Art often speaks more profoundly about the challenges of life than ordinary words can convey. And just as often most of us don’t have ears to hear what the artists and visionaries are trying to tell us, at least until fiction becomes our reality. Among other dystopian prophets I am thinking of George Orwell’s “1984,” Suzanne Collins’ “The Hunger Games,” and Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale.”
Or from the Judeo-Christian Scriptures Amos and other prophets pronounce judgment on their own people for their violation of their covenant with Yahweh. Here’s a sample from Amos:
“Thus says the Lord: For three transgressions of Judah,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because they have rejected the instruction of the Lord
and have not kept his statutes,
but they have been led astray by the same lies
after which their ancestors walked.
So I will send a fire on Judah,
and it shall devour the strongholds of Jerusalem.
Thus says the Lord: For three transgressions of Israel,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because they sell the righteous for silver
and the needy for a pair of sandals—
they who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth
and push the afflicted out of the way;” (Amos 2:4-7)
Anyone tempted to bow down to the idol of Christian Nationalism would do well to ponder these warnings.
One of my favorite musicals has always been “Fiddler on the Roof.” Its theme of love conquering oppression never seems out of date and is all too relevant today. In fact when I thought about the symbolism of Fiddler I discovered that I wrote about it, not coincidentally, in 2019 during Trump’s first term. The parallels today are even more stark. In “Fiddler” the Jewish village of Anatevka is being forced to flee their beloved home because of Russian persecution. We are living through such terrifying times right now in our once beautiful democracy.
Here’s what I wrote about Fiddler during Trump 1.0: “Some of Fiddler’s insights are so good I am tempted to call it the Gospel according to Tevye. I was in a discussion the other day about praying for President Trump, and all of us present agreed we should and he certainly needs it. His erratic and delusional Messianic references to himself since then only confirm that conclusion.
One of the first things that came to my mind about praying for the President is a line from Fiddler where a Rabbi says this prayer: “God bless and keep the czar—far away from us.” On a more serious note I think one of the best parts of Fiddler is the opening where the title and its metaphor for life are explained.
“Away above my head I see the strangest sight
A fiddler on the roof who’s up there day and night
He fiddles when it rains, he fiddles when it snows
I’ve never seen him rest, yet on and on he goes
{Refrain}
What does it mean, this fiddler on the roof?
Who fiddles every night and fiddles every noon
Why should he pick so curious a place
To play his little fiddler’s tune
An unexpected breeze could blow him to the ground
Yet after every storm, I see he’s still around
Whatever each day brings, this odd outlandish man
He plays his simple tune as sweetly as he can
{Refrain}
A fiddler on the roof, a most unlikely sight
It might not mean a thing, but then again it might!”
And then Tevye says, “A fiddler on the roof. Sounds crazy, no? But here, in our little village of Anatevka, you might say every one of us is a fiddler on the roof trying to scratch out a pleasant, simple tune without breaking his neck. It isn’t easy. You may ask ‘Why do we stay up there if it’s so dangerous?’ Well, we stay because Anatevka is our home. And how do we keep our balance? That I can tell you in one word: tradition!”
Our traditions of love, compassion, hospitality and justice are under attack, but they are the solid rock and anchor we can cling to in each and every storm; and if we do we will still be around after the perils of this present age are no more.”
Today in 2025 when the prospects of anyone stopping the fascist overthrow of our democracy seem pretty slim I need to amend that last sentence. I no longer am so confident “we will still be around” when this nightmarish storm is finally over. I continue to hope that enough Republican members of Congress will find the courage to stop the carnage. They are the only ones standing between us and a total dictatorship.
Just this weekend Trump has begun ignoring court orders to stop illegal deportations. He has also revoked pardons for some on his political enemies hit list that were issued by President Biden. Can the Fiddler keep scratching out a simple tune or has that metaphor shifted to fiddling while our democracy burns?
And most tragic to me is that it is not just democracy burning. Among his more than I can count acts of treason Trump has destroyed the departments and the international efforts dedicated to fighting climate change. Mother Nature is no respecter of political ideologies. Red and blue states are suffering the ravages of extreme weather disasters caused by climate change, and this administration simply doesn’t care. Trump, Musk and their billionaire class only care about personal wealth and power. But if we fail to preserve our only home in the universe nothing else is going to matter.
So here we are, and so far there is a thread of hope symbolized by a bunch of courageous protestors who are individually and collectively fiddlers on the roof, and the question hangs in the air now as it did in Anatevka:
“A Fiddler on the roof, a most unusual sight…. It may not mean a thing, but then again it might.”
*music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick
Peacefully Harsh 