shtetls of Eastern Europe.

Tragically, mistakenly, Mark Twain showed little understanding about anti-Semitism and the vulnerability of the Jewish people.  On the eve of the 20^th century, speculating about their future, he wrote, “I do not think that the Jew need now stand in any fear of being robbed and raided.  Among the high civilizations, he seems to be very comfortably situated indeed.”

Touching Spirit Bear

For several years I worked with a particularly angry and troubled teenager.  He spoke little and visits were mostly for medication management of severe mood swings and aggressive outbursts.  Then one day he entered my office and began a conversation.  He asked me if I’d ever heard of the book Touching Spirit Bear, by Ben Mikaelsen.  When I said that I had not, he asked me if I would be willing to read it and I said that I would.

It was clear that my patient identified with the story’s main character Cole.  As the story begins, Cole is an angry and violent youth, a bully.  Cole had beaten up and seriously injured a boy named Peter.  As would any good sociopath, Cole blames Peter rationalizing that he deserved his beating.

Cole had been in and out of the system, a system he experienced as uncaring and hypocritical.  He had been sent from one facility to another, from one social worker to another.  This time, rather than return to jail, Cole is offered the option of going to an island where, under the supervision of two native Alaskans, he will remain isolated in a journey of self-discovery.

Initially, in a rage, Cole destroys his only food and shelter.  He attempts to escape the island by swimming but is swept back ashore by the tide.  Exhausted, cold and hungry he is approached by a great white bear.  In his continued rage he tries to kill the bear but winds up getting seriously mauled.  In a moment of near death, he has his epiphany.  He wants to live.

Cole is rescued, rehabilitated, and returns to the island for a second time.  Much more open to the experience of the island, he begins to come to terms with his anger.  He begins to feel remorse for the hurt he has caused.  He begins to feel forgiveness and understanding for those who, in the past, had hurt him. In the second part of the book Peter, traumatized and depressed, is brought to the island after two suicide attempts. The later part of the story is about the healing that occurs between these two scared and scarred youths.

Touching Spirit Bear holds out the hope of change but emphasizes that change is not easy.  The story makes clear that remorse alone is not enough.  Where there has been hurt and damage, there must be a process of repair.  When my patient read this story, he felt understood and he felt hope.  He felt that he too could change.

Does it take a near death experience in order to change, or is a good story enough to inspire and to transform? Over the years, I saw many angry youths.  I didn’t have an island where I could send them, and near death experiences are generally not recommended.  Instead, I recommended they read this book and I asked them to discuss. How were they like and unlike Cole? What would they have done if alone on the island?  With the book as a catalyst, I had many productive conversations with otherwise guarded and angry youths, who were willing to consider the possibility of change.

Sometimes it takes being alone on an island.  Sometimes it takes being mauled by a bear.  But sometimes it just takes a good story.

Stupidity

 “Think of how stupid the average person is and realize half of them are stupider than that.”  (George Carlin, 1937--2008)

While the country convulses through times of historic challenge and change, I remain shut in and socially distanced.  I read a lot, and I watch the news.  I’ve written nothing since mid-April. My ideas have felt like loose threads, scattered and unorganized, not worth putting down on paper.  It has not been for lack of thoughts.  I am flooded with thoughts, but thoughts that often seem trivial, inadequate given the circumstances in which we now live.  So, I’ve been silent.

I’ve been silent.  I’ve been angry.  And I’ve been dumbfounded by the pervasive stupidity that characterizes this country’s response to the pandemic.  Everybody wants the economy to reopen.  Everybody wants the kids to return safely to school.  The solution isn’t rocket science.  There should be no controversy, no politics involved.  Everybody needs to avoid crowds, socially distance, wash hands and wear masks.  If everybody would do these basic things, without griping, we could get through this mess and move on with our lives.  But no . . .

I’m sick of hearing about the “right” to not wear a mask.  Is there a right to blow cigarette smoke in someone’s face?  Is there a right to drive impaired by alcohol?  Is there a right to run a red light, if so inclined?  There are rules and behaviors that protect others.  Wear the damn mask and quit complaining. Quit whining about your rights and assume your responsibility to others.

Sadly, enabled by a minion of spineless politicians, supported by cult followers and egged on by ratings-driven media, there is this piece of work we call Mr. President,  He claims, on the one hand, that his response to the pandemic has saved millions of lives.  He also claims that 99% of all Covid infections are harmless.  Let me repeat, he claims that he has saved millions of lives from a 99% harmless virus.  Really?  Is it just me or does that make no sense?  And just in case you were wondering, neither assertion is true.  He has neither saved millions of lives nor is the virus 99% harmless.

Mr. President likes large rallies.  Mr. President doesn’t like to wear a mask.  Mr. President criticizes and marginalizes his top medical expert, while the pandemic rages on.  All this AND Mr. President calls himself a “very stable genius.” Mr. President is a moron, but he’s a powerful moron and he’s dangerous.

It’s clear that this pandemic will continue out of control for the foreseeable future.  My hope for better things to come depends on two happenings, neither of which is guaranteed.  First, I pray that by winter there will be an available and effective Covid vaccine.  Second, I pray that in November there will be a large voter turnout and an uncorrupted presidential election.