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Tuesday, March 19, 2024

“The manner in which burning is executed is as follows: He who had been thus condemned was lowered into dung up to his armpits, then a hard cloth was placed within a soft one, wound round his neck, and the two loose ends pulled in opposite directions, forcing him to open his mouth. A wick was then lit, and thrown into his mouth, so that it descended into his body and burnt his bowels.”

No, that was not a description of what it’s like to be buried up to your neck in shit and forced to digest Chipotle. That is the description of a punishment given to those found guilty of violating one of two laws. This punishment is outlined in more detail in a religious text from an Abrahamic faith that flourished in the Middle East many years ago.

That’s right. The Jewish people who lived between 516 B.C. to 70 A.D. practiced this heinous punishment. Those found guilty of adultery or violating the Sabbath were condemned to this fate. As a Jew who grew up in an obnoxious South Florida suburb, I can say each and every one of my friends, their parents, their siblings and their other Jewish acquaintances has either broken the Sabbath or committed adultery — often, at the same time.

Now, this is Florida, and not one of us would be surprised if Gov. Rick Scott approved this as a death penalty practice tomorrow. But we’d like to think we live in this stringently objective, post-ideological world. Most Jews in my circle know we ignore our literature. We know it’s a failed and outdated construct fundamentally incompatible with civility, justice, basic scientific knowledge and second-grade reasoning. Most of my friends, conservatives, liberals, indifferent Jews and faithful Christians all think we have escaped this primitive ideology.

This “no-ideology” ideological thinking is the way by which we frame our reality. You didn’t get a choice in choosing this worldview. Statistically, those of you who are Christian Republicans were born to Christian Republican parents. Like I said to the rabbis who believe the Jews are the Chosen People: It sure is convenient you were born Jewish, because it would suck if you weren’t.

I remember after the Orlando massacre listening to the right spout how guns had nothing to do with this, and listening to the left pin off the attacker’s faith as a misrepresentation of Islam. While the overwhelming majority of religious Muslims are peaceful people, they believe in the same Divine Truth of the Quran extremists do, the same way some moderate Jews believe in the same Divine Truth of the Torah extreme Orthodox Jews believe.

Ideology of any sort is dangerous. You can be right when you point fingers at another’s worldviews, but know they’re also right when they point back.

Zachary Lee is a UF philosophy senior. His column appears on Tuesdays.

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