Political groups

Don't ask for Spanish

A representative of the "Arab American family support forum" texted me about whether I will vote in the next election. This surprised me, as a biblical scholar, / mother of four, with a very Jewish name.

Perhaps the connection was that I am very interested in Babylon, also known as present- day Iran and Iraq, although I have no idea how they would have figured this out. I suppose they can't not offer a lady named "Bertha Cohenwitz" ( not my real name) a chance to join their coalition. There used to be millions of Arab Jews in Arab countries, and I'll join any coalition willing to have me. I am a big fan of coalitions.

Texting with people who volunteer for political campaigns is always sweet, because the people on the other side are so sincere. The actual politicians are awful people. No exceptions. But the people who canvass for the vote are quite sincere, and they imagine that they are making a great difference to the world. I might as well make them feel good about their contribution to democracy.

So I did not point out that I am not Arab American, at least as far as I know, because they did not ask me if I was. They did ask if I plan to vote in the next election. I answered that I didn't know whether I would vote. This is a truism. When I wake up in the morning, I do not know what will happen that day.

Then I asked, who should I support? I was going to ask them why, as a follow-up question. But sadly, they answered that they're nonpartisan; they just want to make sure that people vote. Then they asked me if English is my first language, and do I want information in any other language? How about Arabic or Bengali or Nepalese or Punjabi?

If Nepalese and Indian people belong in this coalition, they definitely would be willing to have me. So I asked for Spanish. It would help me practice my Spanish. Still no response.