I had a wave of guilt today about this post, fearing that I was too casual about the idea of the end of Jewishness through assimilation. I edited the thing to alter the tone somewhat, and drove my wife to the train station and told her about my anxiety. One of the things my wife and I talk about is the assimilation of mainstream Protestants: that her parents' generation of gentiles was church-going, more or less, and no one in her generation in her family is. I said, "What if the Episcopalians disappeared, in your generation–your tribe. Would you feel grief about that?" She said, "No not really. Also, I would think that the best qualities of my people would be preserved by others." "Does that make you a progressive?" "Well in this area–I think people are making progress." I agreed. I told her about my pride watching Obama walking around the White House grounds with Steve Kroft, and pointing up at the windows where he and Michelle sleep, and work out, and how proud that made me as an American. My wife often makes me feel better.
