New York in the 21st century should be more advanced than the 20th century, don’t you think? It’s disappointing and not to say, down right inconvenient of the instillation of the new municipal meters. Basically, it’s the new contraption that the City installed where one puts quarters in a slot and receives a slip with the date and time of expiration; one then places the slip on their dashboard.
When I left my job in midtown Manhattan, which required taking the subway as the main form of transportation, and began driving to work to my new job, I realized I would have to be more diligent and careful to the traffic laws (parking tickets in particular). This was very new to me; it’s hard enough to find a spot in crowded Queens, but to always have a supply of quarters was a new task that one has to remember. But the installation, these past few years, of these municipal meters, in which one has to walk, at times, a half a block to find them, and then return again back to the car where one has to open the vehicle a second time and then place it on the dashboard, is very time consuming. A simple quick task in going to the store is discouraged because this new system is very time consuming. It doesn’t pay to do quickies.
‘It is what it is’, a defeatist attitude individual proclaimed. ‘No!’ I retorted, ‘we can’t have our quality of life diminished like that. One should speak out and complain to the local district politicians. ‘Nah, you’re not going to get anywhere, you’re wasting your time’ he countered back.
It says in the Gemarah, a Jew living outside of Israel is obligated to follow the laws of his host country, ‘dina de-malchuta dina’ – the law of the land is the law. This means, if one violates the law of the land, then he violates the Torah. So if this were the law in which we Jews have to follow, it would have to be made comfortable to follow (temporarily, until we are able to return to our homeland, Israel).
Thank G-d, we live in a country, which gives people many rights (Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religion, to name a few.) As an American, we have to exercise our rights. This great country is kind to the Jews, and has been constructed in such a way to provide and help us with many benefits. But I think one of the crucial benefits that it provides to their citizens is the ability to change laws. Laws are made by the people whom we the people elected.
In the past, the turn of the 20th century, the Jews were instrumental in instituting the 40-hour workweek, abolishing the horrendous sweatshops. This made the working conditions better and safer. Jews also benefited by the new law because now they’re able to keep Shabbat without any hassles. A number of years ago, Sheldon Silver, a Jewish New York politician, was instrumental in allowing Hatzolah volunteer Jewish ambulance corp. to operate even though there was much opposition. Do you know how many Jewish lives were saved through Hatzolah?
When a politician visits a community (his district where he wants to get elected), the people voice their needs, where he then tries to accommodate the voters and if need be, tries to change the laws. This is a tremendous benefit we have in this democratic country.
We are obligated by the Torah to be fine, upstanding citizens, and as citizens we have to utilize what this country stands for, ‘For the People’, to make us better, more efficient (parking solution), and constructive. We should also utilize these rights to make us – let’s not forget – the primary goal, of being better Jews. |
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